KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) The relationship between Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Texans counterpart Deshaun Watson goes back well beyond the 2017 draft, when along with Mitchell Trubisky they were considered among the best prospects at their position.
It goes back to their college days, when Mahomes was orchestrating the Air Raid offense at Texas Tech and Watson was trying to navigate Clemson to a national championship.
I think we were going into our junior year, Mahomes recalled, and we went to a QB camp out in California. I talked to him, back and forth, about how he did his stuff at Clemson, how I did my stuff at Texas Tech. Hes a great player. We kind of hit it off.
They stayed in touch during the draft process, too.
We took a lot of the same visits, Mahomes said, and we went to the same places, and we would talk to each other about what we went through. But we didnt necessarily knew where we would go.
Nobody did.
Trubisky wound up going second overall to Chicago. And when nobody grabbed a quarterback in the next eight picks, the Chiefs traded up to No. 10 and chose Mahomes over Watson as the heir apparent to Alex Smith. Watson wound up going two picks later to the Texans.
Hes been doing a heck of a job putting the Chiefs in contention each and every game, and putting up a lot of great numbers, Watson said, because thats what hes been doing his whole career, and just being that leader.
Yes, it was Mahomes who rewrote the record books during his MVP season a year ago, and he is off to another blazing start this season. But it is Watson who comes into the AFC showdown with the hot hand, having thrown for 426 yards and five touchdowns while running for 47 yards last week against Atlanta.
Hes a heck of a player. We had him in here before the draft, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. We thought the world of him. I know he was a heck of a player in college and he carried it over and hes playing really good football. I dont know exactly what theyre asking and not asking him to do, but whatever theyre asking him to do, hes doing it well.
The matchup Sunday is more than just Mahomes vs. Watson, though. Here are some other story lines:
INJURY BUG
The Chiefs hope to get wide receiver Tyreek Hill on the field for the first time since breaking his collarbone Week 1 in Jacksonville. But they are poised to play without several key players, such as wide receiver Sammy Watkins (hamstring), defensive tackle Chris Jones (groin) and left guard Andrew Wylie (ankle).
MANO-A-MANO
The Colts slowed down the Chiefs by playing a bunch of man-to-man defense, and the Texans are likely to follow the same blueprint. But the Chiefs also have spent the week trying to fix their issues from last week, resulting in an intriguing offense-defense chess match Sunday.
