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Justin Houston Worked Hard to Make Chiefs Regret Letting Him Go in Dominant Return to KC

By Scott Rogust

Indianapolis Colts v Cincinnati Bengals
Indianapolis Colts v Cincinnati Bengals / Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Who doesn't love a good NFL revenge game? If you tuned into Sunday Night Football, you saw Justin Houston and the Indianapolis Colts defeat his former team in the Kansas City Chiefs 19-13, riding a unique form of motivation to a victory NO ONE saw coming.

Houston was miffed with how his eight-year tenure in Kansas City ended this past offseason. The Chiefs attempted to find a trade partner for Houston, but after no offers, they instead outright released him, desperate to rid themselves of a player they'd deemed to be in decline.

Now on a two-year deal with the Colts, Houston proved just how much the Chiefs miss him...directly to their faces.

Entering the game, Houston had recorded a total of 11 tackles and one sack through the first four weeks of the season. So it's only fitting Houston saved his best performance for his 53 exes.

On the night, Houston recorded one sack on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and four tackles. But perhaps Houston's most impressive play came in the fourth quarter.

With Kansas City down 16-10, head coach Andy Reid opted to go for fourth down and one with over five minutes remaining in regulation, on his side of the field. Mahomes handed the ball off to running back Damien Williams, and Houston wrapped around the edge of left tackle Cam Erving and swallowed the rusher behind the line of scrimmage.

Houston felt good about that play, as evidenced by him flexing and screaming towards the Chiefs sidelines after forcing the turnover on downs.

Of course, the flip side was also true; the Chiefs missed Houston's veteran presence on the defensive line on a night when their surrounding depth was deeply compromised. During the Week 5 matchup, the team lost defensive end Chris Jones, defensive tackle Xavier Williams, and linebacker Anthony Hitchens due to injury. That turned out to hurt Kansas City's chances of remaining undefeated on the year significantly.

Justin Houston did something that Khalil Mack couldn't do on Sunday, and that's gain vengeance against those he used to run with on the Kansas City Chiefs, who are no doubt kicking themselves now.