NFL Week 15: Kansas City Chiefs at Houston Texans Game Preview

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"Houston Texans vs. Tennessee Titans" by AJ Guel Photography is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to travel to NRG Stadium to take on the Houston Texans in a week fifteen matchup. The Chiefs come into the game with a record of 10-3 and currently hold a three game lead over the Los Angeles Chargers for first place in the AFC West. On the flip side, the Texans come into the game with a league worst 1-11-1 record. This puts them at last place in the AFC South, currently sitting three games behind the Indianapolis Colts for third place in the division. On paper, this should be a blowout and a game that is not worth watching, however, the Texans are a tricky team and if they are not careful, the Chiefs could fall victim to a trap game this week. 

Kansas City Chiefs Look to Avoid Trap Game 

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of a 34-28 win against the Denver Broncos. The game ended up being much closer than it should have been after the Chiefs came out of the gates blazing hot. They took a commanding 27-0 lead at one point of the game, however, it appeared that they took their foot off of the gas after this and it almost resulted in them blowing the game. 

Despite their very slow second half on the offensive end, Patrick Mahomes still finished the game throwing for 352 yards, three touchdowns, and an out of character three interceptions. Along with the turnovers on the offensive end, this was a rather disappointing performance for the defense as well. It could have been a case of taking their foot off the gas similar to how it appeared for the offense, however, Kansas City’s defense is too talented to give up 28 points to a Broncos team who has struggled to find the end zone all season.

This week, they find themselves in a very winnable matchup against the Houston Texans. As long as they do not beat themselves and once again come out of the gates hot, they should have no issue bringing home a win this week. However, they have to avoid mental mistakes like turnovers and easing up once a big lead is obtained. 

Houston Texans Hope to Give Another Top Team a Big Scare

The Houston Texans are well on their way to having the first overall pick in the 2023 draft. It is clear that they are about to enter a massive rebuild that will likely take multiple years before it is complete. Despite this, they almost pulled off the biggest upset of the 2022 season last week against the Dallas Cowboys. Although they would end up losing by a final score of 27-23, they were in it until the very end. 

They have a chance to pull off another enormous upset this week against the Kansas City Chiefs. Their formula to win this week is very similar to what almost won them the game last week against Dallas. That strategy being forcing turnovers, and establishes the run game. If they are able to milk the clock and earn some free possessions off of turnovers, Houston could turn a lot of heads this week.