The Kansas City Chiefs will get the opportunity to get back in the win column as they host the Houston Texans. Kansas City is riddled with injuries, so it will be interesting to see what they do against a Texans team that is rather healthy and just came off a dominant win against the Falcons.
Here are five things to watch for during Sunday’s game:
New left guard Stefen Wisniewski
The Chiefs’ offensive line has a new face this week. The team brought in Wisniewski because of an injury to LG Andrew Wylie suffered in the 13-19 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The Chiefs are already without starting LT Eric Fisher, so the offensive line looks thin this week as they prepare to face the J.J. Watt and the Texans’ defensive line.
It will be interesting to see how much playing time Wisniewski gets against the Texans considering he was just signed. Andy Reid said there’s some carryover from the Eagles to the Chiefs because of Doug Pederson. Wisniewski has been in the NFL for eight years and was the starting left guard for the Eagles when they won the Super Bowl LII. If Wisniewski can get up to speed, it’s reasonable to expect him to get a decent amount of snaps Sunday.
The Chiefs have struggled to protect Patrick Mahomes while they’ve been down two starters. The offensive line gave up four sacks and multiple QB hits against the Colts. Wisniewski could offer a veteran presence along an offensive line that sorely needs it.
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Defensive line without Chris Jones and Xavier Williams
Jones, one of the Chiefs’ best defensive players, is week-to-week with a groin injury suffered against the Colts. This is a big loss for the Chiefs considering he is one of their best pass rushers and constantly makes plays in the backfield. It will be important for Steve Spagnuolo to match Jones’ production Jones with schemed pressure.
The Chiefs will also be without Williams, one of their top run stuffers. So much like the offensive line, the defensive line is also starting to get thin. The Chiefs will most likely look toward Derrick Nnadi and Khalen Saunders to make up for the losses of Jones and Williams. The Chiefs also brought in veteran DT Terrell McClain, who could see some action this week.
It will be interesting how well Nnadi and Saunders do against the Texans. It’s a contract year for Jones, so this could be a taste of what the Chiefs’ defense looks like without him.
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Possible return for Tyreek Hill
Hill might return this week after suffering a sternoclavicular dislocation in Week 1 against the Jaguars. Hill received a questionable designation on the final injury report.
The offense struggled last week against the Colts as they only put up 13 points. Having Hill back would be a huge step toward getting the offense back on track. Although it wouldn’t solve all of the Chiefs’ offensive struggles, with Sammy Watkins not practicing this week it would be good to have Hill on the field so that Patrick Mahomes has a true No. 1 receiver to throw to.
The Chiefs have had good performances out of Demarcus Robinson, Mecole Hardman and Byron Pringle in the absence of Hill, but none of them has the talent and speed Hill has, which helped make the Chiefs the most explosive offense in the NFL in 2018.
Hopefully, Hill makes his return against Houston, but don’t be surprised to see the Chiefs sit him for another week. Kansas City has a quick turnaround, playing against the Denver Broncos on Thursday night in Week 7.
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Deshaun Watson vs. Patrick Mahomes
This is the first time Mahomes and Watson will play against each other in a regular-season game. It’s a highly anticipated matchup of two of the top quarterbacks from the 2017 NFL draft.
Mahomes and Watson have both found success early in their careers. They made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and they’ve both made the playoffs as starters. Mahomes, of course, was the 2018 league MVP.
The two will always be connected, as it could have easily have been the opposite way around with Watson being on the Chiefs and Mahomes on the Texans. It will be interesting to see how their careers compare down the road, but this Sunday may be the beginning of a big-time AFC rivalry.
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Tyrann Mathieu facing off against his former team
Mathieu will play against one of his former teams and will be looking to make a big impact. While he was only on the Texans roster for a season, and there aren’t any hard feeling between the two, Mathieu knows the Houston team and could provide insight on how to beat them. He even has an idea of what to expect from coach Bill O’Brien.
Mathieu’s experience with Houston will be beneficial for the Kansas City secondary. Watson threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns last week, while Will Fuller had 217 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Not to mention the other receiver the Chiefs will have to cover is DeAndre Hopkins, who is one of the league’s best wide receivers.
It will be important for Mathieu to provide any knowledge he has about the Texans offense and defense, in order to give the Chiefs the best opportunity to get an edge.
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