Who: Houston Texans @ Kansas City Chiefs
When: Sunday, October 13, 2019
Where: Arrowhead Stadium
Betting line: Chiefs by 4
Last Sunday night I sat in my man cave, dealing with a bout
of mild depression just after listening to the Chiefs’ first loss against the
Colts. Let’ face it, losing in the fashion we did, at home, on Sunday night
football, all that - as my father texted me - “is the worst part of being a
sports fan”. But the other part of being a true sports fan, is not being a fair
weather fan. We stick by our teams and our Chiefs no matter what and cheer them
on as they head into their next game against the Texans.
Chiefs:
There is no denying that the Chiefs’ offense in the last two
weeks has not been up to par. Our two best receivers are out with injuries. The
offensive line protecting Mahomes is absolutely paramount in this game. Many
want to hold the Chiefs defense responsible for the issues the team has faced
this season. While that is partly true, it is hard for our magician of a QB to
make magical passes if he is on his back. The O-line absolutely MUST protect
Patrick Mahomes to give him a chance to do what he does best. Give him time to
get those passes out to receivers who have time to run their routes. Andfor
crying out loud, keep him off his back. As long as Mahomes is upright, even
without Hill and Watkins, he can still get the passing game going with Demarcus
Robinson, Mekole Hardman and Byron Pringle. This mixes in more than a little of
a running game with Shady McCoy along with Damien Williams and Darrell Williams.
As for the Chiefs D, I know my readers are already tired of
hearing this, but in a defense where everyone is concerned about a lack of
truly great playmakers in the secondary, the atrociously run defense has proved
to be an even bigger problem. At the beginning of this season, the Chiefs cut
running back Carlos Hyde, before he ever played a regular season game down for
the Chiefs. Now Hyde wears a Texans jersey is looking to make the Chiefs sorry
that they didn’t keep him. The secondary will be tested as well, with Texans
wide out Will Fuller coming off a monstrous game last week against the Falcons.
The Chiefs best hope defensively is to find a way to bust through what has been
called one of the worst offensive lines in football right now and make Texans
QB Deshawn Watson very uncomfortable by invading his personal space.
Texans:
This will mark the first ever match-up between the 10th
overall pick (Patrick Mahomes) and the 11th overall pick (Deshawn
Watson). Watson has one of the best receivers in the league in Fuller at his
disposal. Last week Fuller had 14 catches for 217 yards and 3 TD receptions. Be
looking for him to have a similar week against a Chiefs secondary whose best player
is the Honey Badger, but will the Texans offensive line be able to keep Watson
upright long enough to make those passes? They were last week.
As far as the Texans’ defensive battle goes in keeping
Mahomes and the boys in check, they will start in the trenches with Texans’
defensive ends Whitney Merciless and J. J. Watt. These two have been known to
wreak havoc in an opponent’s backfield. Watt alone responsible for 4 sacks and
13 QB hits this season. Our QB took 4 sacks and 8 hits just last week. Behind
the stout defensive front, the Texans will most likely follow the blue print
that has seemed to neutralize the high flying Chiefs offense these last two
weeks with man coverage. The only player who can consistently beat man coverage
on the Chiefs roster is Tyreek Hill, who is still out on injury. Asking a
corner or safety to cover Hill, is like asking Donkey Kong to cover Sonic the
Hedgehog. But Mahomes’ other targets have yet to prove that they can beat man
coverage, so count on teams using it until they do.
BQB prediction:
My prediction truly depends on which Texans team decides to
show up to Arrowhead: The Texans that hung 55 on the Falcons last week or the
Texans that only scored 10 points in a loss to the Panthers the week before.
Unfortunately, the Chiefs are very banged up with their two
best receivers and one of their best defensive linemen out with injuries. The
offensive line is still patch-worked together. Regardless pf his competitive
nature, it is fair to assume that Mahomes is still somewhat limited by his
ankle.
It pains me to do so, but I predict the Chiefs falling to
the Texans 24-28. I deeply hope and pray that I am wrong.
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