The Chiefs have seemed to be turning a corner at some points this season, and their efficiency numbers are still very strong especially on offense. However, with the AFC wild card picture looking very strong and the Chiefs having already lost to other Wild Card teams such as the Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars, it appears that Kansas City may need to win its final five games to get a playoff spot.

That is bad news for the Chiefs coming into a game against the Houston Texans, arguably the hottest team in football. Houston had some identity problems on offense at the start of the season and an injury to CJ Stroud halted its progress over the middle portion of the schedule, but now Stroud is back and leading a competent offense to complement arguably there best defense in the NFL.

That is bad news for a Chiefs team that can’t afford another loss. Patrick Mahomes and company will have to overcome their toughest test of the season to stay alive in the race, and if they can’t, they will rue the missed opportunities earlier in the season when they’re watching the playoffs from the couch.

Chiefs are banged up at the worst time

After missing both Xavier Worthy and Rashee Rice at the start of the season, the Chiefs have been relatively healthy on offense for much of the middle part of the season. Now, however, the offensive line is extremely banged up heading into Week 14.

Star guard Trey Smith missed the Chiefs’ loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Week 13 due to an ankle injury and has not practiced leading up to the Texans game. Right tackle Jawaan Taylor also has missed practice this week due to triceps and knee injuries, and both are listed as doubtful for Sunday night. On top of that, rookie left tackle Josh Simmons is also out with a wrist injury that he suffered on Thanksgiving.

All of that is to say that Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter will be licking their chops coming into this game against a Chiefs team that doesn’t exactly have great depth up front. The Texans don’t blitz a lot, but their dynamic duo on the edge can get after any offensive line, and everything is setting up for them to have a field day on Sunday night.

Anderson has emerged as one of the best overall players in the NFL this season and would be the Defensive Player of the Year frontrunner if Myles Garrett wasn’t on pace to shatter the single-season sack record. On top of his 10.5 sacks, Anderson is second in the NFL with 30 quick pressures and is tied for the league lead with four turnovers forced on his pressures, according to Next Gen Stats.

Hunter also has 11 sacks this year, and while his pressure numbers are lower than Anderson’s, he is still terrorizing opposing teams who pay too much attention to Anderson in the game plan.

Wanya Morris will likely get the start at left tackle for the Chiefs while Jaylon Moore would start for Taylor at right tackle. Simply put, those two guys can’t keep up with Hunter and Anderson, and that could be just the start of the problem for the Chiefs on Sunday night.

Texans’ coverage should trouble KC wideouts

The Texans have two of the best cover corners in football in Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, and they just got their nickel corner back in Jalen Pitre before Week 13.

The Texans play a lot of zone coverage this season, but they like to play some more man on key plays and late downs. That bodes well for a team that is very good at both while not blitzing a lot, and those extra guys in the back end will make it very difficult for a receiving core that finds it difficult to create separation against any coverage.

Houston is both blitzing and disguising coverages at a rate near the bottom of the league, which means it’s daring the offense to block its pass rushers and get open on the back end. Both things are nearly impossible to do against this unit, but this Chiefs squad may be equipped to do neither.

How often defenses blitz and how often they disguise coverage pre-snap to post-snap pic.twitter.com/hHW8ElqHYm

— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) December 4, 2025

We already went over why it’s going to be tough for the Chiefs to block the Texans, but these Kansas City wideouts will struggle as well. Overall, this is a very small receiving core, and this Houston secondary is big and physical no matter the coverage. The Texans can use that to throw off the timing of routes and allow the pass rush to get after Patrick Mahomes.

Guys like Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy are best utilized when running away from defenders, but the Texans will either close off those crossing routes in zone coverage or disrupt the timing by pressing them at the line of scrimmage in man coverage, where Stingley and Lassiter will have a big advantage.

Mahomes will likely have to extend a lot of his dropbacks on Sunday night, but he may not have the time to against the Texans’ pass rush. With a running game that has not been able to generate any explosive plays this season, it could be a long night for the Kansas City offense unless Mahomes has a vintage night.