What is Arrowhead Pride Premier? Arrowhead Pride Premier is our tri-weekly newsletter offering analysis and exclusive insights straight from Arrowhead Stadium, delivered straight to your inbox. Below is a preview of the latest edition.

---

BY PETE SWEENEY

The Kansas City Chiefs improved to 14:1 and won the game against the Houston Texans with a comfortable 27:19 win.

The Chiefs victory has solid Playoff implications. With the win, the team only needs one win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 17 or a win over the Denver Broncos in Week 18 to secure the AFC’s No. 1 seed and a bye.

Of course, they can secure their bye today if the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, but the more likely scenario is that Kansas City will be playing for something on Christmas.

The Chiefs did not emerge from their duel with the Texans unscathed; Chris Jones was ruled out early with a calf strain, as was Jawaan Taylor with a knee strain. After the game, quarterback Patrick Mahomes admitted he wasn’t at 100%, noting that it was difficult to cut and stop the ball because he suffered a high ankle sprain.

Win on Wednesday – and the next meaningful football game will take place at least 24 days later. What a huge advantage for a team whose stars desperately need rest.

I think we learned a few things about the Chiefs on Saturday, particularly as it relates to their identity.

I think Kansas City’s identity in 2024 will be clearly visible, starting with the offense.

Offensively, this is ultimately the shape the team is aiming for. Hollywood Brown returned to the field Saturday, completing the starting wide receiver trio of Brown, veteran DeAndre Hopkins and freshman Xavier Worthy.

“You saw (Brown) in there, win-versus-man coverage,” Mahomes said. “I thought these guys did a great job. I think they actually won more when I even threw them the football. They saw that we moved the ball well (Saturday) and we have to continue to do that. Some attacks stalled quickly, but once we got the attacks somewhat going it looked like we could move downfield and so we have to continue to answer that we can beat the man coverage, and do so then when teams play zone, we have to beat that too.”

I thought Worthy had the best game of his young career, recording 10 touchdowns for 75 scrimmage yards and a touchdown – almost a second more. Reid and Mahomes both said the game has slowed down for Worthy, and you can see the confidence both have in his ability to perform.

Kansas City has the edge at running back, and on Saturday it was Kareem Hunt who made the most of his opportunities, rushing 11 times for 55 yards and his score. Hunt had 47 yards rushing in the second half.

“I thought he did a good job in the second half,” Reid said of Hunt. “I thought all three (Hunt, Isaiah Pacheco and Samaje Perine) did a good job. (Pacheco) had some big runs for us, tough runs. Perine gets in and does a good job there. He ended up having a big catch there, which was good.”

Thuney has been reliable at left tackle, left guard Mike Caliendo has played well and the team appears to have regained confidence in second-year lineman Wanya Morris, who finished the game in place of the injured Jawaan Taylor.

27 points is a solid result, but I think it’s fair to say they left some meat on the bone on Saturday.

---

What else is in this edition?

• Pete has two more thoughts on the Chiefs’ Week 16 win over the Texans.
• Jared Sapp believes the game completely changed when Houston reached Kansas City’s 10 just to score three points.
• In his first look at the film, Ron Kopp assesses Hollywood Brown’s Chiefs debut.

---

Editors show preview

Here is a clip from last week Editorial show with Pete Sweeney and John Dixon.

AP Premier subscribers will receive a link to the entire hour-long video podcast in their Tuesday newsletter.

---

What else is included in a subscription?

This is what you can expect 3 weekly newsletters during the season. In addition to our preview newsletter on Thursday…

• Brandon Kiley returned as a columnist on Tuesday – and he’ll be back this week with his thoughts on the end of the Chiefs’ season.
• In our preview newsletter on Thursday, Pete shares his three thoughts before the game, Rocky Magana highlights a crucial match to watch – and John Dixon shares some background information on one of the upcoming game’s biggest storylines.

---

How to register for Arrowhead Pride Premier

Subscribe today using this link to get even more Chiefs coverage this season – and now we have a coupon code to get you 25% off all year long.

Enter voucher code PODCAST25 to get 25% off your annual subscription.