Official Divisional Playoff Round - Texans @ Chiefs Game Thread, 1/12/2020

[nunusguy]

The victory we had earlier in the RS against the Chiefs is practically meaningless today because the Chiefs had so many injuries including to their best players MaHomes and left tackle (blind side) Fischer.
How Buffalo jumped up on us by 16 points is still a mystery to me but if we have that kind of start in KC Sunday it's all over before the first quarter ends.
Hope I'm wrong but I see the Chiefs winning by two TDs.
Ravens are favored over the Titans by the same margin as our game which I don't think is gonna happen. I predicted the Titans victory over the Pats and I expect them to play the Ravens tough this weekend.
Inclement weather is predicted for Baltimore this weekend and if that's the case Derrick Henry will be even tougher than normal to stop.
Yea I do see the Titans as the dark horse in these 2020 NFL P/Os.

[HPF Bob]

Keep in mind, the Texans fell behind the Chiefs in their first meeting, 10-0 before roaring back by halftime.

The two keys to me are: 1) can the Texans sustain a running game with Hyde and Johnson? This is the major weakness of the Chiefs and if the Texans have success running the ball, that will open up the passing offense enough to stay with KC. 2) Can the Texans scheme a way to limit Kelce and Hill? If the answer is no, the Texans are dead meat. If the answer is yes, they can possibly stay with KC or pull off the upset.

Andy Reid teams have suffered some historic playoff chokes over the years, even at Arrowhead, so don't presume they are going to blow the Texans out if the Texans bring their "a" game. Sure, the Chiefs are favored and rightly so. The question is which Texans will show up and whether the ghosts of playoff chokes past will visit the Chiefs.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

The victory we had earlier in the RS against the Chiefs is practically meaningless today because the Chiefs had so many injuries including to their best players MaHomes and left tackle (blind side) Fischer.
How Buffalo jumped up on us by 16 points is still a mystery to me but if we have that kind of start in KC Sunday it's all over before the first quarter ends.
Hope I'm wrong but I see the Chiefs winning by two TDs.
Ravens are favored over the Titans by the same margin as our game which I don't think is gonna happen. I predicted the Titans victory over the Pats and I expect them to play the Ravens tough this weekend.
Inclement weather is predicted for Baltimore this weekend and if that's the case Derrick Henry will be even tougher than normal to stop.
Yea I do see the Titans as the dark horse in these 2020 NFL P/Os.

The Ravens are all-time historical great with a lead. They pile on points with a lead like no NFL team I've ever seen. It's because their aggressive/big play offense comes from the running game. The Titans are a terrible passing team (not Buffalo terrible, but still terrible). If Baltimore gets up early they might win by 50. If Tennessee stays close then the game might last 2.5 hours with 80 combined rushing attempts.

I don't have a clue what the Texans will do.

[HPF Bob]

The Texans only have two modes:

1) Get blown out in embarrassing fashion.

2) Keep it close and win in the fourth quarter on some Watson miracle escape. The Atlanta win was the only comfortable win all year. Even in that game, they fell behind early.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

The Texans only have two modes:

1) Get blown out in embarrassing fashion.

2) Keep it close and win in the fourth quarter on some Watson miracle escape. The Atlanta win was the only comfortable win all year. Even in that game, they fell behind early.

And even though they will do one of those two things I still can’t predict which one better than 50/50.

[Arky]

Some stats that probably don't mean much:

The Texans had 8 games this year that they went into as the underdog.

They went 4-4 straight up in those games.

They went 5-3 ATS in those games (the slight difference was the New Orleans game where they lost straight up 30-28, but covered the 7 pt spread).

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As an underdog of 3 pts. or more, they went 4-3 straight up but 5-2 ATS.

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So, a case can be made that they play slightly better when they enter the game as the underdog. The reciprocal of that is that they play slighty worse when they are the favorite. They are currently 8-8-1 ATS (including playoffs).

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Their largest spread as an underdog was 9½ pts. - the Week 17 game vs. Titans where they rested. They, of course, lost the game by 21 pts, 35-14. They are currently 10 pt dogs to the Chiefs.

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The Baltimore game, the pathetic Denver game and the Week 17 Tennessee game were the only games they lost by more than one score. They couldn't even get garbage time points vs. the Ravens......

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Like I said, all this probably doesn't mean much and it is why I tune in every Sunday to see how it plays out. What's behind door #3 this week?

[HPF Bob]

If a miracle happens and both the Texans and Titans win their games, the Texans would host the AFC Championship Game for the first time. The last time Houston hosted an AFC Championship Game, it was 1962 when the Oilers hosted the classic double-overtime game against the Dallas Texans which became the Kansas City Chiefs the following year. Back then, it was the AFL Championship before the league merged with the NFL and became the AFC.

Heck, the last time Houston hosted an AFC Championship, JFK was still alive and our young were grooving to "The Twist".

[nunusguy]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

If a miracle happens and both the Texans and Titans win their games, the Texans would host the AFC Championship Game for the first time. The last time Houston hosted an AFC Championship Game, it was 1962 when the Oilers hosted the classic double-overtime game against the Dallas Texans which became the Kansas City Chiefs the following year. Back then, it was the AFL Championship before the league merged with the NFL and became the AFC.

Heck, the last time Houston hosted an AFC Championship, JFK was still alive and our young were grooving to "The Twist".

So staying with the theme of R&R/R&B tradition and history:
"The Twist" was of course popularized by the one and only Chubby Checker, but he was not the author who would be Hank Ballard, a great R&B singer and writer in his own right.