Houston Texans: Five Keys To Success Against the Kansas City Chiefs

The Houston Texans have been one of the most unpredictable teams in the NFL this season.

They established a running game with Arian Foster and beat the Colts.

They beat the Redskins after being down almost the entire game.

They lost to Dallas in the Cowboys' only win thus far.

In week four they benched Arian Foster for the first half, but still held on to beat the Raiders.

Then they lose to the Giants with very little to be proud of for the entire game.

With the Kansas City Chiefs coming to Houston on Sunday, what must happen for the Texans to hold on to the division lead?

Here are the five keys to success for the Texans in Week 6.

Key to Success No. 5: Pressure on Matt Cassel

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GLENDALE, AZ - AUGUST 14: Defensive end Mario Williams #90 of the Houston Texans celebrates after a first quarter sack agianst the Arizona Cardinals during preseason NFL game at the University of Phoenix Stadium on August 14, 2010 in Glendale, Arizona.

The Houston Texans only have nine sacks on the season.

Compared to the league high of 22 set by the Tennessee Titans that number is not good enough.

Although Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel isn't exactly putting up numbers like Peyton Manning, he is getting the protection like Manning, only being sacked three times this season.

The Texans will have to put some pressure on Matt Cassel if they want to be successful not only on defense, but as an entire team.

Key to Success No. 4: Texans Running Backs Against Chiefs Running Backs

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HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 12: Running back Arian Foster #23 of the Houston Texans rushes past defensive back Antoine Bethea #41 of the Indianapolis Colts during the NFL season opener at Reliant Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Le

Despite a poor outing by Arian Foster last week against the Giants, the Texans are still fifth in the league in rushing, averaging 142 yards on the ground per game.

Kansas City, however, is 3rd in the NFL, averaging almost 149 rushing yards per game.

Whether it's Arian Foster or Steve Slaton, the Houston Texans will have to out run Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones on Sunday.

With the Chiefs and Texans both having the fifth and sixth best rushing defense in the league, only allowing approximately 80 rushing yards a game, whoever does better on the ground will have a better chance of winning.

Key to Success No. 3: Texans Secondary

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HOUSTON - OCTOBER 10: Kareem Jackson #25 of the Houston Texans avoids a tackle after intercepting a pass by Mario Manningham #82 of the New York Giants at Reliant Stadium on October 10, 2010 in Houston, Texas. The Giants defeated the Texans 34-10. (Ph

The Texans are dead last in passing defense, allowing nearly 330 yards a game through the air.

On top of that, they only have four interceptions this season.

Houston has the ability to stop the run for sure, but the big yards and plays often come through the air.

That being said, Matt Cassel has a good shot at being the biggest sleeper pick of the week for fantasy football.

If Houston doesn't do something about their secondary, their chances of not only winning this game, but winning the division, will go down the drain.

Key to Success No. 2: Pass the Ball

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HOUSTON - SEPTEMBER 12: Quarterback Matt Schaub #8 at Reliant Stadium on September 12, 2010 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Matt Schaub is one of the most underrated quarterbacks in the league.

He has the talent and smarts to be a Super Bowl caliber quarterback.

On top of that, he has one of the best receiving cores in the NFL.

Their passing game has obviously been cut down due to the success of Arian Foster.

But when the ground game is going well, as it has been for the most part, it opens up the passing game.

With weapons like Andre Johnson down the field, Schaub has to get the passing game going for the Texans to be successful.

Key to Success No. 1: The Red Zone

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HOUSTON - AUGUST 28: Wide receiver Jacoby Jones #12 of the Houston Texans celebrates his touchdown reception with Antoine Caldwell #62 and Andre Johnson #80 in the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys in a preseason game at Reliant Stadium on August

By "The Red Zone" I mean scoring and keeping the Chiefs from scoring in the red zone.

In the red zone, the Chiefs have only managed to put points on the board 30 percent of the time, while stopping opposing offenses in the red zone from scoring almost 60 percent of the time.

So they can't score themselves, but they do a good job of stopping their opponent.

On the other hand, the Houston Texans score in the red zone 61percent of the time, but allow opposing offenses to score 81 percent of the time.

The Texans are capable of scoring themselves, but rarely stop their opponent from scoring when they reach the red zone.

For Houston to win, they will have to take advantage of being in scoring position.

Whether that means a touchdown or a field goal, they have to put points on the board.

At the same time, they can't give up points when Kansas City hits the red zone, or they may lose any chance of coming out with a win.