The Sunday Night Football game in Week 14 features a key AFC matchup as the Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in a game that could define both teams’ postseason fate.
Kansas City arrives bruised. The Chiefs are coming off a Thanksgiving loss to the Dallas Cowboys in a game that broke the all-time viewership record for an NFL regular season game. The team of Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid has lost three of its last four games and fell to a 6-6 record, putting them in serious danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in the Mahomes-Reid era. Winning tonight is a must.
Houston, on the other hand, is in a completely different situation. The Texans, now with C.J. Stroud back on the field, defeated the Indianapolis Colts last week and improved their record to 7-5, stringing together four consecutive wins from 3-5. Even so, they are still out of playoff contention and need to keep winning to get into the fight.
Where to watch Chiefs vs. Texans live
- Date: Sunday, December 7
- Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
- Stadium: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City, Missouri)
- TV: NBC
- Live tracking: CBS Sports App
Chiefs’ playoff race
The Chiefs are 6-6 and sit in 10th place in the AFC. To qualify, they will probably need to win all five remaining games on their schedule. At most, a 4-1 record might give them a small chance.
Their end of the season is complicated: Texans, Chargers, Titans, Broncos and Raiders. Tennessee and Las Vegas seem to be the most accessible opponents, but the other three are direct clashes against teams that are also fighting for the playoffs. Kansas City has no margin for error.
In addition, guard Trey Smith has not practiced this week due to an ankle sprain and could be sidelined. That would leave Mahomes with three fewer starters on the offensive line, a critical scenario against a defense as physical as Houston’s.
Texans’ fight for a spot
Houston is 7-5 and eighth in the AFC, with more paths to the postseason than the Chiefs. They are not only competing for a wild card, but could also win the AFC South, where the Jaguars and Colts are just one game ahead (8-4).
Their closing games are against the Chiefs, Cardinals, Raiders, Chargers and Colts. Like Kansas City, they will have easy games (Arizona and Las Vegas) and three others against direct rivals. It won’t be easy either.The Texans’ defense is peaking just when it matters most. Against a depleted Chiefs offensive line, this matchup could tilt the game squarely in Houston’s favor.
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