The Texans came out firing on all cylinders Sunday afternoon, but the Chiefs made it all about them after the first quarter of the AFC divisional-round game.
Kansas City found itself down 24-0 before mounting the greatest comeback in franchise history over Houston at Arrowhead Stadium. Patrick Mahomes tossed a record-setting five playoff touchdown passes, a superstitious fan left in the first quarter and the Chiefs punched their ticket to the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans.
But aside from Mahomes’ record day, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien made a questionable call while his team still was ahead.
Houston was up 24-7 on its own 40-yard line when O’Brien called for a fake punt. The Chiefs stopped the Texans on the play and seemed to really shift momentum for the remainder of the game.
The Texans go for the fake punt and the @Chiefs defense makes a huge play! #ChiefsKingdom #NFLPlayoffs
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Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/ytW9g3rQZM pic.twitter.com/SQ4heoPvSO— NFL (@NFL) January 12, 2020
So, just what exactly was the coach thinking calling for a fake punt in his own territory?
“We just felt like we weren’t going to be able to punt it too many times today,” O’Brien said, per FOX 26’s Mark Berman. “We felt we had to try to manufacture some points, manufacture some yards and it just didn’t work out. It’s just something we decided to do. But the play didn’t work.”
It certainly didn’t work.
Regardless, Houston failed to hold a 24-point lead and allowed the Chiefs to take complete control of the game, resulting in another tough playoff loss for O’Brien and the Texans.
