Chiefs-Texans players to watch, and Mahomes joins good company among AFC West QBs

It would take some most unusual circumstances for the Chiefs to not win a seventh straight AFC West title.

With a three-game lead on the Los Angeles Chargers and just four regular-season games remaining — and having swept the Chargers this year — the Chiefs would have to lose out, starting with Sunday’s game at the Houston Texans. And L.A. would have to win out.

This season’s division title would be the Chiefs’ 12th since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970 and 15th overall, and it would extend their division record of consecutive AFC West crowns.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes is bidding for his fifth straight first-place finish. Where does that stand among some of greatest who played the position?

Six Hall of Fame quarterbacks won at least one AFC West championship: Len Dawson, Ken Stabler, Dan Fouts, John Elway, Joe Montana and Peyton Manning. Recently retired Drew Brees, who led Marty Schottenheimer’s Chargers in 2004, should join the list when he becomes eligible.

Maybe Philip Rivers, who won the division four times, will make the Hall of Fame, as well.

That’s good company for Mahomes, who (when the Chiefs clinch) will own his fifth AFC West crown. Elway’s seven tops the list. Daryle Lamonica won five; joining Mahomes with four are Manning, Rivers and Ken Stabler.

The Chiefs list of division-winning quarterbacks looks like this: Mahomes, 4; Dawson 3; Alex Smith 2; and Matt Cassel, Trent Green, Elvis Grbac, Steve Bono and Montana with one each.

But back to this weekend’s game. Here are some players, besides Mahomes and Texans quarterback Davis Mills, to keep an eye on Sunday:

Chiefs running back Jerick McKinnon

The Chiefs’ rookie/veteran running back tandem is working well. Isiah Pacheco continues to run like a young bull with an ability to punish defenders. McKinnon, the seventh-year pro, has been the do-everything-else back.

As the Chiefs’ primary weapon in the screen game and better pass-protecting RB, McKinnon is proving more valuable by the week. He scored two receiving touchdowns at Denver. McKinnon and Pacheco might be in for another big game against Houston, which ranks 32nd against the run.

Chiefs defensive tackle Brandon Williams

The Chiefs picked up Williams last week and he played immediately, logging 15 plays against the Broncos and impressing KC defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo: “I mean Brandon was only here three days or whatever and he did an admirable job,” Spagnuolo said.

“What he still can do as a D-linemen is knock somebody back. He really helped us on the goal line. You know we had the two or three goal line snaps. I think they took a penalty and went back and then we were out of goal-line defense, but he helped us there. I was real impressed with how he picked it up. True pro, you know, veteran.”

Texans wide receiver Chris Moore

The Texans are without their top running back (Dameon Pierce) and top wide receiver (Brandin Cooks) because of injuries. Where will Houston look for offensive production? Moore is coming off his finest game of the season. He had 10 receptions against the Cowboys last week. Both figures were career bests for the former Baltimore Raven.

Texans cornerback Tremon Smith

Old friend alert: Smith, the Chiefs’ sixth-round draft pick in 2018, spent his rookie season and one game of 2019 with the Chiefs. He’s also been with the Packers and Colts and is now in his second year with the Texans, playing mostly on special teams.

But now he’s coming off his best game as a defensive back. He collected his first interception last week against the Cowboys. Then he got a second one.