NRG Stadium – Houston, TX
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -3.0, Total: 43.5

The Texans will be looking for revenge against the Chiefs on Sunday, as Kansas City beat Houston 30-0 when these teams met in the playoffs last year.

The Chiefs are coming off of the most exciting victory of Week 1, as they trailed the Chargers 21-3 heading into the second half and ended up winning 33-27 in overtime. It was a big win for Kansas City, as the team could not afford a deflating loss to a team like San Diego in the home opener. The Texans, meanwhile, had it a bit easier in their home opener, defeating a lousy Bears team 23-14 as six-point favorites. Houston held Chicago to just 73 rushing yards in Week 1, but things won’t be that easy in this game. The Chiefs have absolutely dominated this series in recent years, going 2-0 both SU and ATS over the past three seasons. They are also 4-2 SU and 5-1 ATS when playing in Houston since 1992. That includes last year’s 30-0 victory as three-point road favorites in the postseason. It’s worth noting that Kansas City is 26-13 ATS in road games after scoring three or fewer points in the first half of its previous game since 1992. Houston, however, is an impressive 12-3 ATS when playing as a favorite over the past three seasons. RB Jamaal Charles (Knee) is questionable for this game, but it’s more likely that he sits out this one. The Chiefs ran the ball well in his absence, so he should be feeling less pressure to rush himself back.

The Chiefs showed a lot of heart in their comeback victory over the Chargers last week, and QB Alex Smith (363 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) was unbelievable in that game. Smith finished that one 34-for-48 for 363 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also rushed for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. Smith will likely have a ton of confidence coming into this game and he also happens to have played well against the Texans last year. He faced the team twice in 2015 and both game happened to have been in NRG Stadium. Smith threw for four touchdowns and just one pick in those two games and would certainly love to have the passing game going on Sunday. Kansas City could, however, opt to lean on the legs of RB Spencer Ware (70 yards, 1 TD) in this one. Ware rushed for 6.4 YPC in the season opener against San Diego and he also added seven receptions for 129 yards. He was Alex Smith’s favorite target in the game and was a big spark in the team coming from behind to win. Defensively, CBs Marcus Peters (3 tackles) and Phillip Gaines (4 tackles) are going to need to be ready to go in this one. The Texans have a very talented group of receivers and like to throw the ball down the field. If the Chiefs’ defensive backs struggle then it’s unlikely Kansas City finds a way to stay in this game.

As mentioned earlier, the Texans lost 30-0 when they hosted the Chiefs in last year’s playoffs. They do, however, have a new man under center, as QB Brock Osweiler (231 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT) was brought in to lead this offense. Osweiler was solid in the season opener, showing a very good connection with rookie WR Will Fuller (5 rec, 107 yards, 1 TD). Fuller saw a lot of single coverage with WR DeAndre Hopkins (5 rec, 54 yards, 1 TD) operating the other side of the field. Both guys will surely have the Chiefs on edge in this one. RB Lamar Miller (106 yards) is also a dangerous new weapon in this Texans offense. Miller rushed for 106 yards in Week 1 and also added four catches for 11 yards through the air. The Texans had no running game in 2015, so adding a talent like Miller is going to make them very tough to stop. This should be a completely different game than it was in the playoffs last year, as it’s very unlikely this Houston team will be shutout in any game this season.