Texans Shut Down Mahomes to Stay Alive in AFC South Battle
So, this Houston Texans trip to Arrowhead Stadium was never hyped up as some kind of revenge tour or a dramatic showdown. At least, not by the Texans themselves. They treated it like business — simply their next game on the schedule — even though the Kansas City Chiefs had been the AFC powerhouse for years and had knocked Houston out of the playoffs just last season. But by the end of the night, it became obvious that this “just another game” carried a whole lot of weight.
Houston walked out with a 20-10 win, a result powered by C.J. Stroud’s steady command and a defense that simply suffocated Patrick Mahomes. Stroud threw for 203 yards and a touchdown, while the Texans’ top-ranked defense did exactly what it had been built to do: make elite quarterbacks miserable. Mahomes, working behind a banged-up offensive line, finished with 160 yards, no touchdowns, and three interceptions — the kind of stat line you almost never see next to his name.
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Nico Collins played like a one-man momentum machine, hauling in four catches for 121 yards, including two deep plays that set up Houston’s early points. Then, in the fourth quarter, with everything tied at 10 and the tension climbing, Dare Ogunbowale punched in a powerful 5-yard touchdown run to reclaim the lead. That touchdown became the turning point, especially after the Chiefs failed on two straight fourth-down attempts. One of those was a wide-open drop by Rashee Rice, the kind of moment that summed up Kansas City’s season — close, but not quite right.
And to add to the Chiefs’ struggles, injuries stacked up all night. They lost left tackle Wanya Morris and star corner Trent McDuffie, piling onto their already thin roster. By halftime, they had managed only 98 total yards and were shut out 10-0 — something that has almost never happened with Mahomes at quarterback.
Houston wasn’t perfect either. Stroud hit a streak of eight straight incompletions in the second half, and the Texans briefly lost their rhythm. But their defense kept grinding, forcing Kansas City into tough throws, tight windows, and ultimately costly mistakes.
For the Texans, this win kept their playoff push very much alive. They stayed within one game of the Jaguars and extended their winning streak to five straight. For Kansas City, the loss dropped them to 6-7 — their worst 13-game record since 2012 — and left their postseason hopes hanging by a thread.
As Chris Jones put it afterward, the door isn’t closed yet, but the opening is small. Very small. Meanwhile, Houston walks away with confidence, momentum, and the feeling that their mission is still right on track.
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