On Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have to deal with the Houston Texans pass-rush. He is all too aware of what he is getting into, even if he has yet to play them.
The Texans pass-rushing unit — highlighted by defensive end J.J. Watt, outside linebacker Whitney Mercilus and defensive tackle D.J. Reader — is ninth in the NFL in sacks (15). According to ESPN, they are 10th in team pass rush win rate, doing so at a 48% clip.
One member of the Texans pass-rush that stands out, in particular, is the guy with his own shoe line: J.J. Watt. The three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year has racked up four sacks, 13 quarterback hits, and 14 pressures, per Pro Football Reference, on the year.
Mahomes isn’t one to undersell Watt.
“You definitely have to [be aware where Watt is]. He’s a guy that’s had success in this league for a long time and he knows how to get to the quarterback,” Mahomes told Kansas City reporters Wednesday. “As far as power and speed or whatever it is, he can really do it all. He’s a very intelligent player as well.”
The rest of the unit isn’t too shabby, either. Mercilus has five sacks and an NFL-leading four forced fumbles on the year. Both he and Watt are benefiting from Reader; a bludgeoning defensive tackle with a career-high 2.5 sacks on the year.
With Watt, Mercilus, and Reader set with the task of taking him down, Mahomes knows he will have to be at his best on Sunday at home.
Said Mahomes: “They have a couple guys on the D-line like that so we have to make sure that we have a good game plan going in and knowing I need to be on top of my throws and take what’s there and not necessarily hold onto the ball extra long and put our team in a bad position.”
Mahomes will have to do so with a hurt ankle and an offensive line missing their left tackle (Eric Fisher, core muscle surgery) and, presumably, their left guard in Andrew Wylie (ankle); as their starting left guard, Cam Irving, had to shift to the left tackle position due to Fisher’s injury.
The Texans pass-rush will begin their quest of sacking Mahomes on Sunday, at 12:00 p.m. CT.
