Chiefs, Texans both look to stay on top of their divisions; Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans preview
Surprisingly, this is a battle of division leaders, as the Chiefs will head down to Houston to take on the Texans. The Chiefs sit on top of the AFC West at 3-1 while the Texans are in a four-way tie in the AFC South at 3-2. Both are coming off losses; the Chiefs
stayed with the Colts thanks to solid defence, but eventually their lack of offence cost them in a 19-9 loss. The Texans were embarrassed at home by the Giants.
The Texans will be up against one of the league’s toughest defences. Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has done a fantastic job with his young unit as they have yet to allow 20 points in a game. They kept the Chargers’ number one offence at 14 points and
Peyton Manning’s Colts to 19 points. Now they go up against another explosive offence in the Texans, which struggled last week. The Chiefs are 3-1 mainly because of their defence and they’ll look to continue building their reputation this Sunday.
Matt Schaub will have to bounce back, especially with the Texans battling injury problems. Andre Johnson is still questionable for Sunday with a sprained ankle and Arian Foster was neutralized last week. It won’t get any easier for him against the Chiefs. The
Texans look like an elite bunch one week, and then look like the same old Texans that can’t take that next step as a franchise.
Houston’s offence may be blamed for inconsistency, but the Texans’ defence has been consistently awful this season too. They are dead last in the league against the pass and 29th with 27.2 points allowed per game. Fortunately, they are fifth against the run,
which is the Chiefs’ strongest suit on offence.
Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones bring a good threat out of the backfield and that’s why games have always been close for the Chiefs this season. They are the strength of the Chiefs’ offence and will have to play great yet again to take some pressure off a struggling
Matt Cassel.
Cassel has to finally have that dominating performance that proves he’s a legitimate starting quarterback in the NFL. He has the league’s worst pass defence in Week 6 and if he can’t find his form, then you have to wonder what the Chiefs’ play-off chances really
are this season. Had Cassel been a little better last week, the Chiefs could have been 4-0 and would be taken a lot more seriously. While everyone can acknowledge the Chiefs’ solid defence and running game, many question whether Cassel’s struggles at quarterback
will hold the team back from making the play-offs.
The pressure in this game is all on Houston though. If they want to be taken seriously as contenders, then they have to start winning games consistently. The attention is on them now, as many have wondered when they will pass Indianapolis in the AFC South.
After a huge win over the Colts in week one, the Texans have not looked convincing and will have to get things turned around fast being locked in a tight division race.
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