The Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans on a rare Saturday game at Arrowhead Stadium and the big storyline coming into this one is the status of Patrick Mahomes' ankle. Mahomes was injured near the end of Kansas City's eventual double-digit win over Cleveland and Carson Wentz finished out the game.
While Mahomes has been a full participant in practice this week, Andy Reid has been hesitant to name a starter for Week 16, opening the door for a potential Wentz start. It also could be a sly move to make sure that the Texans have to account for both quarterbacks and take time away from their game plan on Mahomes.
If Mahomes does play, the Texans defense is offering him a warning. Defensive lineman Tim Settle said that the Texans will be coming for the injured quarterback.
“This is the top team in the league right now but this O-line definitely has their struggles and I feel like we can take advantage of that. We got an elite D-line. Pat’s a little banged up, so I don’t know if he gonna play or not, but I hope he’s mobile enough because we comin’ to Arrowhead. Pat better make good decisions. I ain’t making no threats, I’m making promises.”
Texans are the next team to talk trash before facing Patrick Mahomes
Haven't teams learned their lesson from taking this trash-talking approach? Look at the Bengals before the AFC Championship Game in the 2022 season. They were talking smack all week long, calling Arrowhead "Burrowhead" and acting as though they'd won the game before the coin flip even took place. That didn't go well for them.
The Texans don't even have the same résumé to be talking crap that at least the Bengals had. They haven't faced Mahomes since this newly-rejuvenated Texans squad has come about and people could argue that Houston has underperformed in the second year of the DeMeco Ryans/C.J. Stroud era.
What is true in what Settle said, however, is that the Chiefs' offensive line has had problems this season and they do have a chance to make Mahomes or whoever plays quarterback's day a living hell. The funny thing is that the Texans also have a weak offensive line so this will could end up being a sack fest.
If Mahomes is healthy enough to play, Chiefs fans best believe that he'll be starting but the Texans are making sure that he's aware of the situation. They're coming for blood. Hopefully, Mahomes can make them pay.