So here's how it's probably going to play out Sunday at Reliant Stadium when the Kansas City Chiefs come in laughing, overconfident and trying to take the Texans seriously after watching tape of their wretched performance against the Giants.

When the Texans win and start to feel good about themselves, they stink it up.

When they get ripped for playing bad, or they have obstacles placed in front of them few believe they can overcome, they usually respond with a vengeance.

You know what I'm talking about.

An opening victory over Indianapolis at Reliant Stadium and a dramatic overtime victory at Washington gave the Texans a 2-0 start and made them one of the NFL's early-season feel-good stories.

ESPN? Come on down!

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Sports Illustrated? We've got a spot for you.

NFL Network, NFL.com, FoxSports.com, CBSSports.com, New York Times, ESPN the Magazine, SI.com and Yahoo Sports.

Ya-hooo!

Then came their first poor performance, the 27-13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The dreaded Cowboys. The team part of Houston loves to hate. The team the rest of Houston loves. Ugh!

From darlings to dunces

The Texans got ripped to shreds for their rotten performance against the Cowboys, who were 0-2 then and 1-3 now. They were embarrassed locally and nationally by charges of being flat, unemotional and almost intimidated by the mean old Cowboys. Surely they would lose at Oakland and fall to 2-2.

The vultures were circling the Black Hole in Oakland. When the game began without Andre Johnson and Arian Foster, fans were sure Gary Kubiak had lost his mind. Bench the NFL's leading rusher in such an important game? Nobody in his right mind would make that decision.

But Kubiak did. Johnson didn't play because of an injury. His replacement, Jacoby Jones, went down in the second quarter and still hasn't returned. They were so desperate at safety they were forced to play Troy Nolan for the first time.

And they didn't have Brian Cushing and Connor Barwin, of course.

In other words, the Texans were primed for another fall, but they overcame the obstacles stacked in front of them. Foster ignited a 249-yard rushing assault, and Nolan intercepted two passes to help pull out a seven-point victory over the Raiders.

Well, many of the Texans' critics reasoned, the Raiders are so bad they should have beaten them under any circumstances. Oh yeah? Tell it to the Chargers, who lost at Oakland by eight on Sunday.

So the conquering heroes limped home at 3-1. Their heads were high. They were joyous and confident. They were praised locally and nationally for their gutsy effort against the Raiders.

But then they started to feel too good about themselves again. They started to feel too comfortable. It was as if Cushing's return would just automatically elevate everybody's intensity level.

Dog of a game

I guess they thought the Giants were going to roll over and play dead like Rovers. How else do you explain the 34-10 domination? Some players said they were embarrassed. Others said they weren't. Those who weren't should have rewatched the tape, looked into the mirror and be forced to answer that question again.

The Texans were pathetic against the Giants. They've showed us over the last two seasons when they're at home, they're capable of being pathetic against just about anyone, including the Chiefs, who lead the AFC West with a 3-1 record.

Here's what's going to happen: Because they've been beaten up by their local and national critics and booed by their fans, the players are starting to get angry. Their emotions are simmering.

If enough players believe they're being treated unfairly for a 3-2 team, that should put them in just the right mood — a mood to overcame whatever obstacles the Chiefs present to improve to 4-2 going into their open date.

John McClain can be heard on 610 AM on Mondays at 8:30 a.m., Wednesdays at 7:30 a.m. and Fridays at 4:30 p.m. john.mcclain@chron.com.