The Houston Texans fought valiantly against the Kansas City Chiefs in the NFL Divisional round. Despite their impressive effort, they fell to the reigning back-to-back Super Bowl champions 23-14.
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Fans and analysts alike will tell you Houston was hampered by an unfavorable whistle on Saturday. However, what’s indisputable are the similarities between this defeat and the Texans’ 27-19 loss to the Chiefs in Week 16. Robert Griffin III laid them out on Twitter/X.
The Texans lost to the Chiefs in Week 16 because they lost;
– on 3rd Down
-in Red Zone TD%
-Had more penalties
-Didn’t win the turnover battle
-QB Sacked 2 timesThe Texans lost to the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs because they lost;
-in Red Zone…
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) January 19, 2025
Houston committed six penalties for 45 yards in Week 16. They had eight infractions for 82 yards in today’s rematch. Those critical errors extended Kansas City’s offensive drives and hampered their own possessions. Fans unsurprisingly attributed more of the blame for the Texans’ penalties to the officials than to Houston’s players.
Don’t pretend the refs didn’t show any favoritism. Chiefs acting like it’s hard to win in this league when they’re bailed out at some point in every single game. Most fans aren’t interested in discussing the finer points of the game because they’re too disgusted with this…
— Danny Zampella (@dannyzampella) January 19, 2025
Momentum is huge in football. Bad calls create and steal momentum at the same time. Typically it goes both ways. This game was horribly officiated.
— E T Browning (@ETBrowning01) January 19, 2025
Why does every team have more penalties than the chiefs?
— Hayden (@HaydenM_OKST) January 19, 2025
The 3rd bullet in week 16 and 2nd bullet in the playoffs are subjective. They didn’t lose the penalty battle. The refs called bs penalties against and didn’t call penalties against the Chiefs when there were obvious ones.
— Off The Top Media (@OffTheTopMedia_) January 19, 2025
And the penalties were all honestly the Texans fault or did the refs help just a bit? Honest question.
— konatrades (@konatrades) January 19, 2025
Beyond those missteps, the eight sacks of quarterback C.J. Stroud were the biggest reason for the Texans’ season coming to an end. Stroud battled through a knee injury suffered on Houston’s first drive. He managed to rush for 42 yards, but he had limited mobility inside the pocket. The Texans’ offensive line has been their biggest wart for much of the year, and the Chiefs exposed it on the path to victory.
O-line was awful. Missing blocks the entire game. Spags is a GOAT DC, but that was bad.
— Just a coincidence (@doesntaddup5622) January 19, 2025
Texans lost because they couldn’t block pass rushers.
— Andy froemel (@FroemelAndy) January 19, 2025
Kansas City will face the winner of tomorrow’s Baltimore Ravens-Buffalo Bills matchup for a spot in Super Bowl LIX next Sunday. Houston’s front office can begin building off a solid second season with Stroud once free agency opens in March.
