A win will lock up the AFC West for the 10-3 Chiefs, and keep them on pace with the Bills, who beat the Dolphins late Saturday night and are now 11-3.
Coming off a chaotic game in Denver, the Kansas City Chiefs travel to Houston to play a tune-up game against the Houston Texans. Houston will be playing for pride in this match, as Houston head coach Lovie Smith tries to keep his team on the train tracks. The Chiefs anticipate adding a big name back to the offense for this game, as it’s possible to see Kadarius Toney and/or Mecole Hardman return to the field.
The Texans will enter the game 1-11-1, a record that most certainly is tied for the most 1s in a team’s record at any point in an NFL season. Houston put two promising rookies (CB Derek Stingley and RB Dameon Pierce) on IR on Saturday.
So, the Chiefs are in a position to do whatever they want offensively in order to get the job done. A win will lock up the AFC West for the 10-3 Chiefs, and more importantly, keep them on pace with the Bills, who beat the Dolphins late Saturday night and are now 11-3.
Writers recap
Last week’s Broncos game was largely predicted to be the blowout it was in the first half, but then the Chiefs let the Broncos in the back door. Every writer predicted the Chiefs to win, but it was yours truly who projected a 33-16 win, which was closest to the actual final score of 34-28. Here’s a look at this week’s writer’s projections for the game in Houston.
Writer’s picks for Chiefs vs. Texans
Patrick Allen (10-3)
Despite being 10-3 and tied for the best record in the AFC, the Chiefs are still managing to find ways to drive their fans absolutely crazy. After nearly blowing a 27-0 lead to the putrid offense of the Denver Broncos last week, the Chiefs and their fans need a palate cleanser. Enter the NFL’s worst team, the Houston Texans. The Chiefs need to get ready for the playoffs and hopefully, they can find their focus by going out and dominating Houston. I’m looking for a mistake-free game from the Chiefs on both sides of the ball. Should the Chiefs continue to turn the ball over and make unforced errors, the negative rumblings about this team’s playoff hopes will only grow louder.
Chiefs 30, Texans 17
Adam Best (8-3)
The Chiefs losing to the Texans is about as likely as me bench-pressing my house. That’s why the Chiefs will play down to the level of their competition and give us a scare. It’s tradition.
Chiefs 35, Texans 21
Matt Conner (9-4)
I love Claire Danes. I love her. As a kid, I loved her in My So-Called Life. I wanted her to be my Juliet. I watched 7 seasons of manic Homeland mostly because I still swoon. I don’t think this is the girl crush Little Big Town was singing about but alas, here we are. My response to her is irrational. She’s a regular person who poops, has annoying tics, and probably backs into parking spaces. That said, I live for those moments when she’s back on the air and I can swoon all over again. That’s how KC will look on Sunday. It’ll be all swoon. We’ll ignore the zits for a full week. It’ll be all Claire and we won’t care.
Chiefs 55, Texans -3
Anthony Hatton (9-4)
Kansas City has the biggest spread of any game this week being 14-point favorites. The Chiefs should defeat the Texans convincingly, but the defense needs to show up. Every opponent has scored at least 17 points with the exception of the Rams (scored 10 points without Cooper Kupp and Matt Stafford). Houston is without their top running back and has questions at quarterback. Kansas City’s defense needs to make a statement and hold Houston to single digits for the first time this season.
Kansas City 31, Houston 9
Scott Loring (8-5)
The Chiefs defense was wrongfully maligned after giving up touchdowns on two short-field drives late in the first half against Denver. They’ll take out their aggressions on a Texans unit that is far and away the worst passing offense in the NFL and will be without WR Brandin Cooks and RB Dameon Pierce. Offensively, Patrick Mahomes gets his first NFL action back in his home state of Texas. I think the Texans will play the run well, but Mahomes gets back on top of the MVP race against the Houston defense, who has blitzed opposing passers the fewest times in the AFC. I do like Texans rookie defensive back #5 Jalen Pitre. Keep an eye on him.
Chiefs 30, Texans 10
Ellen Mathis (11-2)
This is the Justin Reid revenge game – he will have an INT and 2 tackles that make us cringe for the other guy. This is Mahomes’ return to Texas – he will show his clear MVP status. I thought last week would be a walk in the park, but those Chiefs like to keep us on our toes. I expect that the Chiefs got a good talking to about cleaning up mistakes and this is going to be an absolute bloodbath. The Texans just don’t stand a chance and this will be one of those games where we hear “and now we are going to turn to a more competitive competition.” The Chiefs rewrite the narrative on the defense being bad and on Mahomes being sloppy.
Chiefs 38, Texans 13
Jacob Milham (10-3)
After leaving Denver with a hard-fought victory, the Chiefs are on the last leg of their road trip! Against such a bad opponent, I want to see two things from the Chiefs this week: not play down to their opponent and how exotic Spags’ blitzes look this week. Will the Chiefs break out some new looks this week or keep plus in the bag for better opponents? We’re not watching for a competitive game this week, but rather how the Chiefs dominate Houston.
Chiefs 34, Texans 16
Greg Morse (8-3)
The Chiefs need a dominant win this week. They should’ve gotten that last week against Denver, and the 27-0 lead was a good start. But an absolute thumping of the Texans would make last week’s close loss to the Cowboys even more meaningful to the Chiefs.
Chiefs 35 Texans 7
KC Proctor (10-3)
It’s time for the Isiah Pacheco game. He’s had 13 or more carries in each of the past five games (22 in week 12), and I expect his biggest workload yet against an atrocious run-stopping unit in Houston. 24 carries for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns—one of which will remind us of Jamaal Charles’ glory days.
Chiefs 31, Texans 17
Charles Robinson (11-2)
The 2022 Texans look an awful lot like the 2012 Chiefs. That’s pretty bad. I’d look for KC to run the ball early and often in this game and just bully the Texans around the field all afternoon long. KC needs a dominant statement win after playing down to their competition over the course of the last few weeks. I’ll directly predict and indirectly attempt to manifest in that exact direction.
Chiefs 44, Texans 9
Lucas Strozinsky (10-3)
If this game is competitive in the fourth quarter, and Patrick Mahomes is not injured, I’m going to start losing hope about the Chiefs’ ability to win the Super Bowl this season. An argument can be made that the Texans have both the worst offense and defense in the NFL and at least the Broncos have a good defense. The only positives the Texans have are their elite left tackle, their pass rush is average, and their kicker is reliable. They stink literally everywhere else. If the Kansas City offensive tackles can hold their own, this game won’t be close.
Chiefs 38, Texans 9
Grant Tuttle (11-2)
The Chiefs should be looking to assert dominance after a shaky victory in Denver. I would expect Chad Henne and several other 2nd stringers to get time in a blowout of epic proportions. The Texans are bad. The Chiefs are looking to get things right. It’s a “yikes” situation for the Texans.
Chiefs 45, Texans 14