It took one play for the Divisional Round game between the Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs to get exciting.
Nikko Remigio took the opening kickoff and ran it back 63 yards before finally being tackled by Kris Boyd. The Houston defensive back stripped the ball as he took Remigio down and believed his team was about to get the ball.
Boyd ran to the sideline and took off his helmet, throwing it in celebration. One problem is that this is a penalty in the NFL. The other problem is that Samaje Perine of Kansas City recovered the fumble.
Big return to open the game. Ball is loose but Chiefs recover.
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That meant the Chiefs started with the ball on the Houston 13 thanks to the 15-yard penalty.
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Not only did Boyd's blunder put his defense in a bad spot, but it made him look wildly unprofessional. Boyd didn't attempt to recover the ball and was even seen shoving special teams coach Frank Ross as he went to the sideline.
Texans defense answered the call
As bad as that play was for special teams, the Texans' defense reminded us why they have a shot in this game despite being underdogs.
Houston held the Chiefs to a field goal, shutting down Patrick Mahomes and the offense in three plays. The drive even lost yards with Isiah Pacheco being stuffed for a one-yard loss by Tim Settle, Jr. Mahomes then had two incompletions before Harrison Butker came in to kick a 32-yard field goal.
That gave the Chiefs a 3-0 lead but it could have been much worse.