KC Chiefs: Good, Bad, Ugly VS Houston Texans In Wild Card Game
The Ugly: Offense
Look, it’s tough to classify anything as “Ugly” in a 30-0 rout of the other team, but the Kansas City offense was not brilliant in this one at all.
Sure, they put 30 points on the board, but managed to only score six points after forcing four turnovers. The game really should have been out of reach going into half time, but the offense just looked bland.
Something to keep in mind here is that the Texans defense is pretty dang good.
Alex Smith had a reputation for being dominant in his previous postseason starts (nine touchdowns with no interceptions), but that didn’t carry over in this one. Smith threw his first ever playoff interception early in the first quarter, but luckily it didn’t lead to anything.
Smith also overshot Albert Wilson on what would have been an easy touchdown. The game would have been 14-0 in not even a quarter of play, and no, while it didn’t matter in the long run, you can’t overshoot guys in the playoffs. If Smith misses that throw against the Patriots next weekend, they’ll be able to even the gap a lot easier than Houston.
Overall, the offense ended the day with 314 yards (to Houston’s 226), 18 first downs (to Houston’s 14), and had the ball for 34 minutes (to Houston’s 25).
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Smith threw for 173 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. He ran for 27 yards, and should have had a lot more, but a 64 yard run was negated by an Albert Wilson holding penalty.
As mentioned in a prior slide, Travis Kelce had a nice day with 128 yards receiving. Chris Conley‘s lone reception was for a touchdown, and a critical one at that, that put the game at 20-0 in the third quarter.
The run game had a decent day with 141 yards on the ground, including a Spencer Ware touchdown.
Something to keep in mind here is that the Texans defense is pretty dang good. They have J.J. Watt, who didn’t even get a hand on Smith all day, which is reassuring for the offensive line’s sake.
Hopefully, the offense can pick it up next week. They won this game without their best stuff, but (likely) not having Maclin next week could really hurt them, and they need to work Wilson and Conley into the game plan more.
Thirty points is still pretty good for a “not so good” offense, right?
Next: We're on to New England