The Kansas City Chiefs (10-3) are gearing up to face the Houston Texans (1-11-1) in Week 15.
Just as we have over the past six seasons, the Chiefs Wire staff will offer its weekly predictions for each Chiefs game. Below you’ll find all of our picks for Kansas City’s Week 15 matchup against the Texans on Sunday, Dec. 18 at Noon CT at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
Charles Goldman's prediction:
The Texans aren’t just one of the worst teams in the league, they’re also one of the most injured teams in the league. The talent disparity in this game is going to be large and look no further than the quarterback position. Houston is struggling so much that they’re resorting to using both Davis Mills and Jeff Driskel in a platoon situation. Neither has been good enough in their own right to start, but they’re only going to be able to catch teams by surprise for so long with that strategy.
On the offensive side of the ball, I’m hoping that Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes recognize that the run game can be their friend this week. The Texans give up more yardage on the ground than any team in the league. Use the run to set up the passing game this week and you can probably put Chad Henne in the game halfway through the third quarter.
Houston will get some points, probably with the majority of them coming in garbage time because that’s just the nature of the K.C. defense. I expect the Chiefs to actually cover the spread this week and win comfortably by two scores, which is something that I wouldn’t often pick.
Chiefs 35, Texans 20
Wesley Roesch's prediction:
On paper, this one should be a bloodbath. Of course, we all know how the Chiefs tend to play down to their competition and allow teams to hang around. However, I don’t expect them to do that with Houston as they did with Denver last week.
This should be a run-heavy game for the Chiefs who can feed running back Isiah Pacheco against Houston’s defense that allows 165 yards rushing per game. On the other side of the ball, the Texans are missing their top running back and top two receivers. If the Chiefs’ defense can’t hold them under 17, then I’m not sure they’ll make it very far in the playoffs.
Fortunately, I think the Chiefs’ defense is better than what it displayed against the Broncos last week. This should be a get-right game for K.C. and fans should rightfully expect a blowout.
Chiefs 34, Texans 13
Ed Easton Jr.'s prediction:
The Kansas City Chiefs are knocking on the door of their sixth straight AFC West division title entering Week 15 against the Houston Texans. The Texans’ record is poor, but the team plays hard and is poised to try and pull off the upset at home.
The Chiefs’ offense has a little extra pressure on them compared to most games due to the importance of jumping on a bad team and breaking their spirit early. Patrick Mahomes hopes to have receivers Mecole Hardman and Kadarius Toney in the mix, but he should have enough firepower to get the job done even if they sit another week. The familiar Texas setting should motivate Mahomes to have another signature game.
The Texans’ offense needs to be stopped early and often to eliminate any form of a home-field advantage in the opening period. Houston is well-coached, but they shouldn’t move the ball as frequently as they did against the Cowboys last week. The Chiefs’ defensive line needs to dominate the line of scrimmage and pressure the quarterback to seal a less stressful victory.
Chiefs 32, Texans 17
Nick Roesch's prediction:
For the second week in a row, the Chiefs will face a bad team with multiple key players out with injuries. They inexplicably let the Broncos back into the game last week, which I actually believe will be a good learning experience in the long run.
The Texans don’t do much of anything well. They’re experimenting with a ridiculous (in my humble opinion) two-quarterback system with two bad QBs. They’ll also be without their two best offensive players in Dameon Pierce and Brandin Cooks.
Defensively the Texans have good statistics against the pass but that’s at least in part because teams run all over them. I think the Chiefs will open things up with the pass and then commit to the run. They should play with a lead for most of the game.
It’s been a while since Travis Kelce has had a big game and I expect him to feast against a soft middle of Houston’s defense. I believe the K.C. defense took some lessons from last week’s near collapse and puts its foot down.
Chiefs 31, Texans 10
