The Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up for 2024\u2019s first postseason action, in which they will host the Houston Texans in Saturday\u2019s highly-anticipated Divisional round matchup. A key focus for the Chiefs\u2019 offense will be containing the Houston defensive front \u2014 a unit that has been one of the league\u2019s best this season.<\/p>\n
The Texans recorded 49 sacks during the regular season, averaging 2.9 per game. Their disruptive play continued in last week\u2019s Wild Card matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers, when they sacked quarterback Justin Herbert four times and forced four interceptions. Kansas City offensive coordinator Matt Nagy deeply respects what he has seen from the Houston defensive line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at that defense in general, their confidence level \u2014 how fast they\u2019re playing and aggressive [they are]? You felt that in the Chargers game \u2014 and that\u2019s been going on for a while,\u201d Nagy told reporters on Wednesday. \u201cThey\u2019re good football players \u2014 and they lead the league in sacks for a reason. If we don\u2019t respect that, that\u2019s shame on us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s pass rush is anchored by former No. 3 overall pick Will Anderson Jr., who works in tandem with standout defensive end Danielle Hunter. Together, they accounted for 23 of Houston\u2019s 49 sacks, earning both of them nods as Pro Bowl alternates. But while Nagy acknowledges the Texans\u2019 talent, he remains confident in the Chiefs\u2019 offensive line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got to have different ways to do different things,\u201d Nagy said of his plan to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes. \u201cThen, there\u2019s going to be times where there\u2019s one-on-one matchups where our guys \u2014 I mean, we\u2019re all pros here \u2014 [will have] to lock down and give them respect. But we believe in our guys, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the Chiefs\u2019 biggest decisions ahead of Saturday\u2019s game will be about who will play left tackle. While injuries and inconsistent play have made the position a question mark throughout the season, the team has found some stability by moving All-Pro left guard Joe Thuney to the outside. But with reserve tackle D.J. Humphries now healthy, Kansas City head coach Andy Reid has been splitting practice reps between them, trying to determine the team\u2019s best option.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good process where they both were able to get in there and just give it their best \u2014 which I think is great,\u201d reported Nagy. \u201cThey\u2019re two big-time professionals that understand how to handle this \u2014 and how we\u2019ll go about it. That\u2019s all you can really do.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, we have trust in both of them. So as it goes \u2014 [as] we practice and we go through that part of it \u2014 in the end, Coach will make a decision. And we\u2019ll rock with that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Sunday\u2019s game, Kansas City\u2019s offensive coordinator knows his unit will be challenged by Houston\u2019s pass rush.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":26837,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n