- 12 hours ago
Seth and Sean assess what threats the Chiefs pose to the Texans this Sunday based in part on what Seth saw in his re-watch of the Chiefs vs Cowboys game.
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00:00So what did you see?
00:01Okay.
00:02What did you see when you re-watched the Chiefs and the Cowboys on Thanksgiving?
00:06I did watch a game where, meanwhile, people are talking about how,
00:09what is this Cowboys defense has really come around?
00:13They allowed four touchdowns by Pat Mahomes.
00:16So they did score 28 points in that game.
00:19And I think the fact that the Chiefs are a 500-football team right now,
00:24largely by losing a lot of one-score games,
00:26whereas they had won all of those one-score games last year,
00:30I don't think they're that far off from what they were last year.
00:34It's just that the lady luck has done them no favors.
00:39The Chiefs this season have been big for regression to the mean guy.
00:43Yeah, yeah.
00:44Huge.
00:44The analytics folks are all.
00:45So I think the biggest thing by far that I noticed is Genevieve and Clowney had two sacks.
00:52Yeah.
00:53And part of the reason he had two sacks was because by the end of the game,
00:58the Chiefs were out.
00:59They were down to our offensive linemen.
01:02Yeah.
01:02Jawan Taylor at right tackle, Trey Smith at right guard,
01:06and Josh Simmons, the rookie left tackle.
01:08Kind of important.
01:09Kind of important, guys.
01:10When he's decided to show up and play in football games,
01:13he's been very good by rookie standards.
01:16So that's by far the biggest opportunity area for the Texans is that they've got that ferocious defensive line
01:25going up against possibly at least three backups in that game.
01:29Man, dude, that is huge.
01:31So the big, for me, I think the big onus on the Texans is doing what they've done well by and large for most of the year,
01:40especially versus mobile quarterbacks like Josh Allen, it's you keep him contained, you have a disciplined pass rush.
01:47Don't worry about the individual sacks or even the sacks in total.
01:52Worry about compressing the pocket and giving the quarterback nowhere to run.
01:57Because we did see, as we know Pat Mahomes can do in that game, he scrambled to buy time.
02:04And the one play that made all the highlight reels, if you didn't watch the game, was him scrambling to his right,
02:09almost falling down.
02:10And then as he's falling down, throwing a pass to Xavier Worthy over the middle of the field.
02:15So A, keep him contained.
02:17But then B, the Texans have given up.
02:20You know, in that Colts game, they gave up some chunk passing yardage down the middle of the field.
02:25I'm not as worried about the plays like the Josh Downs reception or even the Alec Pierce touchdown.
02:32Those were just beautiful throws by Daniel Jones that he completed.
02:37And you're going to give up some of those.
02:39I worry about the easily conceded yardage, especially if the quarterback gets out of the pocket.
02:44The other big part of Pat Mahomes' scrambling ability is his ability to run for yardage.
02:48And on their final touchdown drive, I mean, it was the picture-perfect moment where defenses being really careful about not drawing a penalty,
03:01probably they gave the Chiefs a chance to stay in the game because Mahomes scrambled for a first down.
03:08And the defensive back for the Cowboys pulled off at the last moment.
03:11And it was just enough time for Mahomes to get that extra two inches that he needed to get the first down.
03:17So for the Texans who last year, the last time they faced the Chiefs, they were penalized twice for bogus roughing the passer, unnecessary roughnesses.
03:27They've done a good job, by and large, all season of limiting those.
03:32But we know the scrutiny is going to be on.
03:34And it's up there in Kansas City.
03:37So they've got to harass Patrick Mahomes without drawing those penalties.
03:40If you were a coach and you're putting up, hey, I know you've had coaches probably like,
03:45these on the whiteboard, these are the three things.
03:47These are the keys.
03:49Is that the biggest one, is keeping Mahomes in the pocket?
03:51Yeah, I think so.
03:52I think the same way it was versus Josh Allen.
03:57With Daniel Jones, they probably knew he wasn't going to run all that much.
04:02Yeah, he had a fibula.
04:03Yeah, so, yeah, I think that's probably the biggest one.
04:07But it's something they've been focusing on all year.
04:09I think the Texans' defense, especially early on when the sack numbers weren't all that impressive,
04:15it was impressive that guys weren't getting frustrated and kind of freelancing,
04:20trying to get their individual stats up.
04:22They do a really good job of being disciplined.
04:27And the reason a lot of the defensive tackles have sacks, especially in the Bills game,
04:30was because Will Anderson and Daniil Hunter are compressing the pocket.
