Chiefs at Texans: Preview and prediction
On Sunday afternoon, the Houston Texans host the Kansas City Chiefs at NRG Stadium. Both teams are playoff contenders, coming off 9-7 seasons in 2014. The Texans have a new quarterback from last season, replacing Ryan Fitzpatrick with Brian Hoyer, while the Chiefs are entering their third season under Andy Reid’s system.
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Houston will have to find some offense against a Kansas City defense that ranked second in points allowed last year. The Texans released future Hall of Fame wide receiver Andre Johnson this offseason and will be without running back Arian Foster due to a groin injury. Against the Chiefs, Houston will be relying on a core of Hoyer, Alfred Blue, Nate Washington, DeAndre Hopkins and Cecil Shorts III to move the ball.
On defense, the Chiefs are loaded with talent. Kansas City boasts a line featuring Dontari Poe and Allen Bailey, with a trio of All-Pro linebackers in Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. First-round pick Marcus Peters was the star of training camp and will start in place of cornerback Sean Smith, who is suspended for the first three games of the season due to a guilty plea in his DUI case.
The Texans also have a tough defense, led by the incomparable J.J. Watt. Watt was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 with 20.5 sacks, second only to Justin Houston’s 22 sacks. Watt is flanked by Jadeveon Clowney, last year’s top-overall pick. Clowney is seeing his first game action since undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee, and will be on a snap limit.
Watt will be going against the 2013 first-overall pick in Eric Fisher, who this week was moved from left to right tackle. Kansas City’s line is its main weakness and certainly something the Texans can exploit with Watt, Clowney and Vince Wilfork
Prediction
Chiefs 20, Texans 9
Houston has an excellent defense, but it will be put in tough positions with a suspect special teams and a bad offense. The Chiefs should see a big game out of Travis Kelce with coverage linebacker Mike Mohamed out. Jamaal Charles will be able to provide Alex Smith with a safety valve, and Kansas City will escape with a road win.