Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs Matchup Preview 10/13/19: Analysis, Depth Charts, Daily Fantasy
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The Houston Texans head to Kansas City this Sunday to take on the Chiefs. The hugely powerful Chiefs were upset by the Colts last week, being held to only 13 points, the fewest scored by the team when headed by Patrick Mahomes. Unfortunately, they suffered injuries to some key players like Sammy Watkins and even Mahomes himself, re-injuring his ankle. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Texans are coming off of their highest scoring game of the season, putting up 53 points against the Falcons. This is partially due to their running game, which has recently been hugely productive for them. The Chiefs run defense is ranked 30th in the league, which makes Houston’s newfound running power look even more promising for Sunday’s game. While the Chiefs are the favorites in this game, I’m expecting an upset from the Texans due to their powerful running game and the injuries that are affecting the Chiefs. For odds line movement, and full matchup history, see the Houston Texans vs Kansas City Chiefs matchup page.
TV Schedule
Date: Sunday, October 13th 2019
Time: 10:00 AM PST
Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Coverage: CBS
Injury Report:
Texans: Greg Mancz (Q), Kenny Stills (Q)
Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes (Q), Tyreek Hill (Q), Sammy Watkins (Q), Dorian O’Daniel (Q), Alex Okafor (Q), Xavier Williams (D), Chris Jones (D), Eric Fisher (O)
Houston Texans Analysis
The Texans lit up the scoreboard against the Falcons on Sunday with 53 points. Deshaun Watson put up huge numbers, completing 28/33 passes for 426 yards and 5 touchdowns, throwing no interceptions. The Texans’ running game has also been greatly improving over the past couple of games, getting 166 yards and a touchdown on the ground on Sunday against a middle-ranked Falcons rush defense. The Chiefs’ pass rush is ranked 30th in the league, so the Texans have a great opportunity on Sunday to cut through them on the ground. Last week when I analyzed the matchup between the Falcons and Texans, I mentioned that the Texans weakest link is their pass blocking, and that they’d need to step up their game and give Watson protection for him to really succeed because Watson was getting sacked too much. Well, on Sunday, the o-line stepped up, not allowing a single sack on Watson. In fact, it was only the second game where Watson hadn’t been sacked. Both times, he threw for 5 touchdowns. So again, the Texans offensive line is going to be a huge part in their potential for an upset against the Chiefs.
This game is most likely going to end up a shootout. The Texans scored 53 against the Falcons, but they also allowed 32 points. Matt Ryan threw 32/46 for 330 yards, 3 touchdowns, and an interception. The Texans pass defense is ranked 25th in the league for average yards allowed per game with 270.4 yards. A plus for this pass defense is that their pass rush is tied for 9th place in sacks with 15. Mahomes’ injury has affected his mobility, and the Texans pass rush might have a much easier time getting to him. This will be a very important factor in slowing down the Chief’s high-powered offense.
Houston Texans Depth Chart
QB: Deshaun Watson
RB1: Duke Johnson
RB2: Carlos Hyde
WR1: DeAndre Hopkins
WR2: Will Fuller
WR3: Keke Coutee
TE: Jordan Akins
Kansas City Chiefs Analysis
Prior to Sunday, the Chiefs were on an NFL record streak, scoring 25+ points in 25 games. This streak was snapped by the Colts, holding Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense to just 13 points, the lowest scoring game of Mahomes’ NFL career as a starter. I don’t want to take the credit away from the Colts’ defense, who put on an absolutely incredible performance. However, the Chiefs were pretty heavily affected by injuries against the Colts. Mahomes aggravated an ankle injury that he got in September, and it really affected his performance. After his injury, he went only 6/15 for 113 yards, and was sacked 4 times due to the injury’s affect on his mobility. It didn’t help that one of his go-to targets, Sammy Watkins, also left the game with an injury, not getting a single reception. With Tyreek Hill also out, the Chiefs wide receiver core is growing thin. Byron Pringle, a name unknown to me before Sunday, stepped up and caught the ball 6 times for 103 yards and a touchdown. Both Hill and Watkins are questionable for Sunday, so it’s possible they return. If so, the Chiefs are going to have a huge boost on offense.
Marlon Mack was cutting through the Chiefs’ run defense like a hot knife through butter on Sunday. He had 29 carries for 132 yards, an average of 4.6 yards per carry. The Chiefs’ run defense is ranked 30th in the league. This ranking doesn’t look great for them against the Texans running game, which has gotten stronger and stronger throughout the season. I’m predicting that the Texans are going to upset the Chiefs, as the Chiefs are too injury-ridden to be themselves against the Texans, and their run defense is going to have a tough time holding up against the Texans powerful rushing.
Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart
QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Damien Williams
RB2: LeSean McCoy
WR1: Sammy Watkins
WR2: Mecole Hardman
WR3: Demarcus Robinson
TE: Travis Kelce
Daily Fantasy
I’m expecting this game to be pretty high scoring. The Texans aren’t great against the pass, and the Chiefs aren’t great against the run, and they’re both strong offenses, which is a recipe for a high scoring game. Unfortunately, a lot of the usual fantasy suspects in the Chiefs receiving core are questionable for next week, with it being too early in the week to tell if they’ll play on Sunday. I’d recommend picking up Watkins or Hill if either of them are playing, especially Hill, who is bound to put up big numbers against the Texans if he’s in. I’d suggest picking up Carlos Hyde for Sunday. As I’ve repeated throughout this article, the Kansas City rush defense is going to be their Achilles’ heel when they face the Texans. Hyde is going to be able to exploit their weak run defense and put up big numbers on Sunday.
