Four Takeaways From the Chiefs 30-24 Win Over the Texans
The Kansas City Chiefs came into their Week 15 game against the Houston Texans favored by two touchdowns, but Andy Reid's team didn't get that memo early on. After three quarters, it was the home team up by a score of 21-16 with plenty of momentum on their side. Following some back-and-forth in the final frame of regulation and a thrilling overtime stint, though, it was the Chiefs who came out on top by a final score of 30-24. With the win, Kansas City is now 11-3 on the season.
Here are four takeaways from Sunday's game.
1. The AFC West belongs to the Chiefs (again)
For the seventh year in a row, the Chiefs have won the AFC West. This matches the Los Angeles Rams' famous streak back in the 1970s as one of the most impressive in NFL history. Patrick Mahomes has now been a division champion in every single year he's started for the team, and Andy Reid's dominance over his division is second to none compared to non-Patriots teams of this generation. The Chiefs have more work to do moving forward and their hunt for the No. 1 seed in the conference remains in play, but step one is winning the West. That box was officially checked on Sunday afternoon, and the Chiefs are playoff bound.
2. Kansas City goes as Patrick Mahomes does
With Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts having multiple turnovers against the Chicago Bears, the stage was set for Mahomes to continue to build his own case for this year's league MVP award at the exact same time. With a performance that saw him complete 36 of 41 passes for 336 yards and a pair of touchdowns, that's exactly what he did. Additionally, Mahomes's rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter contributed to propelling the team to overtime. There's no other player in the league who is more important to his club's success, and Mahomes showed why once again. The 2018-19 MVP winner is firmly entrenched in the tight race for award No. 2.
3. There's no sugarcoating it — the Chiefs are undisciplined
For the ninth game in a row, the Chiefs committed a turnover. In over two decades as a head coach, that's the first time an Andy Reid-led team has accomplished that feat. Running back Isiah Pacheco's fumble and missed blitz pickup were rookie mistakes, Travis Kelce's unnecessary roughness call was an instance of a veteran committing a youthful error and despite multiple questionable penalties from Carl Cheffers' crew, Kansas City was far too undisciplined on both sides of the ball.
The Chiefs ended up paying the price for their mistakes, even if the team ultimately won. If they want to win in the playoffs, they can't shoot themselves in the foot so often. It amplifies the difficulty of their matchups, which won't fly against superior opponents in January or possibly February.
4. Steve Spagnuolo's defense continues to raise questions, but it stepped up
Early in the season, the Chiefs' defense featured some brilliant moments from young players and plenty of reason to believe that some rough edges would be smoothed out over time. Instead, Steve Spagnuolo's unit continues to put up questionable performances each and every week. A combination of missed tackles, little pressure from the front four and the aforementioned penalties all contributed to this game being much closer than it needed to be.
The per-play and overall yardage stats aren't bad, though. The inability of Kansas City to dominate what is normally an anemic Texans offense is notable, too, but surrendering just 223 yards and also coming up with a game-saving play in overtime is worth praising. There's still more work to do for this group and while it may have progressed from last week's narrow win in Denver, there's still a ton of room for improvement.
