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In an era where explosive offense is key to success, “Sunday Night Football” was a defensive masterclass by both the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs.
However, the Texans, the number one defense in the league, showcased why they’re top of the heap this season in a 20-10 victory on the road.
This game had massive playoff implications for both teams, as the Texans are now 8-5 after winning their fifth straight game, while the Chiefs fall below .500 at 6-7 with only four games remaining on the schedule.
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Kansas City – winners of three straight AFC championships – now sits 10th in the conference and faces just a 16% chance of reaching the postseason.
It didn’t matter how hostile the environment was, or the fact that the Chiefs were treating this game like it was the playoffs. Houston’s defense delivered as it has week after week, and it started immediately in this one.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense ran only 14 total plays on their first three drives, all of which ended with punts. Then, Mahomes threw an interception on a pass intended for Juju Smith-Schuster, as Jalen Pitre jumped the route, deflected the pass and managed to find it in the air to secure the ball to his chest as he hit the ground.
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Meanwhile, C.J. Stroud and the Texans’ offense, a group that struggled in the playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium last year, did well in the eyes of pressure on their first few drives.
After securing the first points of the game with a field goal on their second drive, Stroud orchestrated a 90-yard march down the field for the game’s first touchdown — a nine-yard pass to rookie running back Woody Marks to make it a 10-0 game. A key play on that drive was a second-and-7 pass after escaping pressure, where Nico Collins got open for his quarterback and took his catch 53 yards to set up the Texans in great position in the red zone.
As the half ended 10-0, the Texans had to know that Mahomes and the Chiefs would come out firing in the third quarter. That doesn’t mean they were entirely prepared for it.
After forcing a three-and-out, Mahomes finally got something going, as the Chiefs went eight plays and 56 yards for their own touchdown. It was Kareem Hunt breaking a Danielle Hunter tackle behind the line on a fourth-and-1 play at the goal line. Hunt punched it in and it was a new ball game.
The Chiefs would tie it with a Harrison Butker 36-yard field goal, but the score would stay locked at 10-10 as both teams continued to make fantastic defensive efforts.
The turning point in this contest, though, came when the Chiefs decided to get greedy on fourth-and-1 from their own 31-yard line. Andy Reid has always trusted Mahomes to get the job done, but he wasn’t able to as his pass for Rashee Rice went incomplete.
Houston flipped momentum, and they made it work in their favor.
Stroud made a tremendous play on third-and-3 as Chiefs star defensive lineman Chris Jones, who already sacked him in this game, was barreling down looking for another. Stroud worked to his right, eluding Jones and fired a strike to Jayden Higgins to extend the drive.
A few plays later, Dare Ogunbowale, who rarely sees the field other than special teams, scored from five yards out after Marks came out of the game after a big hit.
Now 17-10 in favor of Houston, Mahomes and the Chiefs were even more desperate as the clock continued to tick. But once again, they weren’t able to get the job done on fourth down as Rashee Rice dropped what looked like a good ball that would’ve kept the drive alive.
The game-sealing play was the Texans’ third interception on Mahomes, as he threw a ball behind his trusty tight end Travis Kelce. While it was a catchable pass, Kelce had trouble hauling it in, and it hung up too much as linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair snagged it to flip the field once again.
Marks picked up a crucial first down on the following drive and the Texans walked the clock down until Ka’imi Fairbairn buried the final dagger, as his made field goal drained the last amount of hope for this game on the Chiefs’ end.
In the box score, Mahomes had a brutal performance with 12-of-30 for 131 yards and his three picks. He was the team’s leading rusher on the ground, too, with 59 yards on seven carries.
For the Texans, Stroud was 15-of-31 for 203 yards and one touchdown with Collins finishing four for 121 yards on his eight targets. Marks had 65 rushing yards on 24 carries as well.
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