The Houston Texans' eventful 2024 season is over two games into the playoffs, falling to the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round 23-14. Fans and players alike were quick to blame questionable referee calls for the Texans' loss, as has been the narrative with the Chiefs throughout the year.

Like the teams' first meeting in Week 16, the game was a gritty, back-and-forth affair with a razor-thin margin of error. For the second time this year, the Texans committed the most mistakes, which led to the end result.

Nobody is surprised with the result, as the Chiefs entered the game as eight-point favorites. Houston played without Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell offensively, leaving C.J. Stroud severely shorthanded. Given everything, the final score was indicative of the admirable fight the Texans put up, but it is hard for DeMeco Ryans to feel anything other than disappointment with the way his season ended.

The officiating may have overshadowed the crucial missteps the Texans made in the game, but nonetheless, Houston let this one slip through its fingers.

Texans K Ka'imi Fairbairn

Houston Texans place kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn (15) and offensive tackle Laremy Tunsil (78) react after a missed extra point during the second half against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Kicking is a thankless job in the NFL. Unless it is a game-winning field goal, kickers rarely receive the credit they deserve but are always under fire when they slip up. Unfortunately for Ka'imi Fairbairn, it was more of the latter for him against the Chiefs.

The game took place under notably windy conditions, but Fairbairn could not set his sights remotely on the goal. He ended up just 2-of-4 on field goal attempts and missed his lone extra point, leaving seven points on the board. In a nine-point game, each missed opportunity was a massive blow.

Granted, Fairbairn's final kick of the game was blocked and not entirely his fault. He could not have felt safe behind the Texans' faulty line of scrimmage and never got a clean kick off without pressure in his face. Still, there are no excuses for botched extra points in the NFL, and his 55-yard miss in the second quarter was closer to the tunnel than the goalpost. There is a good chance Fairbairn will need a new job in the summer.

Texans RT Blake Fisher

The entire Houston offensive line is completely at fault for this loss, but right tackle Blake Fisher carries most of the blame. A rookie out of Notre Dame, Fisher was making just his second career playoff start, but it could not have gone much worse.

Whether he lined up across George Karlaftis, Chris Jones, Charles Omenihu or Mike Danna, Fisher could not keep a single body in front of him. Most of Stroud's pressures were the direct result of his inability to contain edge pressure.

In run blocking, Fisher did a decent job holding up his side for Joe Mixon; Stroud just had no time to pass. The Texans need to completely overhaul their offensive line in the offseason, and Fisher should not be in the starting lineup by Week 1.

Texans CB Myles Bryant

Houston Texans cornerback Myles Bryant (27) breaks up a pass intended for Kansas City Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco (10) during the first quarter of a 2025 AFC divisional round game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

For the most part, the Texans' defense was their strength against the Chiefs. Save for a few broken plays, they mostly did their job containing Patrick Mahomes and the offense.

When those broken plays did occur, Myles Bryant tended to be at the center of them. The fifth-year reserve cornerback received an extended run in the game at nickelback but failed to make the most of his opportunities. Bryant's game was full of missed tackles, slow reads and failed coverages.

Bryant was the culprit of most of the Chiefs' biggest plays of the game. He missed multiple tackles on Travis Kelce's biggest plays of the afternoon and could not cover his gaps against the run. It only took a matter of time for Matt Nagy to repeatedly target his side of the field on outside zone runs.

Bryant made a few big plays in the game, but they were few and far in between. Perhaps this is on Ryans and Matt Burke for leaving him in the game, but Bryant did much more harm than good in the Texans' season-ending loss.