2. Few Offensive Series in the Second Half
The Chiefs had three of them. Three!
The first was 10 plays and ended with a touchdown pass from Mahomes to Hill. The other two were both three-and-outs. On the Chiefs last series of the game, they lost three yards.
3. The Run Defense
More like run “defense,” am I right?
The Texans carried the ball 41 times for 192 yards, which is 4.7 yards per pop. Houston scored three of their four touchdowns on the ground, and the other touchdown was a catch-and-run by the team’s back-up running back, Duke Johnson.
The shake. The twirl. The TD.
— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) October 13, 2019
Second rushing score for No. 4!@deshaunwatson | #HOUvsKC pic.twitter.com/Q8LNmXG2gs
One specific run that comes to mind is Watson’s touchdown dash where he beat Frank Clark one-on-one to reach the end zone. Clark looked terrible on that miss, and it cost Kansas City badly.
4. Darron Lee‘s Big Whiff
With just around four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Texans faced a 2nd-and-9. Watson hit Hopkins right around the line of scrimmage, and Chiefs linebacker Darron Lee had a shot at making a tackle for either no gain or a minimal gain. Instead, Hopkins showed why the Jets gave up on their former first-round pick as he easily bypassed Lee en route to gaining a first down.
5. Lack of Quarterback Protection
Man, that offensive line…woof. Help us, Eric Fisher: you’re our only hope. But seriously, it’s taking a toll on Mahomes. Check out this Tweet:
This play was the game.#Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes appears to re-injure his ankle and also smacks his head off the turf.
— Pete Sweeney (@pgsween) October 14, 2019
Before: 10/16, 189 yards, 2 TDs (about 20 mins. of game time)
After: 9/19, 84 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT (about 40 mins. game time) pic.twitter.com/ZqY0b2dTE1
And that defender came through the right side of the offensive line, which is considered the stronger side of this banged-up unit. The line needs shoring up, and quickly. If Mahomes goes down, the season goes with him.