3 winners & 2 losers from costly Texans loss to Chiefs in Week 16

The Houston Texans fell to 9-6 with a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday.

After securing the AFC South title for the second year in a row last week, Houston had a chance to prove they can hang with the No. 1 seed. They fell short despite having several chances, which has to be a blow to their confidence.

With that being said, here's a look at who stood out as winners and losers in the loss.

Winner: Dalton Schultz, TE

After hardly making any noise in Week 15, Dalton Schults had a solid outing against Kansas City. He caught five passes for 45 yards and had his second touchdown of the season.

This hasn't been a typical campaign for Schultz but Saturday was a positive sign with the postseason approaching.

Loser: Bobby Slowik, OC

This hasn't been the best season for Bobby Slowik. The second-year offensive coordinator has been under fire for his play-calling and he wasn't at his best on Saturday.

Slowik put his team in a terrible spot on their second drive with a questionable call. Houston was responding well to a touchdown from Patrick Mahomes with three big plays, two of which were passes downfield. Then after a short pass to Robert Woods made it second-and-six, Slowik dialed up a screen pass to Nico Collins. Kansas City sniffed that one out and took Collins down for a four-yard loss, leading to a field goal.

This was the second time he called a screen to Collins, with the wideout being stopped for a two-yard loss on the opening drive. It was also confusing why they didn't continue to run the ball after Joe Mixon gashed the defense for a 22-yard gain.

Not to be deterred, Slowik again dialed up a screen that resuled in a loss on the third drive. This time, it was to Robert Woods and left them facing a third-and-13. He was bailed out by Tank Dell but made it tougher on the offense by calling screens despite the failures.

Winner: Kamari Lassiter, CB

When Kamari Lassiter entered the 2024 NFL Draft, there were concerns about his speed. Houston felt he had more than enough to get the job done, and that's been the case throughout his rookie season.

Lassiter was again solid on Saturday, even playing tight coverage on the 40-yard dash record-holder. Lassiter was often lined up across from Xavier Worthy, including the opening drive of the second half. Worthy, who ran a 4.21 in the 40-yard dash, was targeted on third-and-10 but Lassiter had tight coverage and broke up the play, forcing a punt.

Loser: C.J. Stroud, QB

This was a measuring stick game for the Texans, who came up short. The same was true of C.J. Stroud, who was playing on the same field as Patrick Mahomes for the first time in his career.

Stroud had a chance to prove he could hang with Mahomes but ended up making far too many mistakes. He finished with two interceptions and had two delay of game penalties in the second half. That wasn't what his team needed as they dropped another close one.

Winner: Tank Dell, WR

Tank Dell was on fire this weekend. The second-year wideout caught six passes on seven targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown reception was a sensational grab but sadly resulted in a gruesome leg injury.

Dell was carted off the field, ending his season prematurely for the second year in a row. He returned from a broken fibula that ended his rookie campaign and was starting to show the same playmaking ability he displayed in 2023 before being hurt.

It was a sad scene but doesn't take away from the fact that he was the best receiver on the field Saturday.