KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The injuries kept
mounting for the Houston Texans, and yet they still had the ball with a
chance to take the lead on the unbeaten Chiefs in the fourth quarter
Sunday.
That's when the stingy Kansas City defense truly shined.
Case Keenum was forced into an incompletion on first down, and then stripped by linebacker Tamba Hali on second down.
Derrick Johnson hopped on the loose ball
with 1:34 remaining in the game, allowing Kansas City to run off the
rest of the clock and preserve a 17-16 victory.
"When they can pin their ears back,
they're very, very difficult," Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. "They came
and got us pretty good there late in the game. I'm proud of my team's
effort, but I'm just very disappointed in the result."
The result was another frustrating loss
for the banged-up Texans (2-5), who are riding their first five-game
skid since Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 2005.
They were already without quarterback Matt Schaub, who missed the game with right ankle and foot injuries.
But they were dealt two more crushing
blows when running back Arian Foster left with a hamstring injury in the
first quarter, and linebacker Brian Cushing had to be taken up the
tunnel on a cart with an injury to his left knee in the second half.
Foster said that he hoped to be back
soon, but Kubiak said the injury to Cushing could be serious. "It
doesn't look good," he said.
Nothing is looking bad these days for
the Chiefs (7-0), who trail only the 2003 team for the best start in
franchise history.
In the Super Bowl era, 31 previous
teams started 7-0 and all of them made the playoffs. Fifteen went on to
play in the Super Bowl and nine won it.
"It was a physical game, the kind of a
game this team needs to go far," said Jamaal Charles who ran for 86
yards and a touchdown. "I'm glad we came across this team."
Alex Smith also had a touchdown run for the Chiefs.
"We've got a great group of guys,
honestly. Hungry guys," the quarterback said. "They appreciate being
around each other, and it's fun. It's fun coming to work every day."
Things haven't been much fun for the Texans lately.
Even when things went well, such as a
nice drive to start the game that ended in a field goal, there was a
reason to grimace -- in this case, Foster heading to the locker room and
emerging from it in a gray sweatsuit.
The Chiefs answered with an 82-yard
drive that Charles capped with a short TD plunge, but the Texans pulled
back ahead when Keenum hit DeAndre Hopkins on a 29-yard touchdown
reception.
Keenum finished with 271 yards passing in his first NFL start.
"It's a big stage against a really good
football team," Keenum said. "I learned that it's one or two plays here
and there that make a difference."
The Texans still led 10-7 when they
pinned Kansas City at its 3-yard line midway through the second quarter.
Smith proceeded to guide the Chiefs 97 yards in 15 plays -- he was 8 of
8 for 75 yards on the drive -- and used all but 56 seconds on the clock
to regain the lead.
Smith scored on a 5-yard draw when he froze the defense on a fake handoff to nobody.
Bullock tacked on two more field goals
for Houston, and Ryan Succop hit one for the Chiefs, who came within
inches of extending their 17-16 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Tight end Anthony Fasano caught a pass
at the goal line and was ruled down, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid
challenged the spot to no avail -- he thought it was a touchdown.
Charles was stuffed on the next play, and Smith's pass to wide open Sean
McGrath on fourth down was out of bounds.
It turned out that it didn't matter. The Chiefs' defense made sure of that.
"Our team played really hard there
toward the end," Keenum said. "We put the offense in position and me in
position to go down and win the game, and we didn't. I didn't make plays
there at the end. You have to give credit to Kansas City."
NOTES: The Chiefs had five sacks,
giving them 36 on the season. ... Ben Tate had 50 yards rushing for
Houston. ... The Texans did not commit a turnover until Keenum was
stripped at the end. They had an AFC-leading 15 turnovers coming into
the game. ... Smith had 231 yards passing.
