Chiefs can clinch AFC West crown with win over Texans

Updated Dec. 17, 2022 4:37 p.m. ET

Associated Press

KANSAS CITY (10-3) at HOUSTON (1-11-1)

Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, CBS

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NFL LINE: Chiefs by 14.

AGAINST THE SPREAD: Kansas City 4-8-1; Texans 5-7-1.

SERIES RECORD: Chiefs lead 8-5

LAST MEETING: Chiefs beat Texans 34-20 on Sept. 10, 2020, in Kansas City.

LAST WEEK: Chiefs beat Broncos 34-28; Texans lost to Cowboys 27-23.

CHIEFS OFFENSE: OVERALL (1), RUSH (18), PASS (1), SCORING (2).

CHIEFS DEFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (6), PASS (22), SCORING (19).

TEXANS OFFENSE: OVERALL (32), RUSH (28), PASS (26), SCORING (30).

TEXANS DEFENSE: OVERALL (29), RUSH (32), PASS (14), SCORING (26).

TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Chiefs minus-5; Texans minus-5.

CHIEFS PLAYER TO WATCH: Travis Kelce became the fifth tight end in NFL history to eclipse 10,000 yards receiving last week in Denver. He’s already surpassed 1,000 yards receiving for the seventh consecutive season, and he needs just 16 yards to pass Shannon Sharpe (10,060) for fourth place on the career list at his position.

TEXANS PLAYER TO WATCH: QB Davis Mills will make his second start since returning after being benched for two games. The Texans started Mills last week against the Cowboys, but also used Jeff Driskel to mix things up. Mills threw for 175 yards against Dallas and took care of the ball well, with his only turnover coming on a desperation pass attempt near the end of the game.

KEY MATCHUP: Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes vs. Houston’s pass defense. Mahomes leads the NFL with 4,160 yards passing and 33 touchdowns. The Texans have been decent against the pass and are allowing just 214.4 yards passing a game and intercepted Dak Prescott twice last week.

INJURIES: Chiefs WR Kadarius Toney (hamstring) could be back after missing most of the past four games. WR Mecole Hardman (abdominal) was activated from injured reserve this week but is unlikely to play. ... Texans RB Dameon Pierce (ankle) and CB Derek Stingley (hamstring) are out after being placed on the injured list Saturday. ... WR Brandin Cooks has missed the past two games with a calf injury and won't play Sunday.

SERIES NOTES: Kansas City has won two in a row in this series, including rallying from a 24-point deficit for a 51-31 victory in the AFC divisional playoff round in the 2019 season. ... Houston’s previous win in the series came with a 31-24 triumph on Oct. 13, 2019. ... The first time these teams met in the playoffs, Kansas City got a 30-0 win in the wild-card round in the 2015 season. ... The first-ever meeting between these teams was a 42-14 win by the Chiefs in Houston’s second season in 2003.

STATS AND STUFF: Kansas City can clinch its seventh straight AFC West title with a win. It would tie the Rams (1973-79) for the second-longest streak of division titles behind New England, which won 11 straight in the AFC East from 2009-19. ... The Chiefs could set a franchise record with at least 300 yards in their 19th consecutive game. They have eclipsed 400 yards in eight straight. ... Mahomes has already surpassed 4,000 yards passing for the fifth time in his career. Peyton Manning is the only other QB with that many yards in five of his first six seasons. ... Mahomes will be making his 77th career start, tying Bill Kenney for third among Kansas City quarterbacks. ... Mahomes needs one TD run to tie Alex Smith (10) for most by a Chiefs quarterback in a season. ... Chiefs RB Jerick McKinnon had 112 yards and two TDs receiving last week against Denver. ... Chiefs DT Chris Jones had his 11th sack of the season against the Broncos. His career best is 15½ set in 2018. ... The Chiefs had a season-best six sacks last week in Denver. They’ve had four other games with five sacks. ... LB Nick Bolton needs one more game of 10 or more tackles to pass Donnie Edwards (seven) for the most in a season in Chiefs history. ... Houston WR Chris Moore led the team with 10 catches for 124 yards receiving — both career highs — last week. ... WR Amari Rodgers had a career-high 57 yards receiving and his first career TD catch against Dallas. ... Driskel had his first touchdown pass of the season last week. ... Pierce leads all rookies with 939 yards rushing and could become the third rookie in franchise history to reach 1,000 yards rushing with 61 Sunday. ... TE Jordan Akins had a TD catch in his previous game against Kansas City. ... WR Nico Collins has had at least five catches in three of his past four games. ... S Jalen Pitre has had at least 12 tackles in his past two games and leads all rookies with 104 tackles. He’s the third rookie in franchise history with 100 tackles. ... CB Tremon Smith, who was drafted by the Chiefs in 2018, had his first career game with two interceptions last week. ... CB Desmond King has had five or more tackles in four straight games and a tackle for a loss in two of his past three. ... LB Christian Kirksey had a season-high 10 tackles last week. ... DE Ogbo Okoronkwo had a sack, forced a fumble and defended a pass last week.

FANTASY TIP: Kelce could be a good pickup this week after having a season-high 121 yards receiving last week for his fourth 100-yard game this season.

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