Chiefs handle Texans, move one step closer to one-seed

The Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) defeat the Houston Texans (9-5) at Arrowhead, 27-19 after forcing two turnovers and a big day from Xavier Worthy.

This past week started with the Kansas City Chiefs (14-1) being underdogs in their own stadium with backup quarterback Carson Wentz likely being the one under center against the Houston Texans (9-6). By the time kickoff happened, Kansas City was 3.5-point favorites and in Patrick Mahomes' mind, the start was really never in question.

“I ask a lot from the guys around me, and so I feel like if I'm going to ask them to play through pain, if I'm going to ask them to play through little nicks and bruises and stuff like that, I got to do it as well,” Mahomes said. “That's something that I pride myself on is being out there with my guys and playing football. I'm not going to put us in a position to be in a bad spot or lose a football game but if I feel like I can compete and win, I'm going to be out on that football field.”

As it turns out, the drama surrounding Mahomes' ankle was a bit blown out of proportion. Head coach Andy Reid admitted after the game that there was a point in time where he doubted his two-time MVP would make it back in time for this game, but Mahomes had a different idea. He took every single snap in practice this past week saying he knew by the second practice he was good to go, displaying a certain amount of toughness that carried over to this game against Houston.

Mahomes said he was not worried about running, but it was the stopping and cutting he felt ready for yet. Even so, he set the tempo early, rushing for 27 yards on the first drive, including a 15-yard scramble that ended with him jumping and barreling his way into the endzone through contact. The Chiefs had one of their more complete games of the season, against a quality Texans opponent as they closed in on securing the AFC’s number-one seed, beating the AFC South champions 27-19 and finishing the season undefeated at Arrowhead.

“I didn't think he'd be able to get out and run like that or would run like that, but he did a great job with all that,” Reid said. “He had that mindset right from the get-go that he was going to be out there and going … Most guys don't come back from that like he did, but he set his mind to it and then he jumped in that training room and stayed in there and they worked on him, and they did a great job with that, our trainers. But most guys don't do that and you're right, it sends a message to the whole team and our guys are real good with it. Our leaders are good in that way; they try to play through things like that.”

Kansas City’s defense set the tempo on Houston’s opening drive, picking up right where they left off last week when they forced six turnovers. Rookie safety Jaden Hicks came up with his third interception in his young career when quarterback C.J. Stroud was targeting wide receiver Nico Collins on a third and long, which led to Mahomes’ scramble for a touchdown.

Houston then went on scoring 10 unanswered, to take a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter. On the Chiefs' third possession though, they matriculated the ball down the field for a 13-play, 82-yard drive that lasted over five and a half minutes. They threw their way down the field most of that drive, but it was running back Kareem Hunt who was able to punch it in from three yards out. Hunt had a nice day, rushing for 55 yards on just 11 carries, good for 5 yards a pop, while also hauling in two catches for 24 yards. His exclamation point on the day was the game's last drive where he broke free for 20 yards, sliding down after the two-minute warning, allowing Mahomes to take two straight kneels to end the game.

Hicks’ interception was not the only time the Chiefs took it from Stroud. After going 48 straight games to begin his career without an interception, third-year cornerback Trent McDuffie brought in his second in as many weeks. This one was huge, coming inside the two-minute warning of the first half with the Texans inside Kansas City territory. Instead of Houston taking a 17-14 lead with a touchdown or bringing the Chiefs lead to 13-14 with a field goal, Mahomes got the ball back and was able to find running back Samaje Perine for a 36-yard gain to get into field goal range to take a 17-10 lead into the half. Perine wound up being the Chiefs’ second-leading receiver with three catches for 50 yards.

Houston nearly tied the game quickly into the second half after an easy drive that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Stroud to wide receiver Tank Dell, who left with a brutal leg injury on the catch. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed the extra point though, so the Chiefs maintained a one-point lead. Before the injury with just south of 12 minutes to go in the third quarter, Dell was torching the Chiefs’ secondary to the tune of six catches for 98 yards and a touchdown.