04:34And the quarterback has nowhere to run, but because the defensive tackles are playing disciplined football,
04:39they end up getting those, they seal off those running lanes and they got Josh Allen down.
04:44Yeah, if they rush the passer on Sunday night the way they did on that Thursday night game,
04:50and I'm not saying get eight sacks.
04:51Like, duh, if they get eight sacks, they're probably going to win this game.
04:54I just mean the style in which they did it, in which, like you just said,
04:58like everybody, there was the front of that pocket never opened up for Josh Allen.
05:03The biggest danger, honestly, this is where the Texans are so viciously physical,
05:09is that sometimes they've had bad plays where the problem is that the defensive lineman
05:15beat the offensive lineman so badly that the D lineman ends up stumbling
05:21or just taking himself out of the play because they're just trucking a guy so badly.
05:26We saw that in the Bills game when Dylan Horton got held.
05:32He destroyed the right tackle.
05:34He got held.
05:35The officials didn't see it.
05:37But even if he hadn't gotten held, I think he almost might have overrun his lane,
05:42and that's when they had the big touchdown run by James Cook.
05:47Last week, Will Anderson drew the holding penalty when he destroyed the left tackle.
05:51Tackle for the Colts.
05:53I'm not so sure that was an actual hold, but it's a classic.
05:57It looks like the offensive lineman's getting beat, so he pulls him down on top of him.
06:01If they hadn't called that hold, I can't remember specifically what happened with the rest of that play,
06:06but it's like that's how brutally physical they are.
06:09So versus these offensive tackles, it's kind of the same thing.
06:12If they're facing the backups, they're going to destroy these poor bastards.
06:16Yeah, yeah.
06:17That play would have been another first down to Josh Downs on that drive.
06:22Oh, that's right.
06:22That was a big shot downfield.
06:24It was like a 20-yard pass that would have moved the chains, and instead it backed him up.
06:28So, yeah, that was tough.
06:30The Jonathan Taylor screen last week where, you know, D'Amico talked before the game about how you got to, you know,
06:38be disciplined with your keys and your reads, not get distracted by the eye candy.
06:43Man, that was a really good job of duping the Texans' defense because Jonathan Taylor caught the ball,
06:50and you could see it on the TV.
06:53Oh, my God, there's nobody there.
06:54There's nobody there.
06:55There were offensive linemen looking for people to hit.
06:58Yeah, I know there were.
07:00It was Jonathan Taylor's biggest issue on that play was, do I stay behind the blocking,
07:05or do I just start running as fast as I can?
07:07Yeah, that play went for 33 yards, and I felt good about it.
07:13Yeah, but they limited it.
07:14It only went for 33 yards.
07:16You watch the Chiefs-Cowboys game, and, man, Rasheed Rice was out there on the perimeter on a screen
07:21that was really well executed.
07:23The Cowboys bit on the eye candy, and Rasheed Rice has that little bit of extra speed, you know,
07:29above and beyond Jonathan Taylor.
07:31The Texans have got to clean that up and hopefully learn their lessons from last week
07:34and then also the film to just not give up because the Texans have been really good
07:40at just violently snuffing out screens.
07:43Yeah.
07:43There are times where these screens turn into, oh, that poor bastard out there on the perimeter
07:48is going to get destroyed by Corey Lasseter.
07:50It's Kamari time, baby.
07:51Or Aziz Alshire coming from the inside out.
07:53Yeah, yeah.
07:54So don't – you just can't allow that versus this team because Andy Reid is a master
07:58at getting either Kareem Hunt or Rasheed Rice or anybody else out there.
08:01He's the best.
08:02When it comes to the screen game, there's nobody better at dialing it up than Andy Reid.
08:07Well, for the Texans set, unless you – did you have other stuff you wanted to get to
08:11offensively with the Chiefs?
08:12No, go ahead.
08:13I was curious, for the Texans offensively against this Chiefs defense, what are some
08:18of the things you saw?
08:18I think the biggest thing, and this is why I feel so much better about the Texans offensive
08:22line in their pass protection in general now compared to last year when they faced the
08:27Chiefs in the playoffs, it's that the Chiefs are still really good at disguising their blitzes
08:34and Spagnuolo, the defensive coordinator, is really good at just knowing exactly when to
08:40dial them up.
08:41You know, he doesn't blitz – there's a perception that they blitz more than they do.
08:46What they do is they blitz really effectively, especially in the second half after they've
08:50gotten some things figured out or they've set them up.
