Houston Texans: Staff predictions vs. Kansas City

Oct 20, 2013; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Cooper (31) breaks up a pass intended for Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins (10) during the second half at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs won 17-16. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Texans kick off their season against the Kansas City Chiefs in just two days and in advance of the game we have the staff predictions from some of our contributors here at the Toro Times.

The game features two quarterbacks that are viewed as “game managers” with the Texans featuring Brian Hoyer and the Chiefs coming in with the efficient veteran Alex Smith.

For the Texans, they look to open up their offense more as they have transitioned from receiver Andre Johnson as the offensive focal point to the younger and more explosive DeAndre Hopkins. The Chiefs look to be more of a threat on offense by bringing in receiver Jeremy Maclin.

Maclin has ties to Kansas City head coach Andy Reid as the two spent time together in Philadelphia. The free agent signing figures to be a huge improvement at receiver as the team had zero touchdown passes by a wide receiver last year.

Both teams also feature two of the premiere pass rushers in the game as Houston defensive end J.J. Watt and Kansas City outside linebacker Justin Houston both had more than 20 sacks last season. Watt brought opposing passers down 20.5 times last season as he became the only player in NFL history to hit the 20-plus sack mark twice in a career. Houston posted 22 sacks and fell just one-half sack short of the NFL record of 22.5 in a single season.

So how will this play out? Check out what we think and feel free to click on the writers name to see more of their work if you like their writing style. Also, feel free to get the discussion going below and let us know how you see the game unfolding.

Next: Our first prediction...