Game: Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs
Date & Time: Sunday January 12th, 2020, 3:05 (EST)
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MI
The Line: Kansas City Chiefs -9, O/U 51
TV Channel: CBS
After the Texans escaped their Wild Card matchup with an Overtime victory, they travel to Kansas City to face a team looking for redemption.
NFL Regular Season Record: 60-50-3
NFL Playoff Record: 3-1
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs Preview
The Kansas City Chiefs are looking at this playoff run as a revenge tour of sorts. They took the Patriots to overtime in the AFC Championship game 1 year prior, and feel like they were robbed. They also feel like they would’ve dominated the Rams in the Super Bowl. Anyway you slice it, the Chiefs are looking for bigger things this time around.
The Chiefs finished 12-4 to secure a first-round bye in the final week of the season. This almost didn’t happen, as they had an injury scare to Patrick Mahomes early on, and it looked initially like he might miss the rest of the season. Thankfully for the Chiefs, and fans of the NFL, that wasn’t the case, as Mahomes came back and has rounded back into form that has made him one of the best young signal-callers in the league.
When you have Mahomes under center, you’re not going to have trouble scoring points. The Chiefs score, and they score in bunches. They can do it with the deep-ball, as Tyreek Hill has repeatedly beat defenders deep over the years, and they can do it with the underneath game with Travis Kelce and Sammy Watkins. Their running game has come on as of late, and Damian Williams looks to have a stranglehold on that job coming into the playoffs. With LeSean McCoy backing him up, the Chiefs have an embarrassment of riches offensively.
Things looked bleak for the Texans in the Wild Card Round. They were down 16-0 to the Bills, and their season was on the brink. Their comeback was lead by Deshaun Watson, who finished with 247 passing yards and a TD, while also rushing for 55 more and another TD. Watson is the engine that steers the Texans offense, and while they haven’t been scoring at their early season pace, they can put up points.
In their early season matchup, the Texans defeated the Chiefs in Arrowhead 31-24. They did it by controlling the clock and running the ball with Carlos Hyde, who finished with 116 yards in that game. If the Texans are to pull another upset, they’re going to have to have a balanced attack.
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs Key Stats
- The Chiefs have never lost to the same opponent twice at Arrowhead in the same season
- The Chiefs have won 6 straight games
- Watson and Mahomes are both 1-1 in the postseason
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs Betting Lines
- The O/U for the game is 51
- The Chiefs are 9 point favorites on Draftkings
- The Chiefs are 400 on the ML, Texans +340
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs Prediction
When this game was put on the schedule, my first instinct was a close game. Looking deeper, I’m not so sure.
The Texans struggled last week, and if we’re being honest, they should’ve lost that game. The Bills lost it more than the Texans won it. That being said, the talent is there on this team, and they’ve already beaten the Chiefs once this season.
The spread for this game is set at 9 points in favor of the Chiefs. With the way Kansas City is rolling of late, and the added motivation of trying to make up for last postseason, I think the Chiefs respond in a big way to set up a mammoth AFC Championship. Take the Chiefs in this game with a score of something close to 34-21.
