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Final score: Chiefs 30, Texans 0... and it wasn't even that close.
As a sports town, Kansas City is making itself at home in Houston, having already defeated the Astros in the playoffs, and now dominating out the Texans from start to finish.
The only score they'd ever need came 11 seconds into the game when Knile Davis returned the opening kickoff 106 yards for a score. The wide open lane the running back saw en route to the end zone perfectly foreshadowed the onslaught to come.
Here's how the Texans offense responded in the first half, by drive:
- Three plays, four yards, Punt
- Three plays, two yards, Interception
- 11 plays, 41 yards, Fumble
- Five plays, 11 yards, Punt
- Eight plays, 77 yards, Interception
- Two plays, 1 yard, Interception
- Kneel down to end the half.
During that masterful showcase of offensive football, the Texans' defense held the Chiefs' offense to two field goals, giving the offense plenty of time to get it together. Indeed, it was only until J.J. Watt came off the field with a groin injury that the Chiefs were able to notch an offensive touchdown, pushing the score to 20-0 -- well out of range of any Brian Hoyer-led comeback attempt. The rest was garbage time.
Hoyer ended the game --and the Texans' playoff run-- with a 15-34, 136 yards, 4 INT performance, plus a fumble lost on top of it all. Despite the loss of Duane Brown, the offensive line actually gave Hoyer fairly clean pockets for much of the game, but his accuracy and decision-making was questionable, to be as kind as possible.
Alfred Blue and Whitney Mercilus turned in some admirable efforts. Alfred Blue ran hard for 99 yards on 17 carries, including a 49-yard run that put the Texans deep into Chiefs' territory in the second quarter. (A Brian Hoyer pick on the goalline ended the drive, by the way). Meanwhile, Mercilus again took advantage of all the attention J.J. Watt was getting and notched another three sacks, along with eight tackles and three run stuffs.
...And that's about it for notable Texans performances.
The 2015 season is officially over for the Houston Texans, and even though it ended on a sour note, I'm proud of the team for getting here despite all the adversity, injuries and uncertainty. A shutout loss certainly stings, but I'm feeling the arrow is still pointed up. Just gotta figure out that whole quarterback thing...
Discuss the loss and the future of the franchise down below, BRB bros and sisters.
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