Value of Things: The Ins and Outs of Chiefs vs. Texans

The Houston Texans put another solid effort together against a possible Super Bowl contender. As everyone knows, they came up short again. As per usual, the numbers might tell a different story. The 30-24 defeat doesn’t tell the whole story. It rarely ever does. You have to watch these games in order to get a feel of where this team is at. As per usual, we invite you to take a look at the Hair of the Dog feature. It represents our thoughts on the game in real time.

The Chiefs moved the ball at will as the total yardage indicates. A team known primarily for their passing attack moved the ball on the ground with ease. Patrick Mahomes also gashed the defense throughout the day. Obviously, that happens almost every week with him. The Chiefs outgained the Texans more than two to one. It has been the same story most of the season. Give the Texans credit for keeping it close, but these finals are optical illusions.

The Numbers

Total Yards: Chiefs 502, Texans 219

Passing Yards: Chiefs 313, Texans 125

Rushing Yards: Chiefs 189, Texans 94

Total Plays: Chiefs 76, Texans 58

Rushes: Chiefs 33, Texans 33

Passes: Chiefs 43, Texans 25

Yards Per Play: Chiefs 6,6, Texans 3.8

Penalties: Texans 4/33, Chiefs 10/102

Turnovers: Texans 1, Chiefs 2

Time of Possession: Chiefs 37:22. Texans 27:25

Three and Outs: Texans 2, Chiefs 2

One of the members of the masthead made a perfect analogy of this game during the HOTD feature. He compared the Chiefs to a house cat playing with a cricket. You know the cat will win. You know the cricket will eventually perish. It’s only a matter of time. They are just toying with the cricket at that point. They know how it will turn out. They are just amusing themselves.

The Chiefs never felt threatened in this game and this is considering that the Texans led for much of it and were leading coming into the fourth quarter. Their drives ended for stupid reasons. There were penalties, turnovers, and just plays that defied explanation. There wasn’t a sense of urgency for them because there didn’t need to be. They were winning the game anyway. They could have done it in regulation, but they didn’t.

The Mills Report

PCT: 50.0%

Yards: 121

Yards Per Attempt: 5.0

Quarterback Rating: 92.5

ESPN QBR: 51.0

TD/INT: 2/0

Not included in these numbers was the key 17 yard run for a touchdown from Mills. Overall, this might have been his finest effort. Let’s consider that for a moment. ESPN QBR has a scale of 0 to 100. 50 is average. So, his best performance of the season was basically average. There will be some that want to hold out hope that he could be a good starting quarterback in the NFL. That was a nice performance on Sunday outside of the fumble.

Yet, you could not watch what was happening on the other side of the field and think that Mills is the answer. In a conference that features Mahomes, Josh Allen, Deshaun Watson, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, and Tua Tagovailoa, you cannot roll out there with an average quarterback and expect to compete. You just can’t. I don’t know if Bryce Young is the answer. Yet, we do know he would give us a better chance than what Davis Mills or anyone else gives us right now.