The Houston Texans finally got the proverbial monkey off their backs on Sunday when Alex Smith and the Chiefs came to town. Penalties and bad tackling showed up much too often, but Bill O’Brien’s squad shut down Andy Reid’s offense and made big plays when needed. Here are the takeaways from Houston’s 19-12 victory over Kansas City.

Brock Osweiler’s Continued Growth

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that Brock Osweiler has only been a starter for what essentially amounts to half a season. When the former Broncos QB is wheeling and dealing, he can make every throw and lead the offense on multiple scoring drives. However, Osweiler’s relative inexperience rears its head occasionally, and Sunday was no exception. Two bad throws by Osweiler resulted in interceptions by Marcus Peters, both on what could have been scoring plays to DeAndre Hopkins. One pass was short and the other was too wide.

To be fair, Osweiler recovered from these bad throws and made some shots on the money to multiple receivers, finishing with 268 yards and 57% completion. Too many of the Texans’ drives resulted in field goals, but these stats should improve as Osweiler grows as a leader.

More Deep Balls for Will Fuller

If there is one thing that Brock Osweiler loves doing in his first year with the Texans, it’s throwing the ball deep to rookie Will Fuller. The Notre Dame wide receiver has topped 100 yards receiving in both weeks of action, and he has done so in spectacular fashion. On the Texans’ first drive, Osweiler hit Fuller on a 53-yard bomb. Fuller completely blew by Marcus Peters and Eric Berry and could have gone for a touchdown if not for bouncing the ball up in the air and batting it around multiple times.

The Texans needed speed heading into the year, and Fuller has provided just that. Multiple throws could have finished as huge gains if the passes were more accurate, but Fuller still finished as the second leading receiver. The speedy rookie is the perfect complement to DeAndre Hopkins and his crazy plays. If he can minimize the drops, Fuller will soon be a fan favorite in Houston.

Lamar Miller’s Running

Miller’s longest run of the day was called back by a holding penalty on C.J. Fiedorowicz. Actually, two big runs were negated by penalties. The numbers weren’t great, but Miller showed off his speed, but more importantly he showed off his ability to break tackles. During multiple runs, Miller threw aside Chiefs defenders like toys on his way to gaining rough yards. He just couldn’t throw aside Dee Ford or Derrick Johnson.

Lamar Miller has had two quieter performances to start the season, but he has been moving the chains when needed. The Texans used Miller as the clock killer in the fourth quarter, and he consistently moved the chains and kept the clock rolling. The

Extra Points: Defensive Shutdown

The Texans defense must be tired of seeing the Kansas City Chiefs. Sunday’s performance was a complete turnaround from the last two meetings. The secondary locked down both Jeremy Maclin and Travis Kelce, a healthier J.J. Watt notched his first sack of the season, Jadeveon Clowney batted a pass at the line of scrimmage, and the front seven allowed no running room for Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware. Andre Hal continued his run with a punch on the ball that caused an incomplete pass way down the field. Technically, this play could have been ruled a fumble, but the referees went with the incomplete ruling. Not to be outdone, Quintin Demps knocked the ball away from Spencer Ware late in the second quarter for a Texans forced fumble and recovery.

The Texans defense is absolutely frightening when playing at peak form. The combination of J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, Whitney Mercilus, and John Simon strikes fear into offensive lines and causes a lot of penalties. Sure, bad tackling occasionally shows up, but this unit is showing consistent improvement and growth.

The Texans head to Foxborough Thursday night for a battle against the Patriots.