How Texans’ path to victory over Chiefs starts with these six important keys
Dec 20, 2024, 10:41 am
The Texans need Nico Collins to have a big game. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
Houston (9-5) at Kansas City (13-1)
Saturday, 1 p.m. EST, NBC/Peacock
BetMGM NFL Odds: Chiefs by 3.
Against the spread: Texans 6-6-2, Chiefs 6-8.
Series record: Chiefs lead 9-5.
Last meeting: Chiefs beat Texans 30-24 in OT on Dec. 18, 2022, in Houston.
Last week: Texans beat Dolphins 20-12; Chiefs beat Browns 21-7.
Texans offense: overall (19), rush (17), pass (19), scoring (13).
Texans defense: overall (4), rush (10), pass (6), scoring (10).
Chiefs offense: overall (14), rush (16), pass (13), scoring (12).
Chiefs defense: overall (5), rush (3), pass (13), scoring (5).
Turnover differential: Texans plus-13, Chiefs plus-2.
Texans player to watch
Derek Stingley had two interceptions and two tackles for loss Sunday, becoming the first cornerback in NFL history with two of each in a game. Both interceptions came in the fourth quarter, including one with less than two minutes remaining that secured Houston’s victory. Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, has started each game this season after being slowed by injuries in this first two years. He has four interceptions in the past four games and is second in the NFL with 17 passes defended.
Chiefs players to watch
Whomever is playing quarterback. The eyes all week have been on two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes, who sustained a high-ankle sprain late in last week's win in Cleveland. Carson Wentz finished that game, and while it appears that Mahomes will be able to start Saturday, the Chiefs feel confident in the veteran backup's ability to win a game should Mahomes be unable to play. Wentz completed his only two passes for 20 yards against the Browns, helping to run out the clock on the 21-7 victory.
Key matchup
The Texans defense against the Chiefs defense. There are stars galore on the other side of the ball — Mahomes and C.J. Stroud, Travis Kelce and Joe Mixon, DeAndre Hopkins and Nico Collins. Yet both teams have relied heavily on their defenses to clinch division titles. Houston has the league's fourth ranked overall and is No. 6 against the pass, while Kansas City is at No. 5 overall and No. 3 against the run. Both are in the top 10 in scoring.
Key injuries
Texans TE Cade Stover could miss a second straight game after having an emergency appendectomy last Saturday night. DT Foley Fatukasi (ankle) and WR John Metchie (shoulder) missed practice this week. ... Along with Mahomes' sore ankle, Chiefs CB Chamarri Conner (concussion) and LT D.J. Humphries (hamstring) missed practice this week.
Series notes
The Chiefs have won the past three meetings, beginning with a 51-31 win in the divisional round of the playoffs in the 2019 season. Houston has not beaten the Chiefs since a 31-24 victory at Arrowhead Stadium on Oct. 13, 2019. The teams also met in a wild-card playoff game in the 2015 season that Kansas City won 30-0.
Stats and stuff
Houston clinched its second straight division title and eighth in franchise history last week. … Texans QB C.J. Stroud needs 252 yards passing to become the ninth quarterback in NFL history with at least 3,500 yards passing in each of his first two seasons. … Houston RB Joe Mixon has had at least 100 yards rushing and a TD in each of his six road games this season. He had a TD reception against the Chiefs last season while with Cincinnati. He also needs 90 yards rushing for his fifth 1,000-yard season. … Texans WR Nico Collins had two TD catches last week and ranks second in the NFL with 94.3 yards receiving per game this season. … Houston TE Dalton Schultz has had five or more catches in his past two road games. … DE Danielle Hunter had 1½ sacks for Houston last week to give him 12 this season, which ranks second in the NFL. … Texans DE Will Anderson Jr. had a sack and his first career forced fumble last week. He has a career-high 10½ sacks this season. ... The Chiefs need one win to match the best regular-season total in franchise history, set in 2020 and matched two years ago. ... Mahomes needs one TD pass to pass Dan Marino (241) for the second-most TD passes in a player's first eight seasons. Mahomes only played in one game his rookie year. ... TE Travis Kelce needs one TD reception to pass Tony Gonzalez (76) for the most in Chiefs history. Kelce has 79 total TDs, four shy of Priest Holmes' franchise record. ... Kelce has 89 catches of 25 yards or more in his career. He needs 10 more to break Rob Gronkowski's record for a tight end. ... DT Chris Jones needs six sacks to pass Neil Smith (85 1/2) for the third most in Chiefs history. ... Chiefs CB Trent McDuffie had his first NFL interception last week against Cleveland. It came in his 48th game.
