KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- One play from last week’s playoff win over the Houston Texans endeared left tackle Eric Fisher to Kansas City fans and perhaps the Chiefs themselves.

Toward the end of a third-quarter play, Fisher shoved the head of Houston’s J.J. Watt, already down on the ground and in obvious pain, into the artificial turf.

In Houston, they thought Fisher’s extra shove of Watt to be a little something dirty. In Kansas City, they’re more interested in the fact it came from Fisher.

The play showed Fisher has something, a fire perhaps, that hasn’t been readily apparent since he joined the Chiefs as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2013. Then, a few plays later, Fisher was the first teammate into the end zone to congratulate wide receiver Chris Conley after he caught a 9-yard touchdown pass to give the Chiefs a 20-0 lead.

It was enough to make observers wonder: Who is this guy?

“I think he’s having fun,’’ coach Andy Reid said. “That’s what I think he’s doing. Before, he was young. He had the weight of the world on his back, being the No. 1 pick – not only the No. 1 pick of our organization, but the No. 1 pick in the whole draft -- all eyes on him. A lot of pressure for a young guy, especially coming from a smaller school. But I think he’s worked his tail off. He’s healthy. He had had the surgery there on the bad shoulder. I think things are coming together for him.”

Fisher acknowledged he was more motivated for the Houston game because he wanted to play against Watt. He missed a chance to do so when the Chiefs and Texans met in the regular-season opener. Fisher was a backup that day because of a sore ankle.

He was accused at the time, most notably on Twitter by former Chiefs defensive lineman Shaun Smith, of inventing the ankle injury because he didn’t want to play against Watt.

“I had a little chip on my shoulder coming into this week,’’ Fisher said after the game. “You can go back and read the articles from Week 1 and all that . . . it was a little frustrating in the beginning of the year but [I] came back to get the job done.

“I couldn’t avoid the media Week 1 about me not playing because of my ankle. I dealt with a lot on that. Having a chance to play this week, I wasn’t going to let that go.’’

That kind of emotion can explain the extra shove on Watt.

“You literally have to finish every play with that guy because that’s where he makes his plays,’’ Fisher said. “Some guys give up on him when the play isn’t over. I didn’t know what was going on behind me. All I know was I had to finish the play.’’