Kansas City Chiefs: Five things to watch vs Texans in Divisional Round
HAS THE RUN GAME IMPROVED ENOUGH?
Sure, the Chiefs did a fine job limiting Watson from airing it out in their earlier meeting, but Houston won that game because of their run game and the Chiefs’ inability to stop it. We’ve seen the defense improve throughout the regular season, but I’m still worried about their run game, especially in the big moments.
Carlos Hyde rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown the last time these two teams met while Watson had two rushing scores himself. That proved to be vital right there and the Texans would be foolish not to lean on their run game against this time around.
If Houston goes that route and decides to run the ball, will the Chiefs be able to shut it down and get the Texans offense off the field? At one point, the Chiefs were the third worst rushing defense in the league, but by season’s end, they “jumped” to the seventh worst in the league, which might sound silly, but it is something and shows they improved.
Shutting down the Houston run game is key to victory in this game.
“ARROWHEAD ADVANTAGE”
I’m just going to say it. Arrowhead Stadium isn’t the home field advantage that people make it out to be. Is it a loud place to play? Yes, no doubt. Is it a scary place to play in the postseason? No, not at all.
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In all of their home playoff games since Andy Reid became the head coach of the KC Chiefs, the team has won just one game at Arrowhead Stadium. That’s it – One. So while I get the whole “They’re at home, they can’t lose” mentality, that’s not true at all and we all know that because we’ve witnessed some terrible home playoff losses in recent years.
Thankfully Kansas City proved they could win at home in the playoffs last year, but they weren’t great at home this year even in the regular season, going 5-3 at home and 7-1 on the road. It’ll be interesting to see if the Texans keep this game close, if the Arrowhead anxiety truly creeps its way in.
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So many fans are so quick to dismiss the Texans in this game and I’m curious as to why. Houston is a good team, who beat some tough teams, just like the Chiefs did. They also, you know, beat the Chiefs already this season.
Next. Five Keys to Victory vs Texans in Divisional Round. dark
Yes, a lot has changed since then, but Chiefs fans should know better than anyone not to count out any opponent in the playoffs. That might just come back to bite you at the end of the day.