Fantasy tip
The Chiefs have shared carries between Isiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt since the former's return from an injury. That is unlikely to change Saturday. But given the uncertainty at quarterback for Kansas City, expect both of them to get more work, and perhaps find the end zone once or twice against the Texans.
Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans didn’t hold back in his praise for cornerback Derek Stingley in the locker room Sunday after his second interception of the fourth quarter iced a win over Miami.
“That’s probably the best play I’ve ever seen,” Ryans told the team before giving Stingley a game ball after the 20-12 victory.
Tua Tagovailoa and Miami’s offense got the ball back with just under two minutes left to try to tie it. But on the first play of the drive, Tagovailoa attempted a long pass to Tyreek Hill and Stingley stretched out to grab the ball in between Hill’s hands.
Tagovailoa slowly undid his chin straps and shook his head as he watched Stingley and Houston’s defense celebrate a fourth turnover of the game. Stingley and the entire defense raced to the end zone, where several teammates pretended to place a crown atop his head as he clutched the ball.
“It’s very impressive,” Ryans said. “It’s very rare you see a player make a play that way to end the game. That was an All-Pro-type play. That’s what it looks like when you’re one of the top guys at your position in the league going up, matching it up against one of the best wideouts in the league.”
Earlier in the quarter, Stingley snatched another ball before it could reach Hill inside the 10-yard line with about 10 1/2 minutes to go.
Stingley has played well all season but has taken things up a notch in the past month, with four of his five interceptions coming in the last four games. He also had two tackles for loss Sunday to become the first cornerback in NFL history to have two interceptions and two tackles for loss in a game.
His performance earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
“Can’t say enough about how impactful Stingley has been throughout not only those plays (Sunday), but Stingley has been impactful throughout the entire year,” Ryans said. “I think for the past three wins, he’s been our defensive player of the game. So, when he’s making impact plays, it’s putting us in position to win football games.”
Houston’s win over Miami coupled with a loss by Indianapolis on Sunday gave the Texans (9-5) their second straight AFC South title. Next, they travel to Kansas City on Saturday to face the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs.
Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, was criticized for not living up to expectations in his first two seasons in the league. He struggled to stay on the field, missing 13 games with injuries while fellow cornerback Sauce Gardner, taken a pick behind him by the New York Jets, won AP Defensive Rookie of the Year and twice was selected as an All-Pro.
This year, Stingley has started every game and has defended 17 passes, has 46 tackles and four tackles for loss, which are all career highs.
The former LSU standout was asked if he thinks he’s proved critics wrong with his play this season. He insists he doesn’t care about that.
“My teammates, they know who I am,” he said. “So, really it’s just showing my teammates that they can trust me.”
It’s easy to get teammates and coaches to rave about the season Stingley is having. Getting the player himself to talk about what he’s doing is much more difficult.
And it’s not just that he dislikes talking to reporters. He doesn’t seem to like talking much to anybody.
Quarterback C.J. Stroud shared how the interactions have gone between them when he tells Stingley he should play offense because he has such good hands.
“He doesn’t really talk much … he’s just like mm-hmm,” Stroud said with a laugh. “He doesn’t say nothing. Not too many words out of Sting.”
For now, he’s letting his play speak for him. While others predict that he will make his first Pro Bowl this season and possibly even earn All-Pro honors, he remains focused on the team.
“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m trying to get to the Super Bowl. If it happens, it happens. If it don’t, it’s cool.”