The Kansas City Chiefs knew that this Houston Texans team was not the same one they stomped in the wild-card game last year. After coming off a home opener victory the Chiefs fell to the Houston Texans by a score of 19-12.
Kansas City started off the game off with a turnover from a bad snap. They would go on to fumble the ball twice more in the first half. While the Chiefs defense played well, the offense looked all too familiar with its conservative play calling and inability to score touchdowns in the red zone. Four field goals were not enough to overcome the new and improved Texans. Here are some things to take away from the Week Two loss
Kansas City Chiefs Week Two Takeaways
The Defense Bounced Back
After a rough Week One where the Chargers put up 241 yards passing and 153 yards on the ground, the Chiefs defense bounced back looking more like last year’s unit. Marcus Peters came away with two interceptions and almost had a third had DeAndre Hopkins not punched it out at the last second. The Chiefs also were able to get decent pressure on Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler. Dee Ford was very quick off the line and getting into the backfield.
It was also nice to see Derrick Johnson, who only had five tackles last week, come away with eight tackles, one sack, and three assisted tackles. When your offense turns the ball over three times and compounds that with numerous three and outs, you wouldn’t expect to be in a close game. Due to the Chiefs’ strong defensive effort however, they were able to stay in it.
Tyreek Hill and Special Teams Shine
Tyreek Hill had a great day. He turned nothing into something on two of his punt returns. Not to mention a kick returned for a touchdown that was called back due to a questionable holding call. Hill gave Chiefs fans flashbacks to the days of Dante Hall with the quick moves and reversing the play on returns. His explosiveness makes him a threat to score a touchdown every time he touches the ball. It will be interesting to see if teams are still kicking to him by the end of the year. The punt coverage team looked solid as well consistently pinning the Texans inside their own 15-yard line. Dave Toub certainly showed why he is one of the best special teams coordinators in the game this week.
Too Many Mistakes
Kansas City’s offensive performance could be summed up with one word: mistakes. Second-year center Mitch Morse snapped the ball over Alex Smith‘s head resulting in a turnover on the opening drive. Things didn’t get much better as we saw Jeremy Maclin uncharacteristically drop three catchable balls. Spencer Ware and Smith each fumbled the ball in the first half as well.
It wasn’t just turnovers that killed the Chiefs, however. Holding and false start penalties seemed to kill any momentum the offense had forcing them into first and long situations. Mistakes upon the offensive line were rampant, and Mitchell Schwartz continually got beat by J.J. Watt, giving up two sacks on the day. There were also clearly communication issues since blitzers were coming in unchecked into the “A” and “B” gaps. This could be attributed to both starting guard spots having to be filled in by Zach Fulton and Jah Reid (who traditionally plays tackle).
Conclusion
You can’t win football games when you turn the ball over three times. With the offensive performance the Chiefs had they should’ve been blown out, but due to a solid defense, only lost by seven. While it was a tough loss, I wouldn’t expect to see the Chiefs have so many turnovers in the future.
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