Despite being constantly counted out during the week leading up to the Wild Card round, the Houston Texans put on a clinic in front of their home fans to knock off the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 and advance to the Divisional Round. The test only gets tougher from here for DeMeco Ryans and company, as they will head to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs in a blockbuster matchup.
On Tuesday, as the Texans prepare for their biggest test of the season, Ryans and company got a troubling update on one of their most important players. Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair did not practice on Tuesday due to a knee injury according to the team's official injury report.
The Texans play on Saturday, so Al-Shaair's Wednesday availability at practice will speak volumes about whether he will be ready to go for the big game. If he can go, even in a limited capacity, that would suggest that he is trending towards trying to play. However, if he is forced to sit out again, his status for Saturday would be in jeopardy.
Al-Shaair is one of the most important pieces of the Texans defense. He sets the tone for that group and is the heart and soul of the unit, and the team performs much better when he is on the field. The Texans felt his absence during their regular season meeting against the Chiefs, a 27-19 win for Kansas City, when Al-Shaair was serving a three-game suspension for a late hit on Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
In that one, the Chiefs had one of their most efficient days of the season on the offensive side of the ball. Patrick Mahomes finished that game with 260 passing yards, 33 rushing yards and two touchdowns with zero turnovers. As a team, Kansas City moved the ball efficiently with a good mark on third down and 25 first downs in total.
The Texans really missed Al-Shaair against the run in that game. The Chiefs ran for two touchdowns on the ground and averaged 4.4 yards per carry, not a big explosive number but one that suggests they were able to stay ahead of the sticks throughout. In order to make the game easier on the pass defense on Saturday, the Texans need Al-Shaair out there to make some splash plays in the backfield against a very good Chiefs offense.