x factors for Chiefs-Texans contest
By: Jake Rajala
The (6-6) Kansas City Chiefs are home on Sunday night against the (7-5) Houston Texans. Each squad is battling for a playoff spot. It would be quite odd if the Chiefs lose and fall to 6-7. The Chiefs were predicted to be Super Bowl contenders this season, but the sky is falling for them. With that said, I’m going to lay out four x-factors in the contest.
Tytus Howard
The offensive tackle Tytus Howard was a first round pick by the Texans in 2019. He needs to arrive. He will face a lot of action from Chris Jones, who lines up across all the DL spots. PFF has given him a 64.2, but he has a pass blocking grade of 80.2, which is 10th among tackles. Iron sharpens iron. Hopefully, Tytus can stand his ground.
Sheldon Rankins
Make no mistake, the Houston Texans have the best defense in the league. They rank first in YPG allowed. They are led by Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson. Hunter already has 11 sacks on the season, while Anderson has 10.5. The Chiefs will have their hands full blocking the two menaces. I believe this will open up room for Rankins to harass the QB. We witnessed Al-Quadin Muhammad have three sacks yesterday, across from Aidan Hutchinson.
Hollywood Brown
Hollywood Brown has five touchdowns on the season, which matches Travis Kelce. Brown has burners and he can really take the top off a defense. He needs to arrive in this contest, as defenses will focus on the likes of Xavier Worthy and Kelce.
Dalton Schultz
Don’t sleep on the Texans TE Dalton Schultz. He recorded 78 catches, 808 yards, and eight touchdowns in 2021. He should come close to eclipsing that figure this season. He is starting to cook up as playoffs approach. He has seven catches last week, which is the second most he’s had in a game this season.
The SNF football game in Week 13 could very well be the most entertaining, gutsy showdown on the weekend. We had an excellent start to the week on Thursday Night Football. Hopefully, that was a glimpse of beauty of what’s to come.
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