NFL Game of the Week: Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs
The Houston Texans (3-2) travel to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs (4-1) on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. on CBS. The last time these two teams played was two years ago when Deshaun Watson threw five touchdown passes and Patrick Mahomes sat on the bench in a 42-34 Chiefs victory.
The Chiefs come into this game after suffering their first loss in the 2019 season, losing to the Colts 19-13 in a game where the offense seemed more reliant on Patrick Mahomes than ever. The MVP quarterback threw for over 300 yards with a touchdown, while the leading rusher, Damien Williams, only had 23 yards on the ground. On the defensive side, the Chiefs did a great job of stopping Colts quarterback Jacoby Brissett, as he threw for less than 200 yards and tossed an interception. However, the defense couldn’t say the same for running back Marlon Mack, who had a field day, gathering 132 yards on the ground.
The Texans however had everything go their way this past week as they destroyed the Atlanta Falcons, 53-32. Deshaun Watson had probably the best game of his NFL career as he threw for over 400 passing yards and five touchdowns, three of which went to his favorite target not named DeAndre Hopkins: Will Fuller, who also amassed over 200 receiving yards in the victory. The Texans completely took over this game in the second half, outscoring the Falcons 37-15 in quarters three and four after the Falcons went into the locker room with a 17-16 lead at halftime.
For both of these squads, the story has been on the offensive side of the ball. Both quarterbacks were taken in the 2017 NFL draft two picks apart, and both look to be in the running for this year’s MVP award. We’ve seen what both of these high-powered offenses can do when they are on, but we’ve also seen both of them at their absolute lows this season. For the Chiefs, it was a week ago against the Colts, and for the Texans, it was the week before, in which they only put up 10 points against the Kyle Allen-led Panthers in what was a very winnable game for Houston.
In a game where both offenses will trade scores like nobody’s business, it is going to come down to which team has the better defense. Although the Chiefs lost last week, their defense only allowed 19 points with most of those scores coming on field goals. We haven’t really seen star power from the Texans defense yet this season, and the loss of Jadeveon Clowney has become a glaring problem. While the Texans have the momentum, the Chiefs have the odds (favored by 5 points, in fact) and the overall better defense to help contain Deshaun Watson.
Prediction: Kansas City 42, Houston 28
Logan Bourandas is a freshman majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.
