Texans Defense Proved Themselves in Revenge Game vs. Chiefs

On a night which felt in so many ways like a playoff game, the only thing which was missing was the ridiculous standards of playing the game of football which Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes historically rather routinely lives up to.

Mahomes had a night of several career lowlights, and we can unquestionably give thanks for that to a Texans defensive unit which continues to move into the generationally good kind of bracket–– and landed some noteworthy praise from head coach DeMeco Ryans after the fact.

"Defense did an outstanding job," Ryans enthused after beating the Chiefs 20 - 10. "This is a great offense, they've done a great job for a long time. It was all about the situational football. Plays we made on third down, getting stops. Fourth down, being able to get stops there to put us in range to score some points. I just can't say enough about the effort from our defense."

Nothing quite set the tone for what was a brutal evening than the three picks Mahomes threw to Texans, the last one hitting the hands of the vengeance-filled Al-Shaair. Texans safety Jalen Pitre also bagged himself a crucial interception of Mahomes on the night, but it was his brutal separation of the ball from Chiefs speedster Rashee Rice which served notice; a vicious smackdown that's probably still echoing around Arrowhead Stadium.

Kamari Lassiter Had Major Praise for Jalen Pitre

Nevertheless, fellow defensive back Kamari Lassiter paid tribute to the imperious all-around game of Pitre, and it came complete with the bold assurance that he feels his explosive teammate is moving into the elite player bracket.

"Five is the best in the world," Lassiter said of Jalen Pitre. "I didn't get to see (the interception) for real, because I was covering, but word on the street is he covered him, then he tipped the ball up five yards away, speed turned and dove. Every time I watch the film I tell him, 'You are one of one.' I've never seen a player like him. He is elite."

What's really fueled the return of the Texans to serious playoff contention has been the fact that the defense not only had stellar individual performances come to the fore; it's also been a sum of its extremely talented parts.

While Mahomes was only sacked on two occasions, he still was pressured plenty, but this was a night on which Ryans quite rightly gave props to his opportunist defensive secondary.

"In the back end, we had to protect the shots when they did go up, and we were able to make a play on the football," Ryans explained. "That was our key there. When we had our opportunities to make plays on the football, we made them in the critical moments."

As things currently stand, merely making the postseason party as a Wild Card team is really lowballing their vast potential, and that's throwing the 0-3 start in for good measure. Whispers are now growing louder and louder that the Texans could very well be a bona fide Super Bowl contender.