Winners and Losers from the KC Chiefs' Week 16 Victory Over the Houston Texans

In one of their most complete performances of the season, the Kansas City Chiefs capped off an undefeated slate at home by taking down the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon.

It was a true three-phase win for Andy Reid's club, which tied a franchise record with its 14th victory of the 2024-25 campaign. With two more contests left to go, Kansas City will attempt to build on this performance and capture the AFC's one-seed ahead of the playoffs. While Saturday was an inspiring effort, several players left room for improvement.

With that in mind, let's point out some of the Chiefs' biggest winners and losers from the 16th week of the regular season.

WINNERS: Jaden Hicks and Justin Reid

Two of the Chiefs' top three safeties turned in quality performances on Saturday. Rookie Jaden Hicks, who has recently been praised by the coaching staff, came down with an interception for the second game in a row. He also provided good downfield coverage on a deep throw to Tank Dell. Justin Reid made several nice plays, too, including a tackle on Nico Collins in the open field. Reid also had two instances of playing the football and forcing an incompletion. The irony of this situation is the rise of Hicks could impact the team's free agency decision with Reid but while they're both on the field, Kansas City's defense is dangerous.

LOSERS: Mike Caliendo and Trey Smith

After a solid starting debut in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, Mike Caliendo took a step back on Saturday. In the first half, specifically, he whiffed on a second-down blitz that killed a three-and-out drive and he later had a rough showing near the break. Elsewhere, Trey Smith was flagged twice for holding (one of them was a questionable call). On a fourth down attempt in the third quarter, he got stonewalled. One of these players has a higher bar than the other, but neither was perfect against Houston.

WINNER: Marquise "Hollywood" Brown

In his regular-season debut, wideout Marquise "Hollywood" Brown certainly made his presence felt on the field. Hauling in five passes, two of them were high-leverage plays in the game. Brown's combination of athleticism, man-beating chops and natural spacing makes him an intriguing fit with Xavier Worthy and DeAndre Hopkins. The best part for the Chiefs is the veteran receiver left plenty of room for improvement, even in what was a good first impression. Brown and Kansas City certainly made the most of his 20 snaps, setting the scene for a potentially improved offense in the postseason.

LOSER: Isiah Pacheco

Since making his return from a fractured fibula suffered earlier this season, Isiah Pacheco hasn't been able to replicate his previous production. The third-year halfback toted the ball nine times and logged just 26 yards on Saturday, also hauling in one pass for negative yardage. The Chiefs posted a -0.65 EPA/play mark on his Week 16 rushes. In his last four games, the former seventh-round pick is averaging 3.65 yards per carry. After being ninth in EPA/play and first in success rate without Pacheco in Weeks 3-12, Kansas City is 24th and 27th, respectively, with him in stint No. 2. There's plenty of blame to go around here, but things aren't going as planned.

WINNER: Trent McDuffie

Less than a week removed from his first career interception, Trent McDuffie added yet another one to double his total. The third-year man was once again tremendous in coverage in Week 16, helping slow down the Texans' passing offense. On multiple occasions, McDuffie also crashed downhill and sniffed out a wideout screen for a loss of yards. While the Kansas City secondary is far from solidified in a post-L'Jarius Sneed world, one thing the team can always count on is McDuffie handling his business at cornerback.

LOSER: Justin Watson

It didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but Justin Watson missed an opportunity to put six points on the board when Patrick Mahomes delivered a beautiful downfield strike to him in the second quarter. With the accuracy of Mahomes's vertical throws being inconsistent at best, that was one Watson absolutely needed to haul in but couldn't. After posting a career year in 2023-24 (27 catches for 460 yards and three touchdowns), the 28-year-old has just 19 grabs for 224 yards and a score this year. That includes back-to-back contests without a grab and just 21 yards in the past two months. The Chiefs continue trotting Watson out on the field but with Brown healthy, there's ample reason for that quantity to change.