08:53So they – like, the Texans just have to need to be that much more on point versus this
08:59defense, especially when things are going well and you feel like, oh, you've got this
09:03defensive figured out a little bit.
09:05But they just – they're really well called and then they disguise them really well.
09:11So kind of like we talked about the defense having to be on alert and not fall for the
09:15eye candy.
09:16Likewise, with the offensive line, with Woody Marks and Nick Chubb in pass protection,
09:20with CJ Strauss-Elf, you've got to be careful thinking you know for sure what you're seeing
09:24and just have your head on a swivel in all those situations.
09:29CJ, I thought, did a pretty good job in the Colts game of diagnosing Griggs.
09:32Yeah, and the Colts – the Colts aren't as good at it as the Chiefs are.
09:36The Chiefs just executed a lot better.
09:38But they're just – they execute the deception part of it better.
09:42They haven't been playing as well as a unit.
09:46You know, their pass rush, their pass coverage, all of that just isn't the same as what it
09:50used to be.
09:51Dak had some really nice plays where he exploited the blitz.
09:54And we saw that from CJ.
09:56CJ had a couple really nice throws last week where there was a free rusher, but CJ knew because
10:02it was a cover zero blitz or a six-man pressure, he knew where to go with the ball.
10:07That first throw to Nico Collins was just that.
10:10Like, okay, you want to – they rushed seven on that play.
10:13Yeah.
10:13And CJ knows that's going to be an easy opportunity over the middle for Nico Collins.
10:17Yeah.
10:17So he's just got to keep building on that.
10:19And, obviously, when Nico Collins is your outlet there on a hot route, that's a nice thing
10:26to have.
10:27Yep.
10:28What's your concern level with the Texans' lack of depth at safety right now given Travis
10:35Kelsey in this?
10:36It's high.
10:37I'd say it's high to very high just because that's what – they gave up chunk plays over
10:42the middle last week.
10:44And, you know, Kamari Lasseter being back in the fold helps a lot.
10:49Just – it's not as much even about Miles Bryant himself, but just not having your normal slew
10:56of defensive backs back there can create some either miscommunications or bad reads or just
11:01poor leverage and all of that.
11:03They just – I don't mind if Travis Kelsey gets a good chunk of catches in this game.
11:08I mind if old man Kelsey is running for 15 yards after the catch.
11:13Like he did in the playoff game last year.
11:15Right.
11:15Yep.
11:15And a lot of that's on the linebackers, too.
11:17You know, last year in the playoffs, Aziz Alshire was banged up and injured and just wasn't
11:21moving all that well, but the tackling was really poor, too.
11:23They were bouncing off of Travis Kelsey.
11:25Yeah.
11:25So that's a – the things that D'Amico's been stressing all season, the better tackling,
11:30the, you know, better leverage, playing your responsibilities, all of that, it's just so heightened
11:35versus the Chiefs because they have so many different guys that can show up with speed
11:40and run after the catch at any given time.
11:43I would guess Josh Simmons is not going to play in this game just based on the – just
11:50reading what his injury is.
11:52Dislocated and fractured wrist.
11:54Yes.
11:54And he was in a sling and a cast after the game.
11:56Exactly.
11:57Which means we won't get the direct – I know they don't go against each other directly,
12:03but I think the Texans, you know, there was talk of them wanting to trade back into the
12:07first round to draft a tackle.
12:10Could have been Josh Connerly who went to Washington.
12:12Could have been Josh Simmons who went to Kansas City.
12:15Instead, they take Ariante Urseri at 48th overall.
12:20And Ariante Urseri's starting to round into form.
12:22He's starting to look like a guy who can play left tackle for you for a long, long time.
12:25Yeah.
12:25And Josh Simmons, you know, he's played well when he's been out there, but you have the curious
12:30incident where all of a sudden, one Sunday morning, the Chiefs coaches were informed
12:35that Josh Simmons isn't going to be there.
12:38And they said, oh, well, that's odd.
12:42It's the first I've heard of this.
12:43Yes.
12:44So – and then he missed like a month or so.
12:46There were a lot of reports from the anonymous scout variety type of people before the draft
12:52that, man, I don't know about this guy.
12:54I just don't know about this guy.
12:56Yes.
12:57Ariante Urseri, we've heard no reports about, eh, I just don't know about this guy.
13:00He's been a completely and totally standable.
13:04But he was a slower build-in for his actual play on the field.
13:11Yeah, so we might not see that head-to-head matchup.
13:13Yeah.
