In Sunday’s game, Kansas City’s offensive coordinator knows his unit will be challenged by Houston’s pass rush.
The Kansas City Chiefs are gearing up for 2024’s first postseason action, in which they will host the Houston Texans in Saturday’s highly-anticipated Divisional round matchup. A key focus for the Chiefs’ offense will be containing the Houston defensive front — a unit that has been one of the league’s best this season.
The Texans recorded 49 sacks during the regular season, averaging 2.9 per game. Their disruptive play continued in last week’s 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.
“When you look at that defense in general, their confidence level — how fast they’re playing and aggressive [they are]? You felt that in the Chargers game — and that’s been going on for a while,” Nagy told reporters on Wednesday. “They’re good football players — and they lead the league in sacks for a reason. If we don’t respect that, that’s shame on us.”
Houston’s 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’s 49 sacks, earning both of them nods as Pro Bowl alternates. But while Nagy acknowledges the Texans’ talent, he remains confident in the Chiefs’ offensive line.
“We got to have different ways to do different things,” Nagy said of his plan to protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes. “Then, there’s going to be times where there’s one-on-one matchups where our guys — I mean, we’re all pros here — [will have] to lock down and give them respect. But we believe in our guys, too.”
One of the Chiefs’ biggest decisions ahead of Saturday’s 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’s best option.
“It’s a good process where they both were able to get in there and just give it their best — which I think is great,” reported Nagy. “They’re two big-time professionals that understand how to handle this — and how we’ll go about it. That’s all you can really do.
“In the end, we have trust in both of them. So as it goes — [as] we practice and we go through that part of it — in the end, Coach will make a decision. And we’ll rock with that.”
