Against the Los Angeles Chargers in the wild-card round, sloppy was good enough.
But the Houston Texans know a cleaner effort will be needed against the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Texans overcame three turnovers and eight penalties in defeating Los Angeles on Saturday. Despite those issues, Houston outgained the Chargers 429-261 and pulled away in the second half.
Following up the 32-12 victory with a sharper focus and better execution would seem to give Houston a great chance against anyone. But the Texans and coach DeMeco Ryans also know what kind of behemoth is waiting for them in the divisional round this weekend in Kansas City.
The Chiefs have won the past two Super Bowls and three of the past five, and the team’s earliest exits from the playoffs over the past six seasons have been in the AFC Championship — and in overtime, no less.
“We understand what’s in front of us,” Ryans said. “KC has done a great job for the past few years of really dominating the league, being there at the end. …
“It’s a tough, tough team to beat. It’s going to take everything that we have. It’s going to take all four quarters.”
The Chiefs, who went 15-2 in the regular season in earning the AFC’s top seed, defeated Houston 27-19 in Week 16.
In that game, the Texans finished 1-for-3 in the red zone and trailed just 24-19 midway through the fourth quarter before Kansas City closed out the win. But Ryans doesn’t expect that Dec. 21 loss to be much of an indicator of how this Saturday will go.
“Fresh start, new game,” Ryans said. “We will attack it just like it’s our first time playing these guys. … We’ll go in with a fresh set of eyes and see the things we need to do to be better, the things we need to do that close out the game.”
Still, that’s easier said than done when two-time league MVP Patrick Mahomes is lining up under center for your opponent.
Mahomes, who has thrown for 3,928 yards and 26 touchdowns this season, is not expected to be in the running for his third MVP award this year. But he can still stress a defense better than almost any other player in the league.
“It just presents different challenges,” Ryans said of facing Mahomes. “Guys are wide open a lot on their film because of the threat he poses, and he just requires so much attention.”
