HOUSTON (AP) — Alex Smith threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the first half as the Kansas City Chiefs built a big lead and held on for a 27-20 victory over the mistake-prone Houston Texans on Sunday.
Travis Kelce caught two touchdown passes in the first quarter, the first one coming after Kansas City intercepted Brian Hoyer on his first throw as a Texan.
The Chiefs were up by 14 in the second quarter when Justin Houston sacked Hoyer, forcing a fumble. Kansas City recovered it and a 7-yard touchdown reception by Jamaal Charles pushed the lead to 27-6.
Hoyer struggled in his debut before Ryan Mallett took over with about six minutes left and led Houston on two scoring drives to cut the lead to a touchdown.
| First Quarter | ||
| KAN – TD, Alex Smith, 10-yard pass to Travis Kelce (Cairo Santos kick), 10:22 | ||
| KAN – TD, Alex Smith, 42-yard pass to Travis Kelce (Cairo Santos kick), 4:28 | ||
| HOU – TD, Brian Hoyer, 4-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins (Randy Bullock kick failed), 0:46 | ||
| Second Quarter | ||
| KAN – FG, Cairo Santos, 27 yards, 10:26 | ||
| KAN – FG, Cairo Santos, 48 yards, 6:20 | ||
| KAN – TD, Alex Smith, 7-yard pass to Jamaal Charles (Cairo Santos kick), 4:55 | ||
| HOU – FG, Randy Bullock, 34 yards, 0:09 | ||
| Fourth Quarter | ||
| HOU – TD, Ryan Mallett, 8-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins (Ryan Mallett 2PT Pass to DeAndre Hopkins), 4:07 | ||
| HOU – FG, Randy Bullock, 47 yards, 1:23 | ||
| TEAM STATISTICS | ||
| KAN | HOU | |
| First Downs | 18 | 24 |
| Rushes-Yards | 32-97 | 21-98 |
| Passing Yards | 233 | 298 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 22-33-0 | 26-47-1 |
| Return Yards | 111 | 14 |
| Punts-Avg. | 7-45.9 | 7-58.6 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 2-25 | 6-39 |
| INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS | ||
| RUSHING (Team: player, attempts-yards) | ||
| KAN: Jamaal Charles 16-57, Knile Davis 6-16, Alex Smith 9-15, De’Anthony Thomas 1-9. | ||
| HOU: Alfred Blue 9-42, Jonathan Grimes 6-28, Chris Polk 5-22, Ryan Mallett 1-6. | ||
| PASSING (Team: player, completions-attempts-interceptions-yards) | ||
| KAN: Alex Smith 22-33-0-243. | ||
| HOU: Brian Hoyer 18-34-1-236, Ryan Mallett 8-13-0-98. | ||
| RECEIVING (Team: player, receptions-yards) | ||
| KAN: Travis Kelce 6-106, Jamaal Charles 5-46, Jeremy Maclin 5-52, Albert Wilson 3-25, Knile Davis 1-12, Anthony Sherman 1-0, De’Anthony Thomas 1-2. | ||
| HOU: DeAndre Hopkins 9-98, Nate Washington 6-105, Cecil Shorts III 4-57, Keith Mumphery 2-23, Alfred Blue 1-7, C.J. Fiedorowicz 1-15, Ryan Griffin 1-18, Jonathan Grimes 1-2, Chris Polk 1-9. |