Chiefs vs. Texans 2017 live updates: Scores, highlights, and results for 'Sunday Night Football'

It’s Kareem Hunt vs. Deshaun Watson in a battle between the NFL’s top rookies.

The Chiefs are the last unbeaten team standing in the NFL. Can Deshaun Watson continue his meteoric rise and give the 1972 Dolphins a reason to pop their champagne early this year? Tune in at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBC (live stream).

Watson proved last week he can be just as deadly in the NFL as he was at Clemson, tying a rookie record by scoring five touchdowns — four passing, one rushing — against the Titans in an AFC South rout. If he can play at even 80 percent of that level, he’ll give Houston the kind of offense that can complement a smothering defense led by J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and Andre Hal.

That unit will have its hands full with a rejuvenated Kansas City offense, led by a suddenly explosive Alex Smith and league-leading rusher Kareem Hunt. In his 12th season, Smith has emerged as an MVP candidate, albeit in a small sample size. He currently leads the league in passer rating (124.2), completion rate (76 percent), and touchdown rate (6.6 percent) while helming the NFL’s most efficient offense.

The question is whether he can keep that pace. So far, 2017’s stats are a stark outlier compared to the numbers of a quarterback once counted among the game’s most conservative. Smith is on track to post career highs in every major statistical category — and that seems unsustainable.

One factor that could keep him rolling is the play of Hunt, a third-round pick who may wind up being 2017’s biggest draft steal. The rookie tailback is on pace for a 2,000-yard season and averaging 7.4 yards per carry. While his impact will decline as defenses find new ways to stop him, his breakaway speed and ability to find creases give the Chiefs a third home run playmaker alongside Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce.

Watson and Hunt are two impact rookies who promise fireworks on Sunday night. So will the Texans be able to contain the Chiefs’ big play offense? Or will the Chiefs roll to 5-0 by snuffing out the promise of Watson’s rising star?

Pregame reading:

• The Chiefs’ newest game-saving hero earned the amazing nickname “Butt Kicker Dot Com.”

Reid’s delightful new name for his kicking specialist is a play off Butker’s Twitter handle, @ButtKicker87. The Georgia Tech product, who took over for an injured Cairo Santos, had only 9,800 followers as of publication time, but expect that number to grow after Reid’s post-Monday Night Football name-drop. Butker’s popularity soared early on Tuesday morning — at least in the Chiefs’ locker room.

• The Texans look like AFC South favorites now that Watson proved he can be awesome in the NFL.

With J.J. Watt, Jadeveon Clowney and others leading one of the NFL’s better defenses, the Texans look like a terrifying contender for the rest of the AFC. The 4-0 Kansas City Chiefs are still the ones to beat in the NFL, but it’s hard to imagine any team is more hopeful about the rest of 2017 after Week 4 than Houston.

• But no one is ranking the Texans — or anyone — higher than the Chiefs in this week’s power rankings.

The 2017 NFL power rankings for Week 5 are now out and we’re tracking where the No. 1 team in football is ranked. The Kansas City Chiefs are No. 1 basically everywhere...

• So how did the Chiefs emerge as the league’s top team despite losing some of the franchise’s most important players?

The Chiefs had something of a tumultuous offseason, with longtime cornerstone players (Jamaal Charles, Dontari Poe, Jeremy Maclin) being shown the door and general manager John Dorsey getting fired just a few weeks before training camp. They drafted Patrick Mahomes in the first round, setting the stage for a potential quarterback controversy with Alex Smith. In the first game of the season, their best defensive player, Eric Berry, suffered a season-ending Achilles tear.

A lot of coaches would have crumbled under those circumstances, but Andy Reid is no ordinary coach.

• Houston is all aboard the Watson hype train, and it looks like an extremely fun ride.

• Through four games, Hunt is on pace to break a whole bunch of NFL records.

Rookie rushing yards: Hunt is on pace for 2,008 rushing yards, which is exactly 200 more yards than Eric Dickerson’s record for a rookie running back.

Consecutive games with 100-plus yards from scrimmage to start career: Hunt is the fourth player since 1950 with 100-plus yards from scrimmage in his first four career games.