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The Houston Texans have C.J. Stroud back in the lineup, and the young quarterback thinks his team is super dangerous. Is it manly enough to tame the Chiefs? Here are bold predictions for the Texans’ Sunday Night Football clash with the Chiefs.
Houston started the season at 0-3, but now stands at 7-5. The Texans are in the thick of the playoff hunt. Meanwhile, the desperate Chiefs (6-6) feel they have to win out to get into the postseason and not miss for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era.
This will be a banner game for Stroud. He will have great success despite a good Chiefs’ defense. He already performed well against a good Colts team, according to NFL.com.
“I feel like I knocked off some rust and am back rolling,” said Stroud. “We’re super dangerous. We lost some close games against some really good teams. If we can find a way to win some close games after Thanksgiving, we’ll put ourselves in position to do whatever we want.”
What gives Stroud the chance to be a standout is the surprisingly improved play of the offensive line, according to texanswire.com.
“It’s a credit to the coaches, starting with [Nick] Caley and the offensive staff,” Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They’ve done a really good job of really emphasizing and walking through the pressure looks that we’ll see. Credit to the players [too], they executed it the right way. I think Woody [Marks] has stepped up and done a really nice job in protection.”
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said the Texans’ offense looks stout, according to HoustonTexans.com
“I’m sure they feel really good about the way their offense is rolling right now,” Spagnuolo said. “I just see a confident team. Coming off of that win last week and the way they played, I would imagine there’s going to be a confident group coming in here.
“I was very impressed with [Stroud]. I told him that after the game last time we played him. For a young guy, he’s so talented. We all saw what he did last week with his feet. When the importance of these games keep amping up, you can expect quarterbacks to say, ‘Hey, I might have to run it here.’
It’s time to see what that defense can do now that respect has become abundant. Some are calling the Texans the best defense in the NFL. If so, this is the stage where they need to shine.
They certainly have the Chiefs’ attention.
“When you look at that defense in general, their confidence level of how fast they’re playing and aggressive, you felt that in the Chargers game, and that’s been going on for a while,” Chiefs OC Matt Nagy said. “They’re good football players. They lead the league in sacks for a reason. So if we don’t respect that, that’s...
