Ref can favor one team and the other team could also play like dog shit, both can be true at same time. I mean if this was one game i'de agree, but there's a been a long track record of refs coming out of the woodwork with favorable calls for chiefs in key points of games.
The Houston Texans knew they had to play nearly perfect defense to win that game. The margin for error was incredlbly thin and there was no way the Texans offense was going to put up much more than what they produced. At least not without Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell. It's so difficult to execute a winning game plan knowing that if you make any mistakes you'll lose. Much less worrying about how the referees are going to call the game.
I had figured going into the game for the Texans to win at Kansas City it would have to be a 17-16 type of game. Low scoring and physically brutal. Would need to hold KC's offense somewhere in the teen range. They ended up with 23 points. Way too much. For 3.5 quarters it appeared the Texans defense was getting the job done. Defensive line was playing hard. The young cornerback duo of First Team All-Pro Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter gave up 0 catches to receivers! They were sensational and beyond dominant.
All of that effort the Texans displayed defensively was wiped away by Travis Kelce exposing the middle of the field for some wide open catches.
Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris didn't hold up physically with bad knees. No Jalen Pitre or Jimmie Ward. Middle of the field was wide open.
And unfortunately the special teams play of the Texans was brutal as well. From the return game, as well as return coverage and the kicking game was awful.
Offensive line crumbled and gave up 8 sacks. And remarkably the Texans still had over 100 more yards than the Chiefs with 0 turnovers. NFL Playoff teams that had a 100+ yards advantage with 0 turnovers had a perfect 46-0 record in the playoffs all time. The Texans were the first playoff team to lose doing all that. So the Texans still racked up excellent yardage and got into the red zone a lot of times. They just needed to convert some more Touchdowns.
And despite all of that. Including the referees extending the Chiefs on two critical scoring drives (one led to the Kelce Touchdown). It was 13-12 late in the 3rd quarter! Yes. The Texans can blame whatever they want. Injuries, referees, the world hates us. All of that may be true. But if they had any mental toughness they'd have found a way to win the game in the 4th quarter.
CJ Stroud had a borderline solid game under the circumstances. Did all he could getting sacked 8 times. Missing two of his best receivers. He ran for two first downs including a 28-yard run when he tried to truck a Chiefs defender. Stroud had the mindset of a winner. So I take comfort in that going into next season. The Texans will surely look to address the offensive line. Bring in a new offensive line coach and add more playmakers on offense. If Stefon Diggs doesn't re-sign I expect the Texans to chase Tee Higgins or another big name star receiver to pair with Nico Collins. They need two good receivers because Tank Dell isn't likely to return until Week 1, 2026. He'll miss most of the 2025 season if not all of it.