Hollywood Brown suited up for Kansas City for the first time since their first preseason game back in early August. He was a welcomed addition, tallying five catches for 45 yards, many of which were chain-moving plays where he was able to get open against man coverage. Wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and Travis Kelce were chain movers as well, combining for nine catches on 12 targets for 67 yards, finishing as the Chiefs' fourth and fifth-leading receivers. Mahomes spoke very complimentary of getting back the offseason’s biggest addition.

“I thought (Brown) did a great job,” Mahomes said. “I missed him here and there on a couple throws but I thought he was getting open. He was winning against man-coverage which is huge and he's a couple throws away from having a really really big game and so, just getting them in there and getting the football in his hands and getting where he can feel confident in running through tackles and stuff like that. I thought he did a great job of that and we'll get him involved more and more as the season goes on.”

The offense completely funneled through Xavier Worthy, which appeared to be a very purposeful part of the game plan. He was the Chiefs’ top receiver, garnering 11 targets, while bringing in seven of them for 65 yards and a touchdown. The rookie also took three carries for 10 yards. He nearly toe-tapped a contested catch in the back of the endzone on a deep pass from Mahomes but was only able to get one foot down, although it would have been a spectacular grab. Most of his other targets were short ones, but he got the ball early and often. His touchdown in the third quarter answered the Texans' early third-quarter touchdown to give Kansas City a 24-16 lead heading into the fourth.

“The one that stood out to me in particular was the catch that was out of bounds,” Mahomes said. “I mean, that's one of the best corners in the league and for him to go up and make a catch on on a guy like that, I know he ended up out of bounds, but that's what you want to see … but he's getting more and more comfortable. I think since the Bills game you can see that, just now we got to continue to work him and give him more opportunities downfield. You saw that even when he was out of bounds he made a big-time catch that was close.”

“You can tell when a guy's not thinking and when he's just playing and letting his natural ability kind of work and in that Bills game, he was playing fast, and I think that's something that gave me confidence to give him more and more opportunities and he's kind of ran with it.”

The Chiefs and Texans exchanged fourth quarter field goals to keep the Chiefs ahead for the eight-point victory. Houston had the ball down eight with just over five minutes to go but was forced to punt with just under four minutes left when they were facing a fourth and 23 after a well-timed blitz called by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo where cornerback Joshua Williams came screaming off the edge to take down Stroud for a 12-yard loss. What eventually ensued was that game-sealing run by Hunt.

Williams’ sack was the Chiefs' second on the day, after defensive tackle Mike Pennell also registered his third of the season. While two sacks are nothing to write home about, they had Stroud under pressure all afternoon, hitting him 11 times. Defensive end George Karlaftis and defensive tackle Chris Jones had four quarterback hits a piece.

The Chiefs put a bottle on the Texans' rushing attack with Joe Mixon being held to 57 yards. Stroud had a decent day through the air, throwing for 244 and two touchdowns, but the two interceptions and two sacks made all of the difference. The Kansas City defensive backfield registered seven pass defenses and held all-star wide receiver Nico Collins to seven catches and 60 yards.

There were a lot of good things for the Chiefs to hang their hat on after their 14th win of the season. First and foremost, the health of Mahomes seems just fine, as showcased by his 260 yards passing, two total touchdowns, zero interceptions, just one sack taken, and his 33-yards scrambling. After getting punched in the mouth some this game, the defense responded by limiting Houston to 311 total yards and taking the ball away from a very capable offense. On offense, they put up 375 total yards against a top-five defense and got back to their old ways of converting over 50 percent of their third downs. They also turned five red zone trips into three touchdowns.

Jones (calf), left tackle Jawaan Taylor (knee) and Jack Cochrane (ankle) all left the game with injuries and with the Chiefs playing three days from now, their statuses are uncertain, aside from Cochrane, who did suffer a fractured ankle. The Chiefs wrap up their three games in 11 days with a Christmas Day road trip take on the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-5) at noon CDT.