Kansas City Chiefs pick up where they left off against Texans
The Kansas City Chiefs are going to be a problem once again.
If you were concerned the Chiefs wouldn’t be great in their title quest, early returns say you shouldn’t be. Kansas City allowed the Houston Texans to grab a 7-0 lead into the second quarter of their NFL season opener, only for the Chiefs to them rack up 31 unanswered points. Once the game finished up, a few meaningless scores put the final at 34-20, with Kansas City covering the 9.5-point spread and moving to 1-0 on the campaign.
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For starters, Clyde Edwards-Helaire will both be a fantasy beast but also a major pain for real-life defensive coordinators. The rookie running back out of LSU showed why Kansas City made him the No. 32 overall pick, rushing for 138 yards and a touchdown on 5.5 yards per carry. The SEC product was obscene in the open field, making one tackler miss after the next.
Edwards-Helaire was the obvious difference from a year ago, when despite how great the Chiefs were, they didn’t have a consistent ground attack. He joins Patrick Mahomes in the backfield, who completed 24-of-32 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
On the outside, Kansas City spread the ball around. Sammy Watkins caught seven passes for 82 yards, while Travis Kelce notched six catches for 50 yards. Tyreek Hill also added five receptions for 46 yards, with all three stars catching a touchdown pass.
Defensively, Kansas City was stifling for much of the night after allowing a touchdown drive on the second Houston possession of the night. Deshaun Watson was largely limited throughout the evening, despite finishing with 253 yards — approximately half of which coming in the fluff-filled fourth quarter.
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The Chiefs’ coverage was bolstered by rookie cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, who covered both Will Fuller and Brandin Cooks without help. at times. In the fourth quarter, Sneed made his first-career interception after Watson’s arm was hit by the blitzing Tyrann Mathieu.
Ultimately, the takeaway was both stark and simple. Kansas City added to its offensive arsenal in Edwards-Helaire, and the defense is significantly better than it was at the beginning of last season, when new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was putting in his scheme.
The Chiefs will lose games, and maybe legitimate problems will crop up down the line. For now, they’re 1-0, and they look to be even tougher to beat than in their Super Bowl season.
