(SportsRadio 610) - With the Chiefs playing at NRG Stadium on Sunday, rather than analyzing the teams and predicting how lopsided the score should be in another meaningless season for the Texans, let’s take a trip down memory lane to the last time they played a meaningful game.
That would be Jan. 12, 2020, a divisional round playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium. That 51-31 victory catapulted the Chiefs to a Super Bowl LIV conquest over San Francisco and helped them become a perennial championship contender. The defeat sent the Texans into a 9-36-1 nosedive that’s made them the worst team in the NFL.
Ah, but those were the good old days when Texans fans went into games thinking their favorite team had a chance to win compared to today when fans who still care expect them to lose, usually decisively. Like in Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, who are 10-3 and tied with Buffalo for the best record in the AFC while the Texans are 1-11-1 and headed for the first overall pick in the draft.
Now, for nostalgia sake, let’s step back and remember a time when the Texans won a playoff game and reached the divisional round for the second time under Bill O’Brien and the fourth time in team history.
In 2019, the Texans played their first season without owner Bob McNair, who died in November of 2018 after a lengthy battle with cancer. That season was their sixth with O’Brien. They finished 10-6 and won their fourth AFC South title in five years.
The Chiefs were in their seventh season under Andy Reid. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in his third NFL season and his second as a starter. The Chiefs, who finished 12-4, had a bye in the wild-card round of the playoffs.
The Texans hosted Buffalo and second-year quarterback Josh Allen. He helped the Bills lead 16-0 in the third quarter when Deshaun Watson ignited a rally that culminated with one of the most exciting playoff victories in Houston history.
With the scored tied 19-19 in overtime, Watson dropped back to pass. It appeared as if he would be sacked for an eighth time because he was hit simultaneously by linebacker Matt Milano and safety Micah Hide. Despite direct hits from both sides, Watson managed to spin out of the sandwich and find running back Taiwan Jones for a 34-yard completion. Ka’imi Fairbairn’s field goal won the game in overtime.
Texans’ fans were delirious after the victory over Buffalo. They were excited and confident about the divisional round game against Kansas City, where they had defeated the Chiefs 31-24 during regular season. If they beat the Chiefs again, the Texans would be the first Houston team to reach the AFC Championship Game since the Oilers after the 1979 season.
Speaking of the Oilers, no team from Houston burst out of a playoff gate like the Texans did on that Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium. They didn’t lead the Chiefs 35-3 like the Oilers did against Buffalo after the 1992 season, but they had Kansas City down 24-0 in the second quarter.
That Texans team had Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, J.J. Watt, Laremy Tunsil, Will Fuller, D.J. Reader, Justin Reid, Zach Cunningham and Whitney Mercilus, among other key contributors. They had their foot on the Chiefs’ throats, and Kansas City was down but not out. Then, like flicking a light switch, it was over in an instant. Not really an instant, of course, but it sure seemed that way. Like the Oilers against the Bills, the Texans choked.
The Texans’ tailspin began when they faced fourth-and-1 at the Kansas City 13 leading 21-0. Rather than go for the first down and a touchdown, O’Brien had Fairbairn kick a field goal to give them a 24-point advantage. At that point, O’Brien and his team experienced a textbook case of Murphy’s Law that began with a special teams blunder.
Mecole Hardman returned the kickoff 58 yards, and two plays later, Mahomes threw the first of four touchdown passes before halftime. On the Texans’ new possession, O’Brien called for a fake punt, and Daniel Sorenson stopped Reid short of a first down. Mahomes responded with his second touchdown – his first of three to tight end Travis Kelce in the second quarter.
Leading 24-14, DeAndre Carter fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and the Chiefs recovered at the Texans’ 6. Fans believed they were watching a bad episode of “The Three Stooges.” Another Mahomes-to-Kelce touchdown pulled the Chiefs within three. Before halftime, Mahomes and Kelce collaborated on another touchdown pass to gain a 28-24 halftime advantage.
It was 41-24 before the Texans scored again on Watson’s second touchdown pass. The Chiefs completed the scoring with 10 points in the fourth quarter. The victory allowed them to host Tennessee in the AFC Championship Game – another victory before they won the Lombardi Trophy by defeating the 49ers.
As for the Texans, their plunge continued the next season, and it hasn’t stopped. Since blowing the 24-point lead to Kansas City, they’ve been sinking so deep they can see the Titanic.
John McClain can be heard Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday on Sports Radio 610 and Monday and Thursday on Texans Radio. He write three times a week and does three Houtopia Podcasts for SportsRadio610.com. He also can be read four times a week on GallerySports.com.