KC Chiefs: Winners and losers from Divisional Round vs Texans

WINNER: FRANK CLARK

I was concerned about Chris Jones being deemed inactive for this game, but Frank Clark got the job done without him. Clark finished the game with three sacks and four quarterback hits and proved that while it’s better to have Jones out there, it’s not a necessity for Clark to have a big game.

WINNER: OVERALL PASS RUSH

Clark was great and totaled three sacks on Deshaun Watson, but the pass rush was hitting the Texans signal caller all day long. They registered five sacks all together (four on Watson, another on Kenny Stills) while also compiling eight quarterback hits. The other two sacks went to Rashad Fenton (what a steal he’s been) and Dorian O’Daniel (wait what?!).

In the Chiefs’ first meeting with the Texans, they didn’t sack Watson once and that was the difference here; Get pressure on him and the game is completely different.

WINNER: OFFENSIVE LINE

Speaking of pressure, Patrick Mahomes went virtually untouched in this game. He wasn’t sacked once and was hit just three times. Houston’s only sack was on Sammy Watkins, which was a weird call to begin with.

As inconsistent as the offensive line has been throughout the season, they played well on Sunday. Mitchell Schwartz made J.J. Watt look mediocre, with Watt finishing the game with just one defended pass. That was the only impact he could make in this one.

If this Chiefs o-line can play like they did on Sunday next weekend, then there’s no reason why Mahomes can’t throw for 300+ yards and at least three touchdowns again. No time like now to get it going!