Chiefs vs. Texans 2016 picks and predictions: Kansas City is a heavy favorite

There isn't a hotter team in football entering the playoffs than the Kansas City Chiefs, who finished the regular season riding a 10-game winning streak. And by all accounts, that streak is likely to extend to 11 games after Saturday's Wild Card contest against the Houston Texans is finished.

Kansas City's defense is one of the best in the league, allowing the third-fewest points this season. The Chiefs are led by a dominant defensive line, which features four players with at least five sacks (Justin Houston leads the club with 7.5 sacks). The Chiefs back up their D-line with a strong secondary, including star rookie corner back Marcus Peters. Opposing quarterbacks have only thrown for an average of 231 yards per game against them.

That doesn't bode well for the Texans, who struggled in a losing effort when these two teams matched up in Week 1. Brian Hoyer was sacked four times and also threw an interception to Peters on his first pass of the season.

If the Texans are going to win this game, their defense is going to have to dominate. J.J. Watt leads the league in sacks and will look to chase around Alex Smith and force him to make a mistake. That's unlikely, though, given that Smith went 312 passes without throwing a pick this year -- the second-longest streak of all time.

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