Chiefs’ keys vs. Texans: Limit Deshaun Watson, get Tyreek Hill going early Sunday
The Kansas City Chiefs kick off their postseason Sunday against the Houston Texans in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Chiefs (12-4) are coming off a first-round bye as the AFC’s No. 2 seed, while the Texans (10-6) endured a tough game against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card Round. Houston needed overtime to emerge with a 22-19 win over Buffalo and set up a rematch of Week 6, when the Texans defeated the Chiefs 31-24 in Kansas City.
Sunday’s game represents the 12th meeting between the Chiefs and Texans. The Chiefs hold a 6-5 edge in this series, including a 30-0 playoff win over the Texans after the 2015 season.
Here are four key areas to monitor for the Chiefs, who seek to advance to the AFC Championship Game for the second straight year.
Chiefs’ defense against Watson
While he threw two interceptions in Week 6, Watson hurt the Chiefs by passing for 280 yards passing with a touchdown and rushing for 42 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 1-yard run.
Watson’s skills as a dual-threat quarterback were on full display in the opening round of the playoffs. On the Texans’ game-winning drive against Buffalo in Houston, he escaped the pocket despite being hit by two Bills defenders. He spun out, rolled to his right and threw to running back Taiwan Jones, who went 34 yards to the Bills’ 10 and set up the game-winning field goal.
The electric play took social media by storm and certainly should’ve gained the Chiefs’ attention for their week of preparations.
The Chiefs can do a better job of containing the elusive Watson than they did in Week 6 by giving him a different look. When they played in October, Chiefs were down two key starters on defense: defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Anthony Hitchens.
The Chiefs have also since added defensive linemen Mike Pennel and Terrell Suggs, whose ability to set the edge and rush the passer further solidifies arguably the hottest defense in the NFL.
Kansas City’s defense will try to maintain gap and edge discipline whenever Watson is out of the pocket. They now have the personnel — Jones, Hitchens, Pennel and Suggs — to do it.
Feed Hill early and often
Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill had himself a game against the Texans in Week 6, totaling 80 yards and two touchdowns on five catches. Hill played just 29 snaps, half of the team’s 58 total offensive snaps, that day in his first game back from a shoulder injury.
There are zero concerns about Hill’s health entering the postseason, and he finished the 2019 season with 58 catches for 860 yards and seven touchdowns despite missing four games.
Hill gives the Texans plenty of trouble with his athleticism and speed. He faces a pass defense that ranked 29th in the league in 2019, allowing 267.3 yards per game. Whenever Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes drops back to pass, Hill should be at the top of his radar along with tight end Travis Kelce, who caught four passes for 58 yards in Week 6.
Sammy Watkins, who also missed the Chiefs’ regular-season meeting against the Texans (hamstring injury), is another receiving threat that the Texans must account for.
Getting the passing game on track also means keeping Texans defensive end J.J. Watt in check. Watt, who suffered a torn pectoral muscle during the regular season, made a remarkable return last week and will renew acquaintances with right tackle Mitchell Schwartz.
The Chiefs limited Watt to two tackles and one quarterback hit in Week 6.
Chiefs’ defense vs. Texans’ backfield
The Chiefs finished the regular season ranked 26th against the run, but don’t be fooled by that statistic.
This is an entirely different run defense from the one Houston faced in October, when the Texans totaled 192 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 41 carries. Carlos Hyde paced the Texans’ ground game that day with 116 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.
Kansas City’s defensive surge started in Week 11, and the unit went through the last six games of the season allowing an average of just 11.5 points per game. More important, the Chiefs closed out the final four games of the season by not allowing an opponent to top 100 yards rushing.
The Texans’ running game is formidable, of course, with a backfield anchored by Hyde and Duke Johnson. Houston finished the season ranked ninth in the league, averaging 125.6 yards per game.
But the Chiefs’ defense has all the momentum this time around.
Chiefs’ secondary against Hopkins
Hands down the biggest turnaround in the Chiefs’ defense this season is their secondary.
In 2018, the Chiefs ranked a dismal 31st against the pass. But their defensive backs, led by safeties Tyrann Mathieu and Juan Thornhill and cornerbacks Charvarius Ward, Bashaud Breeland and Kendall Fuller, ranked eighth in the league in 2019. Thornhill is now out with a torn ACL, but the Chiefs have options in Fuller and second-year safety Armani Watts.
The Texans enter the game ranked 15th in passing. Watson has weapons at his disposal, especially wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who just posted his third straight 1,000-yard season.
The three-time All-Pro wide receiver is a handful for any defense, but in October the Chiefs held him to nine catches for 55 yards on 12 targets, an average of just 6.1 yards per reception. They’ll again look to allow him to catch short passes and not get deep.
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
