KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Chiefs had their backs to the end zone in the third quarter on Sunday, and the Houston Texans had first-and-goal with an opportunity to take the lead. Three straight plays went nowhere and the Texans had to settle for a field goal. It was a virtuoso display by the NFLs stingiest defence, and a signature stand in a stellar second half. The Chiefs kept repelling the Houston offence the rest of the way, and the result was a 17-16 victory to extend their perfect start. "You know as well as I do you win with great defences. Thats how it rolls," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "You cant be successful like we are without a great defence." Nor can you be successful without a guy like Jamaal Charles, who ran for 86 yards and a touchdown, or quarterback Alex Smith, who also had a touchdown scamper. "It was a physical game," Charles said, "the kind of a game this team needs to go far." The game was still in doubt even after the Chiefs goal-line stand. They had to punt with 1:46 left, but the Texans had no timeouts. Case Keenum threw an incompletion on first down, and then was stripped by linebacker Tamba Hali on the ensuing play. Derrick Johnson recovered the ball for the Chiefs, and Smith simply kneeled on it from there to run time out. The result was a 7-0 start for Kansas City, trailing only the 9-0 mark put up by the 2003 team for the best in franchise history. In the Super Bowl era, 31 teams have started 7-0 and all qualified for the playoffs. Fifteen of those 31 clubs advanced to the Super Bowl and nine have won it. "Its confidence," said Hali, who was part of the Chiefs two-win team last season. "Guys believe in what were doing. They believe in one another, and that goes a long way." Keenum, making his first NFL start in place of the injured Matt Schaub, threw for 271 yards and a touchdown for the Texans. His performance was overshadowed by a pair of crushing injuries: Running back Arian Foster left in the first quarter with a hamstring injury and did not return, and linebacker Brian Cushing was carted off with a left knee injury in the second half. "It was very detrimental to us," said Texans coach Gary Kubiak, whose banged-up team is riding its first five-game skid since Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 2005. "When they can pin their ears back, theyre very, very difficult," Kubiak said. "They came and got us pretty good there late in the game." The Texans moved the ball well early on, taking the lead on Randy Bullocks 48-yard field goal. But the scoring drive proved costly when Foster left for the locker room, and then emerged a short while later in a grey sweatsuit. "Im going do everything I can to get healthy and come back and fight," he said afterward. The Chiefs took the lead later in the first quarter when Charles pounded into the end zone from a yard out to cap an 82-yard drive. But the Texans, behind Keenums unflappable play, retook the lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Hopkins. "He did a great job," Kubiak said of his young quarterback, who beat out T.J. Yates for the starting nod. "Hes got some things hes got to understand when they come after him. But he made some great football plays to get his team in position to win." Indeed, the Texans still led 10-7 midway through the second quarter. Smith proceeded to guide the Chiefs 97 yards in 15 plays, and his 5-yard draw gave the Chiefs the lead at halftime. Bullock tacked on two more field goals for Houston, and Ryan Succop hit one for the Chiefs, who came within inches of extending their 17-16 lead early in the fourth quarter. Tight end Anthony Fasano caught a pass at the goal line and was ruled down, and Reid was unsuccessfully in challenging that it should be a touchdown. Charles was stuffed on the next play, and Smiths pass to wide open Sean McGrath on fourth down was out of bounds. It turned out that the missed points didnt matter. The Chiefs defence made sure of that. Notes: The Chiefs had five sacks, giving them 36 on the season. ... Ben Tate had 50 yards rushing for Houston. ... The Texans did not commit a turnover until Keenum was stripped at the end. They had an AFC-leading 15 turnovers coming into the game. ... Smith had 231 yards passing. Cheap Custom T-shirts . Jurrjens signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati in May, and was 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. He has a 53-37 record with a 3.63 ERA in seven major league seasons, including five with Atlanta. Wholesale Custom Basketball Jerseys Store .The Dallas Cowboys released Sam from the practice squad Tuesday, dropping the rush end as they prepare for several potential reinforcements to return to the defensive line. http://www.basketballcustomjerseys.com/. On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Custom Basketball Jerseys Online .