Five things that stood out about the Chiefs’ win over the Texans

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One more for No. 1.

The Chiefs beat the Texans, 27-19, in a rare Saturday afternoon appearance, and they now need just one win in their last two games to clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC.

It wasn’t the ugly game some had anticipated — myself included — and Patrick Mahomes seemed unbothered by an ankle injury that required treatment during the week.

Let’s get to it. Here are five observations from immediately after the game:1. The wide receiver mix

It’s been awhile since I’ve said this: The Chiefs appear to have a terrific development at wide receiver. — Two of them.

Hollywood Brown made his season debut, returning from surgery to repair his sternoclavicular (SC) joint, and while he played in only a limited role, he was effective: five catches for 45 yards.

It’s fine to be skeptical about what he’ll be able to produce — he hasn’t played in a year, and this isn’t exactly his first injury. But I’ll remind that Justin Watson, second on the team in routes run this year, ranks 118th of 123rd qualifying receiving in yards per route run. That’s the player you’re asking him to replace.

That’s one development.

The second? Xavier Worthy.

He cooked one of the best secondaries in football — the Texans’ pass defense ranks No. 1 in DVOA and No. 2 in expected points added (er, subtracted, in this case) per play.

They couldn’t defend Worthy man-to-man. His whip route toasted outside cornerbacks.

While he finished with seven catches for 65 yards and a touchdown, frankly, it should have been more. Mahomes missed him once on a potential touchdown throw — and might have even been targeting Travis Kelce — and didn’t see him wide open on third down.

That can improve.

Worthy has improved. And that could be a significant development for Kansas City.2. A Mahomes tone-setter

It’s become such a regular thing that you could almost lose its appreciation. — Almost.

The quarterback certainly has some toughness to him.

It was never really a question of whether Mahomes would play Saturday against the Texans — but that sentence is true because of the player involved as much of the injury involved.

And just in case you thought he might be limited by an ankle sprain, it took all of one drive to be convinced otherwise.

Mahomes twice elected to scramble for first downs, the second a 15-yard touchdown in which he not only absorbed contact but outright sought it. That, of course, could be as much strategy as anything.

The hardest thing to do with an ankle sprain is stop on a dime. It might have been less painful to take a shot to the shoulder.3. The Texans’ passing game

The Texans might be cruising toward the AFC South division championship, but it’s been a grind offensively. They rank 31st in the NFL in yards per drive.

Well, maybe not anymore — the Texans picked on a Chiefs cornerback rotation that included Joshua Williams, Nazeeh Johnson and even Keith Taylor. This might not have been KC’s originally planned rotation, but C.J. Stroud sent them through the spin cycle.

At one point, he converted five straight first downs in the first half. All of those conversions came through the air, with Stroud dropping back and targeting the cornerback opposite Trent McDuffie — you know, whomever that might be.

Look, I don’t know what 31-year-old Steven Nelson really has left after the Chiefs signed him to the practice squad this month — there’s a reason someone is a free agent until December — but KC is running out of options at that second cornerback spot.

And it’s not for a lack of trying them all.

The Chefs did intercept Stroud twice in the first half and were more effective in coverage, actually, after halftime. As for the new turnover streak, it took McDuffie 47 games to secure his first career NFL interception and all of six days to get his second.

But the Texans have not had a good passing offense this season. That’s not all on Stroud — he’s played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league.

Couldn’t tell Saturday.

A week their best outing of the season, the Chiefs’ defensive line was kept in check by a bad pass-protection unit that even lost two more players during Saturday’s game.4. The Chiefs and short yardage

Kareem Hunt’s production has tailed off since September and October, but there’s one spot in which he’s still incredibly effective: Short yardage.

When carrying the ball on third or fourth down with one or two yards to go, the Chiefs running back has converted 14 of 16 tries, a rate of 87.5%. If there’s any play that offers that kind of success rate on short yardage, you’ll take it.

So, naturally, facing third- and fourth-and 1 on back-to-back plays, the Chiefs … uh … turned to Isiah Pacheco?

Twice.

He didn’t get it and the Chiefs turned the ball over at midfield (before the defense bailed them out of a prickly spot). Right tackle Jawaan Taylor got blown up on the fourth-down snap, but the result is actually not the main point.

Even if Pacheco had gained the first down, it would remain confusing why a player with an 86.7% success rate is standing on the sideline in the very situation he dominates. At some point, the data needs to dictate the Chiefs’ backfield rotation.5. The other fourth down

Brown made his first catch of the season — and his Chiefs career — at a pretty opportune time.

Mahomes hit Brown on a drag route — the offensive line provided enough time to wait for the traffic to clear over the middle — that gained 12 yards to convert a fourth-and-1 play in Texans territory.

But the real importance preceded that play.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid left the offense on the field.

It would have been easy — or, shall I say, typical — for Reid to prioritize getting some points off a turnover on the preceding possession. But he instead left his offense out there on fourth-and-1 from the 29-yard line.

The analytics favored the decision to go for it, but Reid doesn’t usually favor doing so. We have to acknowledge when he does it well. His decision to trust the numbers netted the Chiefs four points.