Chiefs vs. Texans live updates: Predictions, TV info for Saturday ...

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The Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans meet in a potential NFL playoff preview on Saturday afternoon.

The Chiefs nearly hit DEFCON 1 on the injury report this week. Patrick Mahomes was injured in Kansas City's Week 15 game vs. the Cleveland Browns, suffering an ankle sprain that seemed a bit more dire in the moment. However, in the days that followed, Mahomes was a full participant in practice, setting aside any hopes that fans would see Carson Wentz under center come Saturday afternoon.

Mahomes and Co. don't face an easy opponent in the Texans. While C.J. Stroud and the Texans offense has yet to hit the highs of the 2023 season, the defense poses a particular challenge for Mahomes and the Chiefs.

Houston enters Week 16 ranked fourth in the NFL in yards allowed and ninth in the NFL in points allowed. While the Chiefs offense hasn't exactly been reminiscent of Andy Reid-coached units of days of past, they're still rostering one Patrick Mahomes, so a shootout is always in the cards.

USA TODAY Sports will provide live updates, highlights and more from the Chiefs-Texans Saturday matchup below.

Mahomes has been sacked more during the 2024 NFL season than he has at any point during his career. He took another one on the team's second drive when Harris came on a blitz and dropped the Chiefs quarterback.

Mahomes got up just fine after the hit, which was notable given his injury. The loss pushed the team back into a third-and-long, however, and Kansas City was forced to punt the ball back to the Texans after failing to convert that.

The Chiefs lost to the Buffalo Bills 30-21 in a Week 11 during which Josh Allen racked up 317 yards and two touchdowns. That marks Kansas City's only defeat of the 2024 NFL season through 15 weeks.

C.J. Stroud and the Houston offense mounted a good response to Kansas City's touchdown drive, as Nico Collins, Tank Dell and Joe Mixon ripped off some big plays to get the Texans into the red zone. Ultimately, they stalled out and Ka'imi Fairbairn came on to attempt a 33-yard field goal.

Fairbairn made the chip-shot to get the Texans on the board and make it 7-3 Chiefs.

How healthy is Mahomes' injured ankle? The Chiefs quarterback isn't as fast as he has usually is, but he also showed that fans shouldn't be overly concerned about his mobility being impacted by his "mild" high-ankle sprain.

Mahomes ran for 12 yards on a third-and-13 earlier in the drive before taking off from the 15-yard line later to score a touchdown on a run up the middle.

Mahomes now has 27 rushing yards in the first quarter of the game. That's already the fourth-most he has recorded in a single game this season.

The Texans faced a third-and-12 on their first drive and Stroud tried to force a downfield shot to Collins in double coverage. Rookie Jaden Hicks caught the overthrown pass and set Kansas City up with great field position on its first drive of the day.

Houston's first drive is off to an inauspicious start, as starting right guard Mason was hurt just four plays into it. He walked off the field under his own power but headed for the blue medical tent.

The Texans were already without starting left guard Juice Scruggs and will be forced to put either Kenyon Green or Kendrick Green into action.

• Start time: 1 p.m. ET (Noon CT)

The Chiefs and Texans are scheduled for kick off on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET, noon CT.

Chiefs vs. Texans TV channel

• TV channel: NBC

NBC will broadcast the Chiefs-Texans matchup in Week 16. Noah Eagle will be on play-by-play, and he will be flanked by Todd Blackledge (color commentary).

It appears that Swift is in attendance for the Chiefs' Saturday matchup with the Texans. She was spotted getting onto a golf cart at Arrowhead Stadium and is presumably be transported to her suite to watch her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, in action.

The Chiefs wide receiver, who has not played at all in 2024, will make his season debut on Saturday. Brown suffered a shoulder injury during preseason and will be a major boost to the Chiefs wide receiver corps.

Noah Eagle (play-by-play) and Todd Blackledge (color commentary) will be the announcers for the Chiefs vs. Texans games. The duo usual broadcasts NBC's package of prime-time college games, but they were called up to the NFL level to allow Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth to call just one game over the weekend.

Kathryn Tappen will join Eagles and Blackledge as a sideline reporter.

Yes, Noah Eagle is Ian Eagle's son. The 28-year-old attended Syracuse and broke into sports media in 2019 before rapidly rising the ranks to become a major network play-by-play man.

Carson Wentz is the Chiefs' backup quarterback for the 2024 NFL season. The former Philadelphia Eagles star signed a one-year deal with the Chiefs during the offseason to take on that role after playing behind Matthew Stafford with the Los Angeles Rams in the second half of the 2023 NFL season.

On Thursday, head coach Andy Reid told reporters he expected his quarterback to make the start. That turned out to be true, as Mahomes will to start vs. the Houston.

Patrick Mahomes and Marquise "Hollywood" Brown will both play vs. the Texans today. Mahomes avoids missing a game due to injury, while Brown is making his season debut.

The Texans will be without starting guard Juice Scruggs and a handful of veteran role players for Sunday's game against the Chiefs. Below are the team's seven inactives for the contest:

• WR John Metchie
• LB Devin White
• DE Jerry Hughes
• G Nick Broeker
• G/C Juice Scruggs
• TE Cade Stover
• DL Folorunso Fatukasi

Chiefs vs. Texans predictions, picks

Here's how the USA TODAY Sports staff feels the Chiefs vs. Texans matchup will go:

• Tyler Dragon: Chiefs 24, Texans 21
• Jordan Mendoza: Texans 23, Chiefs 20

• Live stream: Fubo | Peacock 

For cord cutters looking for a live stream for the matchup, you can turn to Fubo. Fubo carries NBC, as well as CBS, FOX, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action through the remainder of the season. 

Peacock, the proprietary streaming service of NBC, will also carry the game.

The Chiefs are favorites to defeat the Texans, according to the BetMGM NFL odds. Not interested in this game? Check out expert picks and best bets for every NFL game this week. 

• Spread: Chiefs (-3.5) 
• Moneyline: Chiefs (-190); Texans (+155) 
• Over/under: 42

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The NFL's top 18 players in average annual salary are all quarterbacks, according to OverTheCap.com. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott became the league's highest-paid player before the 2024 season, agreeing to a four-year, $240 million deal. Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is the first non-quarterback on the highest-paid list after striking a four-year, $140 million contract extension this offseason. 

Who are the highest paid NFL players at each position? 

We have a complete list at every position:  

Mother Nature won’t be involved in Saturday’s matchup outside of just making the temperature a bit colder than usual. Temperature for kickoff is expected to be just above freezing and will climb to 36 degrees throughout the matchup.

The Texans travel to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium to take on the Chiefs. 

The Chiefs have the AFC West locked up. Next step: No. 1 seed in the AFC. Here’s how the division looks: 

1. Chiefs (13-1) 
2. Chargers (9-6) 
3. Broncos (9-6) 
4. Raiders (2-12)