Chiefs can’t slow Texans

HOUSTON — Mario Williams’ NFL career got off to a quiet start.

The Houston Texans No. 1 draft pick assisted on one tackle Saturday night in a quarter of play in Houston’s 24-14 preseason win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Williams was shuffled around the defensive line, starting at left end and playing both right end and left tackle. But he didn’t manage to get much done in limited action, and was stood up on a couple of plays, looking tentative at times.

Late in the first he joined DeMeco Ryans to stop Larry Johnson for a 3 yard gain.

In his 11 plays, Williams mostly lined up against Chiefs left tackle Kyle Turley, who was playing in first game since 2003 because of back problems. Turley was thrust into the starting lineup when 11-time Pro Bowler Willie Roaf unexpectedly retired the night before training camp.

While Williams’ debut was forgettable, another Houston rookie, sixth-round draft pick Wali Lundy, had a head-turning first outing.

With Domanick Davis out recovering from a lingering knee injury, the Texans started 10-year veteran Antowain Smith. Smith was ineffective early and the Texans turned to Lundy, who ran for 25 yards on his first carry and waltzed into the end zone untouched for Houston’s first touchdown on a 3-yard run three plays later. He finished with nine carries for 59 yards and had one reception for 9 yards.

The former Virginia standout also returned one kickoff for 30 yards and a punt for 12 yards. His performance wasn’t without a rookie mistake though as he dropped a wide open pass. Undrafted rookie Chris Taylor added 55 yards on 15 carries.

Though it was a preseason game, Houston has to be happy with its first look at the team that was revamped after last season’s 2-14 finish. The Texans had 325 yards of offense while holding the Chiefs to 172.

Johnson had seven carries for 30 yards with no scores for Kansas City in its first game under coach Herm Edwards. Dee Brown added 23 yards on five carries and had a 12-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.