Editor’s note: NESN.com’s Mike Cole, Ricky Doyle and Andre Khatchaturian deliver their NFL picks every Thursday of the season, and here’s who they like in Sunday’s Kansas City Chiefs-Houston Texans Week 2 game.
Kansas City Chiefs (1-0) at (-2.5) Houston Texans (1-0), 1 p.m.
Mike: Texans. I love the revenge angle here. KC whooped on Houston in the playoffs last season, but the Texans had Brian Hoyer under center (four interceptions) and J.J. Watt played only one snap. The Chiefs’ O-line is better, but they’ll still struggle with this Texans pass rush.
Ricky: Chiefs. Brian Cushing’s injury could hurt Houston, particularly with Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce posting big numbers in his previous two games against the Texans. The Chiefs started slow last week, but several starters appeared to be shaking off the rust after playing very little in the preseason. We’ll go out on a limb here and say Kansas City’s true identity is closer to the team that thrived in the second half last week against San Diego. And we’ll also say the Chiefs’ offensive line will do a much better job containing the Texans’ pass rush than the Bears’ garbage O-line.
Andre: Chiefs. Brock Osweiler shined in Week 1, but that was against the Bears. The Chiefs are the same team that shut out the Texans in the playoffs last season. Alex Smith is looking more like a guy who can win with his arm, and after a slow start, the Chiefs’ defense held Philip Rivers to just 92 passing yards in the second half in their comeback win.
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Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports Images
