BY TRISTAN SASSE
On Sunday night, the 4-0 Kansas City Chiefs traveled to NRG Stadium to face the Houston Texans. The Texans entered the game at 2-2 and were coming off a 57-point performance against the Tennessee Titans.
The first half began with a major loss for the Texans. JJ Watt went down with an apparent knee injury (later confirmed as a tibial plateau fracture) on the first drive of the game. Shortly after, Harrison Butker connected on a field goal on the opening possession for Kansas City.
Throughout the first half, the Texans defense was able to contain Kareem Hunt. Hunt had 8 carries for 5 yards in the first quarter and ended the half with 35 total yards (25 rushing and 10 receiving).
The Chiefs relied heavily on Alex Smith in the first half. Smith found Charcandrick West for two scores. Travis Kelce also played a significant role, with 8 receptions for 98 yards in the opening half.
Kansas City’s defense was also a major factor. Chris Jones forced a fumble late in the first half which was recovered by Derrick Johnson. The turnover later resulted in another Butker field goal. Butker connected on three field goals in the first half.
The lone highlight for the Texans in the opening half occurred with under two minutes remaining. Deshaun Watson found DeAndre Hopkins for Houston’s first score. On the other hand, Kansas City scored on all five of their possessions in the first half (2 touchdowns and 3 field goals). The Chiefs led at halftime, 23-7.
The Texans offense made things interesting in the second half. Will Fuller caught two touchdown receptions from Watson. In between Fuller’s touchdown receptions, Kansas City’s Butker connected on another field goal. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs added to their lead. With just over nine minutes remaining, Smith threw his third touchdown pass on the night, this time to De’Anthony Thomas.
Later in the quarter, Kansas City blew the game wide open. After a third-down sack by Justin Houston, the Texans were forced to punt. Tyreek Hill returned the punt 82 yards for a touchdown and gave the Chiefs a 39-20 lead. DeAndre Hopkins caught his second touchdown of the game in the closing minutes. Kansas City answered with a Butker field goal. On the final play of the game, Watson found Hopkins for another score, but the Chiefs went on to win, 42-34.
Kansas City’s offense continues to impress. The Chiefs lead the NFL with 164 points through five weeks, averaging over 32 points per game.
After a slow start, Kareem Hunt finished with 107 yards on 29 carries. Alex Smith also guided the offense by completing 29 of 37 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns. Harrison Butker went 5-5 on field goals attempts in his second career game.
For the Texans, Deshaun Watson threw five touchdown passes, but only completed 16 of 31 attempts for 261 yards.
Overall, the Kansas City offense had more yards on offense (450-392), first downs (29-20), and had possession of the football for nearly forty minutes.
The Chiefs improved to 5-0 on the season and 27-4 in their last 31 regular season games. Kansas City will return home next weekend to host Pittsburgh. The Steelers fell to 3-2 after losing to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday afternoon.