Texans look to derail Chiefs

HOUSTON — The Texans are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2012 and now have to come up with a plan to derail the Kansas City Chiefs, winners of 10 in a row.

They’ll do it with a defense that surged in the last nine games after struggling early. Houston (9-7) went 7-2 in that stretch in large part because the defense allowed an NFL-best 12.7 points a game.

“There’s a lot of trust on that side of the ball among each other and with the coaches,” coach Bill O’Brien said. “You’ve got some guys playing some great football … you’ve got better tackling, better communication. All the things that you need ... you’re having it.”

That improvement has been led by defensive end J.J. Watt, who had another stellar season. Watt led the NFL with 171⁄2 sacks to join Reggie White as the only players in NFL history to have three 15-sack seasons in their first five years in the league. He also had 76 tackles, 29 tackles for losses, 50 quarterback hits, batted down eight passes, forced three fumbles and recovered one.

He had been slowed in recent weeks because of a club-like cast on his left hand, which he broke Dec. 9. On Sunday, Watt had three sacks, forced a fumble and recovered another one in his first game without the cast.

The Texans won the AFC South and made their first two playoff appearances in 2011 and 2012. They sank to 2-14 in 2013 before improving to 9-7 last year, missing the postseason.

“This is what we expect. We expect to win the division, expect to be in the playoffs,” Watt said. “We aren’t satisfied with where we are right now. We expect to be where we are right now and we look forward to moving even farther forward.”