Houston Texans can pull off an upset over the Chiefs in Week 1 if these things happen

The Texans travel to Kansas City as significant underdogs in Week 1, but here are three ways Deshaun Watson’s team can come out on top.

The NFL regular season is finally here and Thursday Night’s matchup between the Texans and Chiefs should give fans an exciting start to the 2020 campaign. The quarterback duel between Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson should be terrific theater.

Of course, the game goes much deeper than that single matchup. If Houston wants to spring the upset they’ll need big efforts from everyone on the roster. There’s a reason why they are nine-point underdogs. The Chiefs have the roster talent to win this game comfortably.

With that being said, the Texans have more than a puncher’s chance to pull off the upset. They can use the following three tactics to upset fans at Arrowhead on Opening Night.

3. Spread their passing targets around

DeAndre Hopkins is no longer the featured guy for the Texans offense. That robs Watson of his best playmaker. It’s imperative for head coach Bill O’Brien to turn that negative into a positive in this game.

He can do that by keeping the Chiefs’ defense off balance by throwing the ball to multiple receivers. The approach must be to utilize quantity over quality. Brandin Cooks is questionable for the game so it’s unclear whether or not he’ll be in the mix. Even if he isn’t, Houston can still rely on guys like Will Fuller, Randall Cobb, and Kenny Stills to torment the Kansas City secondary.

The more often Houston’s offense can isolate their talented receivers against the Chiefs’ nickel or dime secondary personnel the better off they’re going to be. It will be a challenge for O’Brien to scheme that plan into action on a consistent basis, but it’s the situation he’s put himself in by dealing Hopkins.