The Kansas City Chiefs maintained their hold on the AFC’s top seed by securing yet another one-score victory, extending their NFL record to 16 games by defeating the visiting Houston Texans by a score of 27-19.
The Chiefs got things started early by picking off C.J. Stroud on Houston’s opening drive. Just in case anyone thought Patrick Mahomes would be limited by the high ankle sprain he suffered last week, he quickly quieted those concerns with a pair of scrambles on the Chiefs’ first possession, with the second of those runs starting the scoring as he scored a touchdown from 15 yards out.
The Texans would eventually answer back and actually take a 10-7 lead after Stroud found Dalton Schultz for a touchdown early in the second quarter, but Kansas City immediately answered with a Kareem Hunt touchdown run, another interception on Stroud and then a late-half field goal to take a seven-point lead into halftime.
The Texans forced a punt on the opening drive of the second half and actually looked like they were about to tie the game when Stroud lofted a beautiful pass to Tank Dell in the back of the end zone, but Dell suffered a gruesome injury on the play and, after a long delay, Ka’imi Fairbairn missed the extra point. That one-point deficit was the closest Houston would get the rest of the afternoon.
Even after Kansas City turned it over on downs near midfield, the Texans were unable to take advantage; and the Chiefs drove down the field for an Xavier Worthy touchdown on their next drive. After the two teams traded field goals, the Texans had a chance to drive for a game-tying score late in the fourth quarter, but went nowhere after Stroud got dropped for a sack on third-and-long.
All Kansas City had to do after that was run out the clock, which it did with a series of runs and short passes. Standard Chiefs stuff in another standard Chiefs win in what is looking a lot like a standard Chiefs season in the Mahomes-Andy Reid era.Â
Why the Chiefs won
Strong game-planning, Mahomes magic and timely turnovers. Kansas City’s offensive line has struggled all season, and Andy Reid devised a game plan to account for that. Mahomes repeatedly fired quick passes to Xavier Worthy and DeAndre Hopkins, and Travis Kelce repeatedly sat himself down in underneath zones. Mahomes was under pressure often, but only sacked once. The defense, meanwhile, came up with a pair of interceptions to bookend the first half, setting up the offense to score 10 free points.
Why the Texans lost
Major miscues in big moments, and a defense that just couldn’t get the big stop. Houston ended its first drive of the game and its last drive of the first half with interceptions. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed an extra point. C.J. Stroud took not one but two delay-of-game penalties in the second half. Dalton Schultz dropped what should have been a third-down conversion late in the third quarter. Offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik kept calling wide receiver screens that went nowhere. Meanwhile, the Chiefs converted 7 of 13 third downs and 3 of their 4 red zone opportunities into touchdowns, while Houston went just 1 of 3 in the red zone.
Turning point
Late in the second quarter, the Texans had a chance to take the lead — or at least cut into Kansas City’s advantage. They quickly got into Chiefs territory before things started going awry.Â
Tank Dell was called for offensive pass interference on a swing pass on first down, setting the Texans back behind the chains. Two incomplete passes later and it was third-and-20 from Kansas City’s 40-yard line.
The Texans were in Ka’imi Fairbairn’s range, so when C.J. Stroud saw quick pressure, he tried to throw the ball away to preserve a shot at a field goal. But his throwaway didn’t actually go away. Instead, it landed in the waiting arms of Trent McDuffie.
Instead of having a chance to take a lead for themselves, the Texans were left defending against the Chiefs extending theirs. They buckled down once Kansas City got just outside the red zone, but the Chiefs took a 17-10 lead into halftime and never trailed again.
Highlight play
The best play of the day was Tank Dell’s 30-yard touchdown grab in the third quarter, but Dell unfortunately suffered a gruesome knee injury on the play. (If you really want to watch it, you can do so right here.) So instead, we’ll go with the game’s first touchdown, where we saw pretty early on that Patrick Mahomes’ ankle was just fine.
Mere days after suffering a high ankle sprain, Mahomes had two big scrambles on Kansas City’s opening drive, including the one above. He ended the afternoon with three carries for 35 yards and the score, helping move the chains for the Chiefs several times.
What’s next
Kansas City is 14-1 and remains the No. 1 seed in the AFC. The Chiefs have long since clinched the AFC West and have the inside track for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. Next up for K.C. is a Christmas Day game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by a trip to Denver to take on the Broncos in Week 18.
The Texans are now 9-6 and looking like they will be the No. 4 seed in the AFC. They’re already AFC South champions, but they’ve likely fallen too far behind the AFC North winner to move up to No. 3 in the conference. They close out their season by hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas, then traveling to Tennessee to take on the Titans in Week 18.