Texans vs. Chiefs: Line and Over/Under

The Chiefs were two different teams in their first game.

Which Chiefs team will show up, the sluggish group that was gashed early and often by the Chargers in the first half or the dominating team that won the second half and the overtime? I expect it to be the latter.

Watt should be more effective this week, and Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus and John Simon will keep the pressure on. However, the Chiefs short passing game tends to negate pressure. How well the Texans handle the short dump-offs to the running backs and quarterback Alex Smith’s scrambling and read options without giving up the big play will tell the story.

I expect this to be a guessing game between the coordinators. Tight end Travis Kelce ripped the Texans in both 2015 games, and the Chiefs are improved at wide receiver. Alex Smith can go down the field if the Texans over-commit to the short passing game.  The Chiefs prefer to run the ball and stretch the field horizontally in the passing game, but they now have vertical capability.

But, the Chiefs aren’t the only team to add big play ability. The Texans made radical improvement at quarterback, running back, and wide receiver. The Texans young guns will be a good test for the Chiefs potent defense. I don’t have to got very far out on the limb to predict the Texans will score more than “0” this game.

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