KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Houston Texans never made their trip to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night into anything more than their next game.
Didn’t matter that the Kansas City Chiefs had been the AFC’s bully for the better part of a decade. Or the Chiefs had knocked Houston out of the playoffs last year. Or that the Texans needed to win to keep pace with Jacksonville in the AFC South.
“It was our next game,” Texans coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We needed to come out and execute. Play good football. And we did.” Did enough, anyway.
C.J Stroud threw for 203 yards and a touchdown, the Texans leaned on the NFL’s top-ranked defense to shut down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, and Houston walked out with a 20-10 victory that gave a big boost to their postseason hopes.
Nico Collins contributed four catches for 121 yards, and Dare Ogunbowale added a go-ahead touchdown run in the fourth quarter, as the Texans (8-5) won their fifth straight overall and remained a game back of the Jaguars in a tight division race.