The Houston Texans picked up their best win of the young season Sunday afternoon with a 31-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Along the way, the defense put up a stout performance despite injuries to cornerbacks Johnathan Joseph and Bradley Roby. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the otherwise dynamic Chiefs offense were held to only 309 total yards and 20:12 of possession time. Continued performances like this, where Houston clearly has the offense’s number, could lead to huge things for Houston. With that, their effort is worth evaluating.
defensive line
Patrick Mahomes may have only been sacked one time, in addition to two QB pressures during the entirety of Sunday’s contest. However, they certainly made their presence felt all day. Mahomes was consistently harassed while the Chiefs only gathered 53 yards on the ground.
Defensive tackle D.J. Reader had three tackles and one for loss, J.J. Watt and Charles Omenihu both got to the quarterback and consistently created pressure. The sack by Omenihu forced a fumble and led to points on the next play: a touchdown run from running back Carlos Hyde.
Mahomes was frequently running for his life and Lesean McCoy couldn’t get anything going on the ground. They dictated the pace of play in Kansas City and deserve a lion’s hare of the credit for Sunday’s victory. Reader, Watt, and the rest of the front-four is clearly the strongest unit of the Texans’ defense. and their continued dominance will be absolutely necessary if Houston is to continue covering their deficiencies in the secondary.
Grade: B+
linebackers
There was nothing particularly dynamic about the Texans’ linebackers on Sunday. However, they did everything that was asked of them. Zach Cunningham and Benardrick McKinney led the team in tackles with five and four respectively and nobody was abused in the pass game as Houston fans are so accustomed to seeing.
The play of the game may have actually come from McKinney. Following Omenihu’s forced fumble, he raced past two Kansas City lineman to retrieve possessions for the Texans’. The effort was nothing short of impressive
This is a talented yet often unorganized unit for Houston. Fortunately, the Texans’ don’t need anyone to be special for them to win games. The overall athleticism of the linebacking corps means that people just need to execute on assignments and today they did just that.
Grade: B-
Defensive Backs
Expectations could not have been lower for the Houston secondary today. Veteran Johnathan Joseph was declared out just before the start of the game and Bradley Roby, Houston’s best corner-back so far, was ruled out early. That said, the unit put forward a great effort.
When Roby was playing, he matched up very well with Tyreek Hill and, for the most part, did an excellent job on containing him. Tashaun Gipson took advantage of a poor decision from Patrick Mahomes to give the second-year signal caller his first turnover of the season. Lonnie Johnson made a few excellent plays in man coverage, flashing the potential the front office saw when selecting him in the second round.
Justin Reid may have been completed Moss’d by Tyreek Hill. Philip Gaines may have been frequently targeted and even abused for a portion of the games. However, these are forgivable offenses, the good outweighed the bad. In a game against the league’s top passing offense, the secondary needed to avoid being horrific. Mahomes was held to less than 300 yards passing and Travis Kelce was held to only 58 receiving yards. They delivered as fine of a performance as you’ll see against the Chiefs.
Grade: B+
special teams
The issues with kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn continue to grow. He missed another extra point, his third of the season, matching the most of his career going back to 2017 when they first turned to him. Fairbairn also missed a 46-yard field goal. Fairbairn is proving to not be as reliable as he was in 2018, and the Texans almost paid for it against the Chiefs.
Interestingly, punter Bryan Anger did not see the field for the Texans. It was the first time in franchise history the Texans did not punt.
