Game Overview ::
By mike johnson >>
- The Texans shocked some people with a close loss to the Cowboys last week, which will likely keep the Chiefs from overlooking them here.
- The Chiefs are the most aggressive team in the league in terms of passing and tempo and should have their way with a Texans defense that struggles in all areas.
- Expect Kansas City to keep their foot on the gas for a while after nearly blowing a 27-point lead to the Broncos in Week 14.
- Houston’s offense is now employing a tactic usually reserved for high school and low-level college teams by using multiple quarterbacks.
How kansas city Will Try To Win ::
The Chiefs can wrap up the AFC West crown with a win this week against the Texans, who are coincidentally the team with the worst record in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes continues to play at an MVP level despite a revolving door of skill players surrounding him, and he just torched the Broncos top-level pass defense to the tune of 352 passing yards and three touchdowns. Jerick McKinnon emerged as the top running back for the Chiefs at the end of last season and into the playoffs, and it appears he may be doing the same this year, as he played 57% of the offensive snaps in Week 14 en route to a highly productive day. The team has been playing without Mecole Hardman and Kadarius Toney lately, which led many to believe Skyy Moore would slip into the “gadget” wide receiver role and see heavier usage. Instead, it appears the Chiefs have decided to use more of their “traditional” wide receivers (Juju Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, and Justin Watson) and deploy McKinnon as a receiving back to handle those short-area targets and YAC opportunities.
As for the Chiefs approach to this game, they have the highest Pass Rate Over Expectation (PROE) in the NFL by a relatively large margin, and their current highest usage running back is a receiving game specialist. The Texans defense is poor in all areas, so the Chiefs can attack them however they would like, and the Chiefs like nothing more than letting Mahomes throw the ball around the yard. Lovie Smith’s defense notoriously works to prevent passes to the deep and perimeter areas of the field while blitzing at the 4th lowest rate in the league, which funnels things underneath and forces offenses to march down the field rather than taking chunk plays. The Chiefs offense is well equipped to attack that type of scheme, with Travis Kelce, Juju Smith-Schuster, and Jerick McKinnon all excelling in those underneath areas, and they will certainly have some things dialed up to attack up the seam as well.
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