Texans 'Probably Should've Won' vs. Cowboys, Says Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes
Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes is set to play an NFL game in his home state of Texas for the first time his career on Sunday, as the Houston Texans welcome the MVP candidate and his high-powered offense to the Lone Star State.
But comfort won't be easy to come by for Mahomes, despite the fact he admitted he's going to have tons of friends and family at NRG Stadium on Sunday, which is about three hours south of where he grew up in Whitehouse, Texas.
As a fan of Texas football, Houston's tight 27-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14 was something that clearly caught Mahomes' eye. The Texans (1-11-1) are 14-point underdogs at home against the Chiefs (10-3) and are on track to receive the No. 1 pick in the draft.
But when it comes to how Mahomes see things, all the records and numbers can be thrown out the window based on the fact that Houston was one fourth-quarter stop away from beating a Super Bowl contender on the road last week.
"You gotta go in there with the mentality that you're gonna have to play your best football," Mahomes said. "I think you saw last week, they played a great football team in the Cowboys. They were down there where they probably should've won."
The Texans' out-of-nowhere performance could be coming at the perfect time, depending on which fan base you're rooting for. Houston intercepted Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott twice and could be looking for similar results against Mahomes, who tossed a season-high three picks in Sunday's 34-28 win over the Denver Broncos.
Houston's strong play in the secondary was hardly an outlier either. Despite all the attention going toward their league-worst rushing defense, the Texans are allowing the 14th-fewest passing yards per game (214.4), a number that might come as a surprise to many given the team's lack of wins this season.
Mahomes is always a true professional when it comes to paying the other team respect. But his praise toward Houston hardly seems like an empty compliment.
"They're well-coached, they play hard," Mahomes said. "Obviously Lovie has done a lot of great things in the league. In this league, you can take no one for granted ... We understand it'll be a great challenge for us, so we're gonna have to play our best football to win."
The Texans and Chiefs kickoff on Sunday at 12 p.m. CT.
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