Kansas City 12
Houston 19
Sunday, September 18, 2016 01:00 PM
(ET)
Texans use defense to defeat Chiefs
The Sports Xchange
Sep 18, 2016
HOUSTON -- Carried by another stifling defensive performance, one aided by a staunch commitment to running the football, the Houston Texans extended their regular-season winning streak to five games with a 19-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
The Texans (2-0) limited the Chiefs (1-1) to 291 yards, with Kansas City only eclipsing the 200-yard plateau deep into the fourth quarter. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith passed for 186 yards, suffered four sacks, and averaged 5.0 yards per attempt.
Houston forced three turnovers and possessed the ball for more than 33 minutes. Despite averaging just 2.9 yards per rush, the Texans ran the football 34 times and effectively bled the clock in the fourth quarter to maintain their lead.
While setting up Nick Novak field goals of 31 and 43 yards, the Texans exhausted 10 minutes off the clock while covering 96 yards over 22 plays.
Shut out at home by the Chiefs in the wild-card round of the 2015 playoffs, the Texans didn't exactly get their offense rolling in the third meeting between the teams since the start of last season.
But Novak converted four field goals and the Houston defense made a 27-yard touchdown pass from Brock Osweiler to DeAndre Hopkins with 8:01 remaining in the first quarter stand.
Osweiler passed for 268 yards but also threw a pair of interceptions, both to Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters. Texans running back Lamar Miller, on the heels of a career-high 28 attempts last week against the Bears, rushed 25 times for 83 yards.
Chiefs kicker Carlos Santos kicked field goals of 53, 43, 35 and 30 yards.
NOTES: Chiefs PK Carlos Santos tied his career long with a 53-yard field goal in the second quarter. ... Texans WR Braxton Miller departed in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return. Miller caught one pass for six yards in his NFL debut last week and had two touches for one yard on Sunday. ... Zach Fulton and Jah Reid started at left and right guard for the Chiefs, respectively. LG Parker Ehinger suffered a concussion in practice last week while RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was out with a high ankle sprain. ... DE J.J. Watt, CB Kevin Johnson and LB Whitney Mercilus recovered first-half fumbles for Houston, marking the first time in franchise history the Texans had three fumble recoveries in the first half of a game.
Sep 18, 2016
HOUSTON -- Carried by another stifling defensive performance, one aided by a staunch commitment to running the football, the Houston Texans extended their regular-season winning streak to five games with a 19-12 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at NRG Stadium.
The Texans (2-0) limited the Chiefs (1-1) to 291 yards, with Kansas City only eclipsing the 200-yard plateau deep into the fourth quarter. Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith passed for 186 yards, suffered four sacks, and averaged 5.0 yards per attempt.
Houston forced three turnovers and possessed the ball for more than 33 minutes. Despite averaging just 2.9 yards per rush, the Texans ran the football 34 times and effectively bled the clock in the fourth quarter to maintain their lead.
While setting up Nick Novak field goals of 31 and 43 yards, the Texans exhausted 10 minutes off the clock while covering 96 yards over 22 plays.
Shut out at home by the Chiefs in the wild-card round of the 2015 playoffs, the Texans didn't exactly get their offense rolling in the third meeting between the teams since the start of last season.
But Novak converted four field goals and the Houston defense made a 27-yard touchdown pass from Brock Osweiler to DeAndre Hopkins with 8:01 remaining in the first quarter stand.
Osweiler passed for 268 yards but also threw a pair of interceptions, both to Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters. Texans running back Lamar Miller, on the heels of a career-high 28 attempts last week against the Bears, rushed 25 times for 83 yards.
Chiefs kicker Carlos Santos kicked field goals of 53, 43, 35 and 30 yards.
NOTES: Chiefs PK Carlos Santos tied his career long with a 53-yard field goal in the second quarter. ... Texans WR Braxton Miller departed in the second quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return. Miller caught one pass for six yards in his NFL debut last week and had two touches for one yard on Sunday. ... Zach Fulton and Jah Reid started at left and right guard for the Chiefs, respectively. LG Parker Ehinger suffered a concussion in practice last week while RG Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was out with a high ankle sprain. ... DE J.J. Watt, CB Kevin Johnson and LB Whitney Mercilus recovered first-half fumbles for Houston, marking the first time in franchise history the Texans had three fumble recoveries in the first half of a game.
