KC Chiefs: Winners and losers from Divisional Round vs Texans

WINNER: PATRICK MAHOMES

He might not win the MVP award this year, but make no mistake, my friends… Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL. He had a MONSTER game on Sunday, completing 23 of his 35 pass attempts for 321 yards and FIVE touchdowns. Mahomes also led the team in rushing with 53 yards off of seven carries.

In a game where he needed to step up, Mahomes did that and then some. He was fearless in this one and KC will need that same kind of production from him against the Titans next weekend.

WINNER: MECOLE HARDMAN

Mecole Hardman might not have made a huge impact in the receiving game, but his 58 yard kick return got the team and the crowd re-energized after a brutal start. From there, the Chiefs only had to run two plays before they found the end zone and got the momentum turning. That wouldn’t have happened if Hardman didn’t have that big return.

WINNER: STOPPING THE FAKE PUNT

Speaking of momentum… The Texans were up 24-7 in the second quarter and the Chiefs forced a three and out. That’s when things got weird.

Instead of punting the football back to Kansas City, the Texans attempted a fake, which was stopped two yards shy of the first down. This gave the Chiefs the football on the Texans 33 yard line and they went on to score four plays later, making it 24-14 and the momentum fully turning in Kansas City’s favor.

I understand Bill O’Brien wanting to try and get the momentum back, but that wasn’t a good time to do it. They still had a large lead and had been cruising prior to that, so getting cute there was not a good decision by O’Brien, but it’s easy to say that when you know the end result.

KC stuffing Houston on the fake punt was a HUGE momentum shifter and when it happened, I told my friend, “This is where the game changes.” For once, I wasn’t wrong.