KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It was indeed a tough watch.
The Texans’ offense, after an encouraging start Sunday night, were stymied by the masterclass adjustments of veteran Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and an aggressive pass rush spurred on by star defensive lineman Chris ‘Stone Cold’ Jones.
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If it wasn’t Jones busting through blocks for a sack and four quarterback hits, it was self-inflicted wounds from the Texans as the NFL’s top-ranked defense carried them during a 20-10 victory at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Texans had far too many unforced errors, including penalties, and errant throws by quarterback C.J. Stroud.
An ugly third quarter that included no completions by Stroud and minus-two total yards of offense and the third-year passer and former NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year completing just three passes overall in the second half didn’t prevent the Texans from snapping a five-game losing streak to the Chiefs.
Although Stroud completed just 15 of 31 passes for 201 yards, he had one more touchdown pass than Chiefs MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes. Stroud had zero interceptions. Mahomes had three interceptions.
“I just tried to bring the guys up and say that our defense was holding us together: ‘We’ve got to go score some points,” Stroud said. “We know how dangerous we are when we’re doing the right things. Our defense got the stop. We moved the ball and ran the ball great.
“I tried to make the play on third down and then Dare punches it in. It’s not always going to be pretty, it’s not always going to be perfect but whenever your numbers are called, you try to make the play.”
And the Texans improved to 8-5 and are now seventh in the AFC playoff standings after their fifth consecutive victory.
“He made a lot of nice plays for us throughout this game,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “I’m proud of the way he led for us. No matter how it looked, he led, he put us in a good spot and made some plays for us.”
Stroud was pressured constantly. It was heavy duress as he was sacked three times and pressured on 54.3 percent of his drop backs, according to Next Gen Stats.
In the fourth quarter, Stroud came alive again with a crucial 3rd-and-17 pass completed to rookie wide receiver Jayden Higgins.
Then, Stroud sidestepped pressure from a charging Jones, improvising to his right to find Higgins again for a pivotal throw.
Stroud didn’t produce glittery statistics, but he earned a lot of respect for his toughness and poise.
“He made a lot of tough passes today and they caught the ball well,” Jones said. “We tried our best to effect him, multiple different blitzes and getting after him with four. He played tough today.”
Stroud managed the game. He used his ability to move to keep the Texans offense going.
Reserve running back Dare Ogunbowale eventually scored the game-winning touchdown.
“Once C.J. can move and escape the pocket, that is what a lot of defensive guys that go against him, that’s his strength. He has to utilize that even more,” Ryans said. “You see the plays he can make when he can escape the pocket, whether it’s running the ball or keeping his eyes downfield to make big throws, he has a good knack for finding the guys down the field and making plays. I like it when he escapes the pocket because I know it’s going to be a positive play.”
Yes, the second half is a concern.
Spagnuolo’s adjustments had Texans offensive coordinator Nick Caley searching for answers and the offense looked befuddled.
Eventually, they settled down and did just enough to secure the win while leaning on the NFL’s best defense.
“We can do some better things offensively,” Ryans said. “Kansas City did a really great job of picking up the pressure. Spagnuolo did a really great job of calling it there. They came out in the second half and made some adjustments and stopped our run game, and we couldn’t get any passes completed.
“It was a tough stretch there in the third quarter. We found a way when we needed to run the ball at the end of the game. We found a way to get some yards and finish it.”
There are no style points in football.
A win is a win is a win.
The Texans beat the Chiefs for the first time since the 2019 season after going 0-2 against them last year, including an AFC divisional round loss at Arrowhead Stadium.
“It’s big-time,” Stroud said. “We ended our season here last year. You kind of have that bad taste in your mouth. We were all motivated to win this game and do the right things to win the game. It’s a blessing. There are always things to clean up. Offensively, we need to be better in the second half. I thought we played hard.
“In December, you want to get wins and that’s all that really matters. The pressure, the blitz. We just have to be better with identifying it and with trying to make plays. We have to be better on first down, that is really the key. If we can get to third and shorts, or even mediums, that helps us out.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com