One of the more entertaining parts of free agency each year is hearing new players opine about their previous clubs.
On Thursday, according to Jeff Rosen of the Kansas City Star, new Kansas City Chiefs safety Tyrann Mathieu claimed that the Houston Texans wanted no part of the AFC West champions in the playoffs.
As the playoff field was set, it would have been difficult for the No. 3 seed Texans to face the No. 1 seed Chiefs. If Houston had prevailed over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC wild-card, rather than succumbing to a 21-7 loss, the Texans would have gone to New England for the divisional round. Given that the Patriots have not lost a home playoff game since the 2012 AFC Championship game, it would have been a tall order for the road Texans to pull off the upset and face Kansas City in the AFC Championship game at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes was a super weapon for the Chiefs in 2018. The second-year signal caller completed 383 passes on 580 attempts for 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and compiled a 113.8 passer rating. The Chiefs averaged 35.3 points per game, the most in the NFL.
If the Texans were worried about what the Chiefs could do, perhaps it was rooted in past experience. On Oct. 8, 2017, on Sunday Night Football, Kansas City torched the Texans 42-34 with Alex Smith under center. Who knows what they would have done with Mahomes?
