Arrowhead Pride
Before the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 13 game against the Dallas Cowboys, all of our Arrowhead Pride panelists blew it: each one of us picked the Chiefs to win. As a group, we expected a 29-21 Kansas City win. That prediction carried 22 points of error* from the Chiefs’ 31-28 loss. Our readers were a bit less enthusiastic about Kansas City’s chances. Just over one in five thought Dallas would win its Thanksgiving Day matchup — and most of those correctly believed it would be a close game.
In Week 14, the Chiefs face the Houston Texans on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Kansas City is favored by 3.5 points.
Let’s see what the staff — and our readers — think about the matchup.
I’ve done a terrible job picking games this year, so it’ll probably go the opposite way I expect it to go. That being said, I am not picking the Chiefs this week.
I think this is the worst time to get a matchup like the Texans. The Houston defense is very similar to the Broncos’ unit. Both dominate with a four-man pass rush and play tight man coverage on the back end. Kansas City wide receivers are bad against man coverage — and the team might be without 60% of its offensive line, including both tackles.
The Chiefs’ defense should be fine. The Texans’ offense is improving, but it can still be stopped. I expect Chris Jones to play a monster game inside. That will help limit points.
I could see Kansas City winning a 16-13 slugfest. But with the current status of the offensive line — and a bad matchup for the offense — I think Houston wins.
Texans 20, Chiefs 16
It’s noteworthy that Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson each have more than 10 sacks on the season. So yes… they will be bad matchups against the Chiefs’ tackles. But to me, that simply means Kansas City will have no choice but to downshift into the running game and quick passes. That’s fine by me. If the Chiefs had been doing that more often, I believe they’d have a much better record. So I see this as a low-scoring game — Steve Spagnuolo’s unit isn’t anything to sneeze at, either — but one that Kansas City can win at home.
Chiefs 16, Texans 13
Both teams arrive with good defenses, though Houston’s front seven has been the more dominant unit to this point. Kansas City has played strong early-down defense but continues to struggle on third-and-long — and in late-game stop situations. The Texans’ offense has been inconsistent, so if the Chiefs can close out those long-yardage situations, they should create the extra possessions their offense needs.
Offensively, the edge still tilts slightly toward Kansas City. Injuries along the offensive line — potentially both tackles and guard Trey Smith — would likely shift the approach...
