The first time the Houston Texans faced the Kansas City Chiefs last month, the Chiefs came away with a 27-19 win.
While Kansas City's defense was a major factor in the victory, the Chiefs were also able to establish the running game, getting contributions from Kareem Hunt, Isiah Pacheco and even Patrick Mahomes to rattle off 124 yards on the ground.
The catch is that the Texans were without defensive tackle Foley Fatukasi in that game.
Well, Fatukasi is now healthy, and head coach DeMeco Ryans thinks that the 29-year-old may end up playing a significant role in Houston's Divisional Round matchup against Kansas City this Saturday.
"As soon as he get back out, you instantly see the impact he has when it comes to first and foremost the run game," Ryans told reporters. " ... We've been missing that when you can have a guy that plays stout, plays physical as Foley plays, it helps us to play really good run defense and that's always the No. 1 key."
Fatukasi played in 11 games this season, registering 24 tackles and a sack.
His numbers may not initially jump off the page, but there is no denying his presence when he is on the field, and that was very clear against the Los Angeles Chargers in the Wild Card Round.
The Texans will absolutely need all hands on deck to beat the Chiefs this weekend, and the fact that Fatukasi is now healthy is certainly a significant boon for a stingy Houston defense.
