The Kansas City Chiefs got their 2015 NFL season off to a winning start this evening courtesy of a 27-20 victory over the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium.
The Texans' own campaign began in nightmare fashion when Brian Hoyer threw an interception on the opening drive of the game, and the Chiefs were quick to take advantage through Alex Smith's 10-yard pass to Travis Kelce in the endzone.
Kelce became the first Chiefs player to score multiple touchdowns in a season opener later in the first quarter when he found himself wide open to collect another Smith pass, before strolling in to complete a 42-yard score.
Houston's offense was struggling to make much headway, but they did eventually get on the board before the end of the opener when Hoyer floated his pass out to DeAndre Hopkins on the right side of the endzone.
Randy Bullock's extra point attempt was unsuccessful, however, and that allowed Cairo Santos to restore his side's 14-point lead with a couple of field goals in the second quarter.
The Chiefs then poured more misery on their hosts, by now incurring the wrath of the home crowd, when Smith notched his third touchdown pass of the evening by finding Jamaal Charles for a seven-yard strike.
Bullock did add a late field goal to reduce the deficit to 27-9 at the halfway stage, but the second half failed to provide the same action as the first, with neither side registering on the scoreboard in the third quarter.
Hoyer soon found himself hooked by head coach Bill O'Brien in favour of Ryan Mallett, and the quarterback change had an immediate impact when Mallett connected with Hopkins for an eight-yard touchdown. Mallett again targeted Hopkins to complete the two-point conversion, cutting the deficit to 10 points with just over four minutes remaining.
Bullock added another field goal later in the final quarter to bring his side within seven, but the Chiefs successfully saw the match out despite a scoreless second half to open the campaign with victory.
Barney Corkhill