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. Cranes career as a figure skating judge has spanned over 40 years. Discount Custom Basketball Jerseys . With a victory seemingly slipping away late in the third quarter, his quick scoring flurry helped Golden State regain control early in the fourth. MINNEAPOLIS -- If anyone needed a game-winning hit in extra innings, it was Aaron Hicks. The once-prized Minnesota Twins prospect was hitting just .161 and was challenged by manager Ron Gardenhire and acting general manager Rob Antony the day before to take a more professional approach to the game. Hicks responded with an RBI single in the bottom of the 10th and Phil Hughes struck out eight in six innings to help the Twins beat the Boston Red Sox 4-3 in the series finale on Thursday. Many think the only reason Hicks was not sent down already was because of the injuries that have decimated an already thin outfield group. Gardenhire and Antony both said they didnt feel Hicks was doing the necessary homework behind the scenes to be ready every day. "Maybe preparing is something I need to try to do more," Hicks said. "Try things to be able to make my game better and have an edge on the game." All-Star closer Glen Perkins blew his second save of the season, giving up a two-run single to Will Middlebrooks with the bases loaded that tied the game in the ninth. But Kurt Suzuki doubled down the left-field line and Hicks lined a 3-2 pitch to left field off of Andrew Miller (1-2) to win it. "Its such a big hit in a big situation," Hicks said. "It just comes down to how much heart you have in the game. Thats the kind of player I am. I like to play with passion and I dont like the way Ive been playing so far. But its something that sometimes youve got to go through in order to be able to make that next step into becoming a better player." Mike Carp had two hits and an RBI for the Red Sox, but David Ortiz was a quiet 1 for 4 with a single after going deep twice in each of the first two games of the series. Hughes gave up five hits and no walks and Chris Parmelee hit a two-run homer for the Twins, who took two of three from the defending champions. Suzuki and Eduardo Escobar each had three hits and Brian Duensing (1-1) picked up the win. Clay Buchholz gave up three runs on 10 hits and struck out six in six innings for the Red Sox. The Red Sox hitters had been doing well recently, with Ortizs personal home run derby contributing to 28 runs over their previous four games.dddddddddddd But Hughes put those hot bats on ice on a day when the temperature was 46 degrees at first pitch. Hughes knows Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia and the Red Sox lineup well from years of facing them while he was in the Yankees rotation. "He pitches more comfortable here, it seems," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "They threw a lot of strikes, didnt issue many bases on balls. Didnt have a whole lot going for the first eight." Hughes retired nine of the first 10 hitters he faced, won a 14-pitch battle with Xander Bogaerts to end the fifth inning and finished with more strikeouts against the Red Sox than he had in his previous 22 appearances against them. "Im going after them," Hughes said. "Thats been my game plan and has continued to be. Just attack with my fastball and get some flyouts, some strikeouts, swings and misses. I just tried to stay aggressive the entire time." Gardenhire said he hopes Hicks big hit will be the jumpstart his young centre fielder needs. "Hes working at it. Thats all weve asked him to do, study and work and hes doing that," Gardenhire said. "Thats a big hit for him. Nice to see him smile in a big situation like that." NOTES: Farrell gave OFs Grady Sizemore and Shane Victorino the day off. Farrell said the oft-injured Sizemore is doing fine and would play a lot this weekend while Victorino is resting a sore left knee. ... The Twins gave SS Danny Santana the day off to rest some sore legs, Gardenhire said. ... University of Minnesota football coach Jerry Kill threw out the first pitch shortly after announcing a $100,000 donation to start the Chasing Dreams foundation for epilepsy research. ... The Red Sox head home to open a series against Detroit on Friday. LHP Jon Lester (4-4, 2.75) will start for Boston against Max Scherzer (5-1, 2.04). ... The Twins start a series against Seattle on Friday. RHP Kyle Gibson (3-3, 4.74) will start against Mariners RHP Chris Young (3-0, 2.63). 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