The Houston Texans have a familiar foe of the Chiefs who has bested them during past matchups

One of the main objectives for the Kansas City Chiefs' defense during its divisional round matchup against the Houston Texans will be containing running back Joe Mixon.

2024 was a good campaign for Mixon as he rushed for 1,016 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Texans are 6-2 (including the postseason) in games when he rushes for over 100 yards.

The Chiefs are very familiar with Mixon, having not only faced him when they played Houston back in Week 16, but playing him five times when he was a member of the Cincinnati Bengals.

While speaking to the media on Wednesday, Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones had nothing but praise for the Texans' offense, and specifically mentioned Mixon as one of it's biggest threats.

"That team is really, really good," Jones said. "They had some injuries, unfortunately, but the quarterback is top tier. He's patient, has a big arm. I respect the heck out of their head coach. They got a solid room over there. They got a lot of playmakers that they can put up a real numbers if you give them time and opportunity. [We need to] try to contain [Texans quarterback] CJ Stroud and eliminate Joe Mixon. He's been running crazy this year. We are very familiar with Joe Mixon. [We've] seen him with the Cincinnati Bengals, and we played him multiple times, and he actually beat us in a big moment. So we know he's bringing that energy over there, and we are excited to see him."

The Chiefs have fared pretty well against Mixon in the past, holding him to a 3.6-yard average on 89 carries. However, his best game against Kansas City came in the postseason during the 2022 AFC Championship Game, as Mixon ran for 88 yards en route to a Bengals 27-24 victory.

Mixon was the centerpiece of Houston's offense during it's Wild Card victory over the Los Angeles Chargers last week, racking up 119 yards and one touchdown on 26 touches. The Texans' offense is at it's best when Mixon is running well and Stroud can capitalize with play-action. With Houston being thing at wide receiver, getting Mixon going early and often will be crucial to it's success.