KC Chiefs: Five keys to victory vs Texans in Divisional Round
By Gage Stagner
After an especially incredible Wild Card weekend, the Divisional game for the KC Chiefs is set, and it features a familiar foe. Kansas City will get set for the Houston Texans to come to town once again.
The last two weeks for Kansas City Chiefs fans have been a roller coaster, to say the least. The “kingdom” has cheered for the Dolphins, Texans, and now Titans in back to back weeks, trying to find out the perfect path for the Chiefs to the Super Bowl.
They have successfully avoided the dreaded Patriots in the playoffs, but their focus turns to a healthy, confident Houston team that scored 19 unanswered points in their comeback win against the Buffalo Bills.
The Chiefs and Texans squared off in week six of the regular season in Arrowhead. It turned out to be a loss for the Chiefs where they controlled much of the first half and even had a lead late into the fourth quarter.
Now, almost three months later, the two teams look and feel differently, especially this Kansas City team. Let’s take a look at five keys to victory to ensure the week six loss does not repeat itself.
Number 5 – Establish the Run
The Kansas City offense is electric, no one is disputing that. Often called the “legion of zoom,” the weapons and speed is almost unparalleled in the NFL. However, the offense does not reach it’s potential without a run game that supplements the pass-heavy game plan.
It started with Kareem Hunt in the backfield last year and it’s no secret they have really missed his presence. The running back corps have been beat up and inconsistent for the Chiefs this year with Damien Williams missing games related to injury and LeSean McCoy getting random inactive days to keep him fresh for this very game.
Well, the time has come and the welcome site of Damien Williams finally getting healthy is rather relieving for Chiefs fans. His 84-yard run and overall game against the Chargers was exactly what the team needed to see heading into the playoffs. McCoy has been decent when active this year, but Williams is by far the better runner at this point in their careers.
Kansas City running backs have combined to averaged 59.25 yards a game in their four losses; That includes 50 yards on the ground against the Texans in week six. This is the common denominator in the losses and Williams’ spark has immensely helped this cause. The Chiefs have to commit early to Williams and McCoy while also sprinkling in Darwin Thompson.
All three should be healthy and even if the Chiefs get down early, the playoff “scaries” can’t determine the game script. Houston was 25th against the run in the regular season and going away from the run was part of the reason Buffalo gave up such a big lead in the Wild Card game.
If the Chiefs get 100+ yards rushing in this game, they will be set up nicely for a potential win.