On paper, the Houston Texans are among the NFL's elite offenses.
Last week against the New York Giants, the Texans did not play on paper. They scored just 10 points and had a litany of offensive problems, according to head coach Gary Kubiak.
"I am really disturbed, looking specifically on the offensive side of the ball, like I said, we ran 13 plays," Kubiak said. "We’re down 21-0 and we must’ve had eight, nine M.A.’s (missed assignments) in our first 13 plays. That has not been us at all. We’ve been somewhat consistent from that standpoint. I’m trying to look at, what did I do in that game? What did I ask them to do that was abnormal or not good? Or something they couldn’t do.
"I was concerned about the focus and when I’m concerned about the focus, I have to go look at what we asked them to do as coaches and me specifically. I was just very, very concerned by the first 13 snaps of the game. I don’t know where they came from. Hopefully, we can get rid of them."
This should be music to the Chiefs' ears because they've become one of the NFL's smartest teams. They don't make mistakes like the ones described above -- at least not often. The Chiefs have just 17 negative plays compared to the Texans nine negative plays in their first 13 plays last Sunday.
The Chiefs defense is also among the league's best -- third, to be exact. So the matchups in this game are already looking advantageous for the Chiefs.