13:13But it just goes to highlight again that the Chiefs are going to have to do something to
13:17account for Will Anderson and Daniil Hunter.
13:20Dude, three offensive – this is a – I feel like I say this every week.
13:24This is a massive injury report we're getting today.
13:26Not on the Texans' side, but on that – you know, we get that graphic every Wednesday,
13:31Thursday, Friday from the Texans.
13:32It has all the Texans' injuries listed on top.
13:35Man, I'm paging right down to Kansas City to see what all these offensive linemen are
13:39labeled as heading into the week here.
13:42You know, it's interesting.
13:43The way I'm told is I try to figure out exactly what I can use pro football focus for and what
13:51I shouldn't use it for – that they do – a lot of people say that offensive line
13:56is probably the most valid for them.
14:00Like, defensive backs, as we've seen this year with the way that PFF is treating –
14:05How many of you are –
14:05The way PFF is treating Derek Singley, where they'll put out graphics of how he's had all
14:10these incredible games and everything, yet at the same time he's one of the lowest-graded
14:13cornerbacks in the league.
14:14People say that defensive backs are the worst PFF grades, like the least reliable PFF grades.
14:19PFF grades.
14:19All right, do you want to take a guess as to where Derek Stingley ranks among 110 cornerbacks
14:25right now?
14:26Yes.
14:26Take a stab at it, Seth.
14:28I think he's probably like 70th or something.
14:3061st.
14:31Yeah.
14:3261st.
14:33Kamar Lassiter's ninth.
14:34So whatever he's doing, they really, really like.
14:37His play style – probably a lot of it for him is how he tackles and plays the run game,
14:43I would imagine.
14:43Well, that's the thing.
14:44You know, part of it, too, is that Derek Stingley has been playing – he's been on
14:49the left side, by and large, for almost – you know, they haven't been moving him around
14:53at all.
14:54And I think some of that is – you know, early on when he was working through that oblique
14:58injury, I don't think he was quite physically himself.
15:01And they may have – you know, in trying to manage all of that, they've gotten to a point
15:05now where they feel like, you know what, both these guys are really good.
15:08And since we play a lot of off coverage, let's just get these guys as comfortable as possible.
15:14And you'll see a lot of people say the Texans play a lot of own.
15:17That's – that's – again, this is where sometimes the people that are watching the
15:21film just don't try hard enough.
15:23They play a lot of match coverage.
15:24It means it looks like zone at the beginning, but then it turns into man.
15:27Yeah.
15:28And I think that PFF gives more credit for press man, probably, and you get bonus points
15:34for that, where the Texans just don't play a whole lot of that.
15:37And then Derek Singley doesn't get targeted a whole lot.
15:40And for – so he doesn't get the benefit of some of the positive plays when they see
15:44those types of things.
15:45Ed Ingram, still sixth out of 79 guards in PFF.
15:50I'm going to wind up in a PFF wormhole.
15:52I never should have done this.
15:55And then, you know, you talk about Ariante Urseri kind of and the way he's kind of come
15:59along as the season has come along.
16:01Yeah.
16:01Like, the last three or four games, he's graded out about the same as Josh Simmons
16:07has graded out over his past – a little bit below, but in the past protection, he's
16:13more on par with Josh Simmons.
16:15Yep.
16:16Text message.
16:17You can text the show, 713-572-4610.
16:20Do we have any concerns about Kansas City getting hometown calls as well as them watching
16:24us with a microscope when we barely touch Patrick Mahomes?
16:28Yes, as much as in the past.
16:30I mean, look, this is – when I've – I've seen more this year about poorly officiated
16:35games where the Chiefs have been getting the raw end of the deal.
16:39Oh, good.
16:40To where I think it's – wherever you are on the conspiracy theory spectrum, I'm pretty
16:46far to the left on that.
16:49I don't really buy into much of it.
16:51I do think old school quarterbacks that know how to draw the calls and everything, that's
16:56still a thing.
16:56That's not a conspiracy.
16:57That's just good veteran gamesmanship.
16:59Gamesmanship, yeah.
17:00Yeah, but I do think that, if anything, what you're starting to see over the past couple
17:03years is like, okay, there's just a lot of sketchy officiating, and that sometimes you're
17:07the beneficiary of it.
17:09Sometimes you get the raw end of the deal, and I think the Chiefs have gotten the raw end
17:12of the deal a lot this year.
17:14So I don't go into it overly concerned about it.
17:16Okay, I like that.
17:18I like that.
17:18Okay.
17:19Okay.
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