Houston has already locked up the No. 4 seed in the postseason. They take on a team they may have to get through if they want to play in their first Super Bowl.
HOUSTON — It’s back on the road for the Houston Texans, taking the field today in a place where few teams leave with wins.
Houston will take on the defending back-to-back Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead today. It’s the second game in a stretch of three games in 11 days for both the Texans and the Chiefs.
The big news this week has been the health of KC quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain in last week’s win over Cleveland. All signs point to the future Hall-of-Famer getting the start after a week of practice.
How big of a key is Mahomes? Earlier in the week when his status for the game was in question, Houston was favored by as many as three points. Now that he’s expected to play, that swung the other way, putting the Chiefs as a field goal favorite.
Meanwhile, Houston is coming off a win last week over Miami, which – combined with the Indianapolis Colts’ loss to the Broncos – gave the Texans their second straight AFC South title.
While the Texans offense hasn’t been this year what it was last year, the team’s defense has turned it up lately. Last week, Houston picked off the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa three times, including two from AFC Defensive Player of the Week Derek Stingley Jr. The defense also forced a fumble on a Tua sack.
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While Houston is currently the No. 4 seed in the AFC, the team does still have a chance to move up in the final three games of the season. They’re currently one game back of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who hold the No. 3 seed and two games back of the Buffalo Bills at No. 2.
The Texans own the tiebreaker over the Bills because Houston won their game against Buffalo earlier this season. As for the Steelers, it would be the best record played within the conference that determines it. Both Houston and Pittsburgh have identical 7-2 records in the AFC. After that, it comes down to best record in common games, which Houston holds the edge (Texans beat the Colts twice, topped the Cowboys and lost to the Jets. The Steelers lost to the Colts and Cowboys, but beat the Jets). Both the Steelers and the Texans have Kansas City and Baltimore remaining on their schedules.
Sack attack
The Texans rank second in the NFL with 45 sacks this season and need just one on Saturday to tie the franchise record, set just last year. Danielle Hunter leads the way and is second in the NFL with 12 sacks while Will Anderson Jr. is seventh with a career-best 10 1/2. They’re the only teammates in the NFL with double-digit sacks this season.
“They continue to wreak havoc on the opposing offenses, playing on their side of the line of scrimmage,” Ryans said.
Stingley’s success
Houston cornerback Derek Stingley had two interceptions against the Dolphins last week to give him four in the last four games, and he was part of a defense that forced four turnovers, improving their differential to plus-13 on the season.
Stingley, who ranks second in the NFL with a career-high 17 passes defended, also had two tackles for loss on Sunday to become the first cornerback in NFL history with two interceptions and two tackles for loss in the same game.
“If you get the other team to turn the ball over three times in the game normally the odds of winning go up,” Stingley said. “So, we got four, trying to get five next game. Just keep it going. Keep playing together as a unit.”
Good King Wentz-eslaus
The Chiefs signed veteran Carson Wentz to a lucrative one-year deal to back up Mahomes, and he would be pushed into duty should the two-time MVP struggle on his balky ankle. Wentz completed his only two passes for 20 yards against the Browns, allowing the Chiefs to run out the clock on their 21-7 victory.
Left tackle trouble
The Chiefs are still uncertain how they will proceed at left tackle after sliding standout guard Joe Thuney into the position and starting Mike Caliendo in his place last week. That came after the Chiefs unsuccessfully tried Kingsley Suamataia and Wanya Morris at the position, and after former Pro Bowl pick D.J. Humphries hurt his hamstring in his season debut.
“I thought (Thuney) battled his tail off and really was throwing it out there,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “He did a nice job.”
Hollywood’s time to star
Chiefs wide receiver Marquise Brown will make his debut against the Texans. The high-profile free-agent signing hurt his shoulder on the first play of the preseason and needed surgery, but he returned to practice last week and has looked good.
“It’s not like he hurt his leg. He was out there rolling around,” Mahomes said. “More than anything he is getting back in football shape and him feeling confident he can go out there and take hits, which he’s been cleared to do.”