Did we see a Foreshadow of How the NFL Season Will Play Out?

NFL Football is back! Not quite the same as it was left, but it is back none the less, kicking off the season with a match up that could be a potential quarterback rivalry for years to come. The Houston Texans traveled to Kansas city to take on the defending super bowl champions the Chiefs.

The story of this game did not start last night, but back in 2016 when the league and players were placed a little differently. The Texans and their head coach Bill O’Brien have been have been to the playoffs four times out of the last six seasons, and have yet to get out of the divisional round. Two times out of those four seasons, the Chiefs were the ones that knocked the Texans out of the playoffs. Back in the 2015-2016 season the Chiefs went to Houston and knocked the Texans out of the playoffs with ease, winning the game 30-0. Fast forward a year later in 2017, Patrick Mahomes was drafted to the Chiefs to succeed Alex Smith, and Deshaun Watson was drafted to the Texans to take a pretty good team to heights it has yet to see.  Fast forward to earlier this year, the two first round drafted quarterbacks finally meet in the playoffs. It seemed as if Deshaun Watson and the Texans were clearly going to win, as they took a 24-0 lead in the first half over the Chiefs. Sure enough, just as easy as the Chiefs went into that hole of a 24 point deficit, they climbed right out of it, going on to win the game 51-31.

This was a statement game for the Texans. Every NFL team and fans of each team have that one team in their heads that may not be rivals to them, but if they beat that team, it means they made it over a hump. In the 2000s, Peyton Manning and the Colts had the Patriots. In the 90s, Steve Young and the 49ers had the Cowboys. Even in the 70s, Jim Plunkett and the Raiders had to make it pass the Steelers before achieving their ultimate goal.

On Thursday, the Texans took the lead first, scoring on an impressive run by David Johnson, who came in the trade of DeAndre Hopkins. Not panicking at all, the Chiefs put together a good drive of their own, to tie the game. Neither team came out showing a complete domination of offense or defense, but for both teams you could see it was all about making the most of their offensive possessions. Rather, than the explosive, exciting plays through the air that we are accustomed to seeing from the Chiefs, it was a dominate ground game and ball management that led them to beating the Texans. Each score by the Chiefs consisted of a drive where each play was a perfect response to the Houston defense. On the other side, the Texans weren’t able to find a groove fast enough. Blitzes by the Kansas City defense were a threat against the Texans that they were never able to figure out because they never had possession of the ball long enough.

The Texans scored twice in the fourth quarter to make the score 20-31, but it was clear who the winner of the game was. The ending score was 34-20 Chiefs, and that score really didn’t represent how bad the Chiefs beat the Texans. There is a long season ahead of us though, and possibility that these two teams will run into each other again. Will the Texans finally be ready? Or will the Chiefs domination continue?