Battle-Tested Enough?

I was just looking for the ML for this game because I was curious, and ESPN Bet has the Texans at -130 away this week. I’ll just say that’s ballsy. It’s not that it can’t be done, Houston is prolific when their offense finds their step, but the Texans are unbiasedly worse this year. In games where they face teams over .500, they are 1-3. I will also mention that only played four teams with winning records this year and losing the majority when you’re supposed to be a Super Bowl contender, not a great look. I love Houston, I love their receivers, I love Joe Mixon having a phenomenal year, and I love DeMeco Ryans and what he had been able to do with C.J Stroud. But something is not translating when you beat the Titans, Jaguars, and Dolphins by one score. Most of those games they had to defend their lead in the final drives. And they were able to do that, but I expect the Texans to dismantle these teams, not fractionally beat them. I’m probably being picky, they’re 9-5 and have already clinched their division, but let’s see how they do against the back-to-back Super Bowl champs (again, just recognizing the accomplishments they’ve had.)

If Patrick Mahomes plays in this game, and let’s be honest, I think he’s going to be playing, I think the Chiefs have a pretty good shot. If they can carry that success they had last week, they’ll be fine. This will be a real test against the 5th best defense in the league, probably because they have a former player in Demeco Ryans leading the squad, and let’s just say he was a force at linebacker, (971 total tackles, 736 solo tackles, 7 forced fumbles, 7 INTs.) Monster. He’s brought that venom and experience to his own team. Mahomes knows how to cut through defense though, but I’m excited to see how this game plays out. I think Mahomes is playing because the Chiefs still need to win this week and next week to secure the #1 seed in the AFC. They’re not going to jeopardize his health, but if he’s good to go, I’m thinking the Chiefs win this game at home on that random NFL Saturday.