Texans bold predictions for Week 14 Sunday Night Football clash with Chiefs

The Houston Texans have C.J. Stroud back in the lineup, and the young quarterback thinks his team is super dangerous. Is it manly enough to tame the Chiefs? Here are bold predictions for the Texans’ Sunday Night Football clash with the Chiefs.

Houston started the season at 0-3, but now stands at 7-5. The Texans are in the thick of the playoff hunt. Meanwhile, the desperate Chiefs (6-6) feel they have to win out to get into the postseason and not miss for the first time in the Patrick Mahomes era.

Texans QB C.J. Stroud will throw for 280 yards, 2 TDs

This will be a banner game for Stroud. He will have great success despite a good Chiefs’ defense. He already performed well against a good Colts team, according to NFL.com.

“I feel like I knocked off some rust and am back rolling,” said Stroud. “We’re super dangerous. We lost some close games against some really good teams. If we can find a way to win some close games after Thanksgiving, we’ll put ourselves in position to do whatever we want.”

What gives Stroud the chance to be a standout is the surprisingly improved play of the offensive line, according to texanswire.com.

“It’s a credit to the coaches, starting with [Nick] Caley and the offensive staff,” Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans said. “They’ve done a really good job of really emphasizing and walking through the pressure looks that we’ll see. Credit to the players [too], they executed it the right way. I think Woody [Marks] has stepped up and done a really nice job in protection.”

Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said the Texans’ offense looks stout, according to HoustonTexans.com

“I’m sure they feel really good about the way their offense is rolling right now,” Spagnuolo said. “I just see a confident team. Coming off of that win last week and the way they played, I would imagine there’s going to be a confident group coming in here.

“I was very impressed with [Stroud]. I told him that after the game last time we played him. For a young guy, he’s so talented. We all saw what he did last week with his feet. When the importance of these games keep amping up, you can expect quarterbacks to say, ‘Hey, I might have to run it here.’

Texans’ defense will get a pick and multiple sacks

It’s time to see what that defense can do now that respect has become abundant. Some are calling the Texans the best defense in the NFL. If so, this is the stage where they need to shine.

They certainly have the Chiefs’ attention.

“When you look at that defense in general, their confidence level of how fast they’re playing and aggressive, you felt that in the Chargers game, and that’s been going on for a while,” Chiefs OC Matt Nagy said. “They’re good football players. They lead the league in sacks for a reason. So if we don’t respect that, that’s shame on us.”

Mahomes added, “That defense is extremely real. We knew it when we played them this last time. It was a hard-fought game, and they get after the quarterback really well. They have really good secondary players and the linebackers fly around, so it will be a great challenge for us and we’ll have to play our best football.”

Texans WR Nico Collins will soar for 85-plus yards

The Chiefs get flaky on defense enough to give Collins a chance for multiple 20-plus-yard plays. He will take advantage and put up good yardage totals.

Collins certainly has the eyes of Spagnuolo.

“No matter who ends up on (Number) 12, all 11 sets of eyes on defense need to know where he is,” Spagnuolo said. “He’s what we call a game-wrecker. If you let a game-wrecker on offense wreck the game, that’s not going to be good. He’s a guy that we’re certainly very concerned about.”

Collins has four 85-plus-yard games this season. And three have come in the last four games he’s played. He’s on a heater, and it should continue.

Texans RBs will be fantasy flops

The Texans haven’t been great at running the football this season. They rank No. 22 in the NFL at 107.7 yards per game.

Woody Marks has been the lead dog for a few weeks, but he’s averaging only 3.6 yards per carry. Nick Chubb is averaging 4.1 per attempt.

Also, the Chiefs’ defense is good against the run, ranking No. 9 in the NFL at 100.9 yards per game.

So, it’s best to steer clear of both Marks and Woods for this one. Lean on the Texans’ passing attack.

All of this leads us to ask: Who will win? Let’s go with the Chiefs to keep their playoff hopes alive. But barely. How about 20-17 on a late field goal by Harrison Butker. It might even go into overtime. That makes the outcome fluky. But we’ll stick with the Chiefs.

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