From offense, defense to special teams, every facet of the Chiefs came out of the gate rolling en route to a 27-20 win over the Houston Texans.
The Chiefs (1-0) were led by quarterback Alex Smith, who completed 22 of 33 passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns for a quarterback rating for 118.6.
Lots of things went right for Kansas City, and some misfires happened as well.
Here’s a snippet of the highs and lows from Week One.
Sept. 13, 2015; Houston; Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (87) celebrates a touchdown catch during the first half against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. (AP Photo/Patric Schneider)
HIGHS
• Rookie cornerback Marcus Peters couldn’t have dreamed up a better play to start his NFL career. On his first snap on defense, Peters sniffed out the play Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer had in mind and came up with an interception deep in Texans territory at the 13-yard line. Two plays later, Smith found tight end Travis Kelce in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. Peters almost came up with another interception inside the two-minute warning of the second half, but it took an unfavorable bobble off his fingertips. Peters finished the day with seven tackles and three passes defended.
• Kelce scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, marking the most productive game of his career. Kelce caught the touchdown after the Peters interception and hauled in a 42-yard reception on the subsequent drive. Kelce finished the day with six catches for 106 yards receiving and two touchdowns on six targets.
• Kansas City’s entire defensive unit tore apart Hoyer and the rest of the Texans offensive line. Defensive end Allen Bailey recorded two sacks., while outside linebacker Justin Houston, nose tackle Jaye Howard and linebacker Derrick Johnson each recorded one sack. This game marked the seventh straight contest where Houston recorded at least one sack. Houston also forced a fumble, which Bailey recovered.
• Punter Dustin Colquitt booted seven punts on the afternoon. His punts were caught at the 7-, 18-, 11-, 11- and 15-yard lines. Two more of his punts were touchbacks.
• Johnson entered the Texans matchup with 985 career tackles, 14 tackles shy of tying the Chiefs franchise record currently owned by former Chiefs linebacker Gary Spani. Johnson racked up eight total tackles in the game. He tied, and passed, Art Still during the game, moving into second all-time in Chiefs history. At this pace, Johnson could surpass Spani’s record during the Denver game on Thursday.
LOWS
• The wide receiver touchdown drought continues, despite Smith and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin connecting during the offseason. Smith found Kelce twice and running back Jamaal Charles once in the end zone.
• On Kansas City’s second drive of the third quarter, Smith aired out to Maclin for what would have been a 39-yard reception. The referees initially called it a catch. The Texans challenged the play, saying that Maclin didn’t have complete control of the ball throughout the catch. After further review, the call was reversed. Kansas City couldn’t recover from that play on the drive, having to punt the ball away.
• Late in the fourth quarter, cornerback Jamell Fleming, who started for a suspended Sean Smith, committed pass interference. The Texans scored a touchdown on the following play.
• The Chiefs offense dominated in the first half, but the momentum couldn’t carry over into the second half as the team appeared to get conservative. Smith had 193 yards passing in the first half and a measly 50 in the second half. All of Kansas City’s touchdowns came in the first half as well.
• Left tackle Eric Fisher, who took snaps with the starters all week, didn’t start against the Texans. Offensive lineman Jah Reid, who signed just a week ago, made the start, lining up against Texans defensive end J.J. Watt.
UHHH…
• The back judge and another referee got into a shouting match midway through the third quarter. The two of them disagreed whether to call the Chiefs punt a touchback or down inside the 5-yard line, leading to a third official to break up the two. The play was eventually ruled a touchback and spotted at the 20-yard line.
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Amie Just is a contributing writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach her or find her on Twitter: @Amie_Just.
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