Four Takeaways from the Kansas City Chiefs' 27-19 Win Over the Houston Texans

The Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Houston Texans in Week 16, and there was plenty to take away from the Saturday afternoon contest.

Dec 21, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) reacts during the first half against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

In a playoff environment at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, the Kansas City Chiefs took on the Houston Texans in a matchup between two clubs that have already punched their tickets to the postseason. The game managed to live up to the hype for the most part, with the reigning champs coming away with yet another victory.

Behind a respectable output from the offense and enough stops on defense, Kansas City secured a 27-19 victory to get to 14-1 on the season. Not only does this help the Chiefs prepare for the big dance, but it boosts their chances of securing the much-needed top overall seed to do so.

With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Saturday's game.

Assessing how Patrick Mahomes looked on a high-ankle sprain

In yet another late-season development, Patrick Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 15's win over the Cleveland Browns. Kansas City held him out of the remainder of the contest out of caution, which turned out to be the right move. The two-time MVP proceeded to get good news on the severity of the injury and practiced in full capacity all week long. Given the green light to play on a bum ankle, Mahomes didn't look too hobbled.

Mahomes tested his mobility from the beginning of Saturday's game, completing a 12-yard rush on a third-and-13 and later scrambling for a 15-yard touchdown on Kansas City's opening drive. His ability to extend plays and plant with torque was still evident with both ankles taped and spatted. While Mahomes didn't do anything crazy from a statistical standpoint, he did a good job maneuvering behind a patchwork offensive line and had several confident throws. This performance, all things considered, should be mostly inspiring with the playoffs in sight.

Marquise "Hollywood" Brown is going to make a difference on offense

In the same bucket as Mahomes, the Chiefs got positive news this week when wideout Marquise "Hollywood" Brown upped his practice involvement. For the first time all season, the prized free agent pickup was a full participant each day after recovering from a sternoclavicular injury suffered in August. That led to him getting activated on Friday, paving the way for his regular-season debut. If one thing was made clear, it's that he'll factor into the team's plans down the stretch.

Similar to the debut of DeAndre Hopkins earlier this season, Brown's statistical production didn't even sniff its ceiling. Mahomes underthrew him on one play and on another, he put the ball a little too far upfield on a play Brown appeared to hesitate on. It likely would've been a touchdown had things clicked. Brown still managed to make his presence felt, though, hauling in five passes for 45 yards. Two of his early receptions were on late downs, showcasing his ability to impact critical plays. Brown being on the field will help Mahomes, as well as other pass catchers like Travis Kelce and rookie Xavier Worthy, moving forward. He won – and won often – on Saturday while leaving room for improvement.

Will the real Chiefs defense please stand up?

Since cornerback Jaylen Watson went down with an ankle injury earlier this season, the Kansas City defense has been in an interesting position. Over the next several weeks, the pass rush struggled and coverage options like Nazeeh Johnson and Joshua Williams flopped at corner. Last Sunday's win in Ohio saw both parts of the defense make leaps, although the results on that carrying over to Week 16 were mixed.

In the secondary, Johnson and Williams had ups and downs and both Trent McDuffie and Jaden Hicks recorded interceptions for the second game in a row. Players like George Karlaftis and Mike Danna generated occasional pressures but considering the quality of the offensive line faced, the overall reliability up front wasn't what many expected. The duality of the defense on third downs was also interesting. Entering Week 16, Spagnuolo's crew ranked 19th with a 39.5% conversion rate allowed. In half No. 1, Houston went 5-for-8 (63%) and responded with a 2-for-5 (40%) clip in the final two frames. There are likely still questions about the viability of this defense after facing a middling offense, which is fair, but a strong second half helped.

Kansas City is closing in on the AFC's No. 1 seed

Coming into Saturday's game, Kansas City was 13-1 with respective two- and three-win leads over the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers for the one-seed. Win No. 14 on the year matches a current franchise record (2020 and 2022) for a single season, also eliminating Pittsburgh from contention for that elusive first-round bye. It now comes down to only the Chiefs and the team that defeated them back in Week 11.

Per NBC's in-game broadcast, Kansas City's odds of getting the one-seed were set to rise to 89% with their victory. Buffalo isn't completely out of it due to a soft closing schedule (New York Jets once and New England Patriots twice) but if Andy Reid's team simply takes care of business in Pittsburgh on Christmas Day, it would lock up the bye. The same would be true if Buffalo simply fell to New England on Sunday afternoon, regardless of what Week 17 held. The Chiefs maintained some wiggle room despite having lost to their conference rivals earlier this season, which is now paying off as the end of the regular season gets closer.

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