And remember that’s what will be with the guy be quarterbacking the Chiefs next weekend, not the break from character you saw Sunday or any residue of it.
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The wild-card round matchup pits teams that performed an about faced as dramatically as it can happen.
The Houston Texans host the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the Wild Card NFL Playoff games on Saturday, January 9 start time at 4:35 PM ET, at NRG Stadium, Houston, TX.
Fresh off their tenth straight win, the Chiefs are the fifth seed in the AFC and head to Houston to play the Texans.
Houston is 5-1 against the spread following a win, 4-1 against the spread in their last five home games, and 7-2 against the spread in their last nine games.
But the Chiefs kept their visitors in the game, as the normally accurate Smith threw a pair of interceptions less than three minutes apart in the second quarter. A fumble return for touchdown in the final minute against the Broncos and a collapse against the Bears were the nightmares. And it’s the Texans that will hope for a different result. They trailed the Falcons 42-0, and the Dolphins 41-0 in what was shaping up as a lost year for the organization. Brian Hoyer, who started Sunday’s victory over the Jaguars that clinched the AFC South title, will get the start against the Chiefs.
Kansas City is one of the hottest teams in the National Football League at the moment, but their weaknesses play into Houston’s strengths.
Smith has broken out of that typecasting this season, going downfield far more and expanding his game to include 12 of those newfangled touchdown passes to wide receivers after the Chiefs hadn’t had so much as one a year ago.
Head coach Andy Reid commented on playing the Texans after Kansas City’s 23-17 win over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
Still though. Fans should be proud of this team for getting to where they are. “But other times we just looked sloppy”. “He came back and just nailed it (a 15-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter to tight end Demetrius Harris)”.
Not only that, but Houston has fared better this season when games have been defensive struggles. I just don’t think the Texans have the horses to stay in the game if the Chiefs can slow down Hopkins.
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Same with the Chiefs, who clinched their playoff spot last week. Then Pittsburgh defensive tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen crashed into quarterback Carson Palmer’s left leg in the first quarter, shredding Palmer’s knee. “We are fired up about being in the playoffs and taking on whoever we got”. They go out and go a hundred miles an hour and they do it every day. You usually don’t see this kind of talent and work ethic.
