The Kansas City Chiefs divisional-round playoff opponent is officially set.
They’ll host the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for the second time this season after defeating them 27-19 back in Week 16 of the 2024 NFL season. This matchup will be music to the ears of a trio of Chiefs players who might have a bone to pick with this AFC opponent.
Justin Reid, Charles Omenihu, and DeAndre Hopkins were each former draft picks by the Houston Texans. Hopkins was a first-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft, Reid was a third-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft, and Omenihu was a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NFL draft. They all took their own path to end up in Kansas City and get a chance to face their former teams in a postseason matchup.
Rest assured, none of these players harbor any ill will toward their former team, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get up for the opportunity ahead of them in the divisional round. It’s an opportunity to prove the Texans wrong for moving on from them for one reason or another.
Reid has become a back-to-back Super Bowl champion after the Chiefs bounced him from the playoffs with the Texans, turning a. 24-0 deficit into a 51-31 victory. Hopkins hasn’t appeared in an NFL playoff game since that loss against Kansas City, where he had nine receptions for 118 yards. Omenihu was just a rookie for that game, but I’m sure that one stung for him, too.
The @Chiefs never threw in the towel and ended up completing the largest comeback in franchise history…during a PLAYOFF game 👏 pic.twitter.com/Lhh7y2YkUm
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) July 19, 2021
A win for Hopkins could help the veteran wideout inch closer to cementing a Pro Football Hall of Fame legacy. For players like Reid and Omenihu, a big performance against their former team could help secure a contract extension. They’re both in the final year of their deal with the Chiefs. They’ll each have their own motivations going into the game, namely, to defeat their opponent and reach the Super Bowl. They’ll likely say it’s nothing personal, but that might not be fully genuine.
