The Houston Texans lost more than a game Sunday night against the Kansas City Chiefs, as J.J. Watt's tibial plateau fracture will land him on injured reserve for the second consecutive season.
The news by itself isn't a death knell to the team's hopes, considering the Texans rode the NFL's top defense to the divisional round of the playoffs a year ago despite Watt's absence from Week 3 on. But linebacker Whitney Mercilus, who led that group in sacks and QB hits, was also lost for the season on Sunday to a torn pectoral muscle.