Chiefs 51, Texans 31
Texans vs Chiefs Divisional Round: Good, bad and ugly
Jan 12, 2020, 5:31 pm
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With a chance to host the Titans in the AFC Championship game on the line, the Texans got beat by the Chiefs 31-51 in a thriller. Here are my observations:
The Good
-On their sixth play from scrimmage, the Texans scored a touchdown on a 54-yard Deshaun Watson to Kenny Stills hookup. The Chiefs' defense fell for the bubble screen which left Stills wide open. It was the Texans' first opening drive touchdown in postseason history (10 games).
-Deshaun Watson played his ass off. 31/52 for 388 yards with two passing touchdowns, plus six carries for 37 yards and a touchdown rushing. His escapability prolonged plays and always makes for an entertaining watch. He's the football equivalent to an offensive rebound the way he extends plays. My favorite play was the sack he took, but made the Chiefs defense work for almost 10 seconds to get on their first possession of the 3rd quarter.
-Watson looked great because he had a full compliment of healthy receivers. Will Fuller has been the main culprit of bad health. He had 89 yards on five catches. DeAndre Hopkins and Stills, the healthy guys, combined for 198 yards on 12 catches and a touchdown. If the defense can get their act together, this offense (when healthy) can be dangerous.
The Bad
-Lonnie Johnson Jr was called for a 28-yard pass interference on Kelce that led to the Chiefs' second touchdown. He was getting his head around and made minimal contact, but the refs threw the flag anyway. Later in the first half, DeAndre Hopkins dropped a key 3rd down when Tyrann Mathieu made obvious contact before the ball got there, but the refs didn't throw a flag there. Pass interference calls and reviews have been a complete joke all year.
-Down 17 with 11:45 left in the game on 4th&4 from Chiefs, Bill O'Brien called a timeout because he was about to punt. Inexcusable in that situation for O'Brien not to have a play dialed up. Again, situational football isn't his thing. He needs to relinquish some control to someone/people he knows and respects that'll help him navigate situational football, as well as some other things.
-Failure to continue to run the ball effectively was a contributing factor to this loss. The Texans ran it 21 times for 94 yards at a 4.5 yard per carry average. I'm no genius, but that means a lot of shorter distances to go 2nd & 3rd downs if you can rush for your average. This was the same thing the Ravens did. They too panicked unnecessarily and decided to start playing flag football. Dance with the one you got there with instead of shooting your shot at the one you can't get with.
The Ugly
-After going up 24-0, the Texans gave up a 58-yard kickoff return, 25-yard pass to Travis Kelce, and a 17-yard touchdown pass to Damien Williams to make it 24-7. They followed up their next offensive possession by missing on a 4th&4 fake punt giving the Chiefs a short field. Next thing you know, it's 24-14 and the Chiefs started shifting momentum. Then...
-...the Chiefs really made it a game when Deandre Carter fumbled the ensuing kickoff recovered by Darwin Thompson and returned to the six yard line. The Chiefs scored on 3rd&Goal when Mahomes found Kelce after scrambling. It went to 24-21 and Arrowhead Stadium turned back into a party. IT WAS STILL THE FIRST HALF! It was all down hill from there.
-The last 35 minutes of the game was all UGLY! How the hell do you go up 24-0 on the road, then give up 41 unanswered?!? Romeo Crennel should be fired immediately! People will blame O'Brien and his gambles that didn't work, but the defense failed to stop or slow down the Chiefs.
I stated on Twitter before the game started that Chris Jones being out for the Chiefs was bigger than Will Fuller being healthy for the Texans. That was true for the first 20 minutes of the game. The Texans proceeded to implode as if the moment was too big for them. They compounded mistakes by making more egregious errors, then componded them by making tactical blunders, and ultimately failed to execute. I hope this serves as a learning tool for the organization moving forward. The players didn't quit when things started going south. That is a testament to O'Brien. If he was as bad as most think he is, his team would quit on him. While this sin't an endorsement, it is a sign that the players like him even though no one else appears to. When you give up a 51-7 run in football, you'll lose every time; unless you're up by more than 45 points. Word to Booger McFarland.
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Feb 28, 2025, 3:51 pm
Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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