This Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs will be on the road to take on the Houston Texans. While they did play each other in the AFC wildcard game last season, the Houston Texans are a very different team after spending big in the off-season on quarterback Brock Osweiler and halfback Lamar Miller. If Kansas City wants to continue this 11-regular season game winning streak, they’re going to need to execute in these key areas.
Kansas City Chiefs Week Two Keys to Victory
Create Interior Rush
In Week One the Houston Texans came away with the victory despite the interior offensive line. They struggled with the pass rush up the middle which forced Osweiler out of the pocket. Osweiler has shown he isn’t afraid to take risks throwing the ball. If Kansas City can force him out of the pocket and make him throw on the run, it’s going to make the secondary’s job of covering DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller a lot easier.
Another reason why the interior rush will be so important is the run game. Lamar Miller had 106 yards rushing on 28 attempts last week. Most of his attempts were inside zone runs, many of which came from the shotgun. Expect Kansas City to send blitzes into the “A” and “B” gaps throughout the game to send Miller outside. This could also be a game for rookie Chris Jones to really have an impact. While only getting 12 snaps last game, he was effective pushing the interior line back into the backfield. His strength and explosiveness off the line are exactly what is needed to clog up those inside running lanes.
Thankfully Kansas City has a very talented and big defensive line with the likes of Jaye Howard, Dontari Poe, Allen Bailey, and Jones. Their ability to control the line of scrimmage will be crucial if the Chiefs want to come out with the victory.
Offensive Line
Kansas City may be without both of their starting guards this week. Parker Ehinger sustained a concussion Wednesday in practice while Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is nursing a high ankle sprain from Sunday. Not exactly something you want to hear when you’re going up against one of the fiercest defensive lines in football. However, J.J. Watt did not look like himself last week as he is still recovering from back surgery. He was usually handled by one lineman instead of facing the double team he’s used to seeing.
Vince Wilfork on the other hand, is looking as good as ever creating congestion in the middle. You add in the exotic blitz packages that the Texans like to send and you can see a recipe for disaster. We already saw Mitch Morse struggle to pick up blitzes last week against the Chargers, so it’s likely we will see Alex Smith using his legs frequently to get out of tough situations.
It looks like Zach Fulton and Jah Reid will probably be starting this week to replace Ehinger and Duvernay-Tardiff. They are going to need to play exceptionally well if Kansas City wants to be successful offensively Sunday.
Dink and Dunk
It’s no secret that Houston loves to be aggressive and send blitzes, which can create problems as well as opportunities for the Chiefs. To counter the blitz, a quarterback needs to be able to get the ball out of his hands quickly, usually to the check-down receivers. It’s what Alex Smith and Andy Reid’s offense does best. This is the main reason Houston struggled covering Travis Kelce in the wildcard game. Kelce found space over the middle where blitzing linebackers were coming, leaving him wide open.
Kelce isn’t the only threat for Houston though. Kansas City is full of quick, explosive receivers to use on short routes and hitches. In fact, it was a key part of the comeback in week one against the Chargers. We saw the Chiefs running numerous spot routes to guys like Chris Conley and flat routes to Albert Wilson who were open thanks to the Chargers cover four defense. I would expect to see many of the same plays this week in Houston if the defense is aggressively blitzing.
Take Away the Deep Pass
Marcus Peters and Phillip Gaines will have their hands full taking on Texans receivers DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller. Not only are these guys extremely fast, but they also have a quarterback known for his arm strength throwing to them. Since Chiefs defensive coordinator Bob Sutton likes to keep his cornerbacks on one side, it is likely both Peters and Gaines will be matched up with Hopkins in man to man. Both corners will need to stay in front of their man if they want to stop the deep play action vertical plays the Texans like to call.
If Kansas City can take away the deep ball, Houston will have to resort to throwing underneath. In turn, this forces Brock Osweiler to read the defense and decide where he wants to put the ball much quicker. Being as inexperienced as he is, you can expect him to struggle in making quick decisions and reading coverages. As long as the deep shot plays are prevented, the Chiefs should be able to handle the Texans’ new and improved offense.
The Kansas City Chiefs victory last week as thrilling. However to beat the Texans they will not be able to fall behind 21 points and expect to win. This Texans team is better than the one they faced last season in the playoffs and will capitalize on any mistakes. It should be a closely contested game, but I still have the Chiefs coming away with the victory. Just don’t expect the 30-0 score line from last year.
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