KANSAS CITY — This is what a breakdown looks like:
Texans coach Bill O’Brien unfolded his play sheet and adjusted the knob on the headset power pack attached to his hip. Fireworks popped and exploded a few hundred feet overhead to commemorate Damien Williams’s five-yard touchdown run at the 4:39 mark of the third quarter, putting his team down by 17. Arrowhead Stadium was shaking; it hadn’t stopped shaking for the better part of the afternoon. Men wielding large Chiefs flags sprinted back and forth across the midfield space crowding O’Brien’s immediate line of sight. Under normal circumstances this is one of the worst places on Earth to be losing a football game of consequence.