Location
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo
Time
8:20pm ET
1:20am Monday UK time (get used to this folks, we’ve a few of these coming)
Coverage
NBC
Game Pass
Chiefs Radio Network
Sky Sports
Team Records
Chiefs 4-0
Colts 2-2
Last 3 games
12th Jan 2019 Colts 13 @ Chiefs 31
30th Oct 2016 Chiefs 30 @ Colts 14
4th Jan 2014 Chiefs 44 @ Colts 45
The story so far
Finally a team that gave the Chiefs a tough game. The Lions are for real, much more so than I thought, and gave a significant test to the undefeated Chiefs. Their D gave Mahomes more trouble than most have and their offence, in particular the run game, gave our defence kittens. Is it a sign of things to come that teams have a blueprint of how to keep it close (I can’t say beat because the Lions lost) or was it just a bit of an off week for the Chiefs?
The Colts have had a bit of an up and down start to the season. Losing to the Chargers in week 1 they follwed it up with tight victories against a couple of ‘meh’ teams in the Titans and Falcons before getting beat at home by the Raiders last week. Instinct tells me that they are another ‘meh’ team, but I thought that about the Lions before last week too…
Head to head
Colts leads 16-10
Team Leaders
|
Passing |
Att |
Cmp |
Yds |
TDs |
|
156 |
106 |
1510 |
10 |
|
|
Rushing |
Car |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
|
40 |
214 |
5.4 |
2 |
|
|
17 |
75 |
4.4 |
2 |
|
|
Receiving |
Rec |
Yds |
Avg |
TDs |
|
24 |
369 |
15.4 |
1 |
|
|
23 |
365 |
15.9 |
3 |
|
|
14 |
250 |
17.9 |
3 |
|
|
8 |
167 |
20.9 |
2 |
One to watch
Charvarius Ward
He worries me. It seems like he is the CB that teams are going to go after when they are looking for easier completions. He was picked on late in the game last week by Stafford, he had 4 tackles on the last Lions scoring drive and that isn’t because he was playing lights out defence. If TY Hilton is healthy then hope that Ward isn’t covering him. Of course, this week could see the first sighting of Mo Claiborne which may change Ward’s role to back up where I’d be much more comfortable with him.
Key Matchup
Marlon Mack v Chiefs run D.
Yeah, the run D looks suspiciously like last year. But on the other hand, 4 games 4 wins. So we can’t stop the run? So what, does it matter? That’s a really hard question to answer. My gut says probably not. Turnovers is key to beating this Chiefs team, not time of possession. A good run game keeps the Legion of Zoom (TM) on the sidelines but when they can cover 95 yards in 3 plays then they don’t need that much time. If the Colts were +2 in turnovers and had 13 possessions to the Chiefs 9, then we’re on for a closer game than if the Colts just held the ball 35 minutes to 25 and both teams had 11 possessions.
That said, the longer the D is on the field the more tired they get and that makes defending anything harder later in the game. Mack is a beast and could be a serious handful and at some point the D has to make some stops in the run game.
Injuries
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS
| PLAYER | POS. | INJURY | PART. WED. | PART. THURS. | PART. FRI. | GAME STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Fisher | T | Groin | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| Dorian O’Daniel | LB | Hamstring | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| Tyreek Hill | WR | Shoulder | LP | LP | LP | Out |
| LeSean McCoy | RB | Ankle | LP | FP | FP | — |
| Alex Okafor | DE | Hip | LP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| Bashaud Breeland | CB | Toe | FP | FP | FP | — |
| Patrick Mahomes | QB | Ankle | FP | FP | FP | — |
| Sammy Watkins | WR | Shoulder | FP | FP | LP | Questionable |
| Damien Williams | RB | Knee | FP | FP | FP | Questionable |
| Xavier Williams | DT | Ankle | FP | FP | FP | — |
| Andrew Wylie | G | Chest | FP | FP | FP | — |
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
| PLAYER | POS. | INJURY | PART. WED. | PART. THURS. | PART. FRI. | GAME STATUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parris Campbell | WR | Abdominal | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| Clayton Geathers | S | Concussion | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| T.Y. Hilton | WR | Quad | DNP | LP | LP | Questionable |
| Malik Hooker | S | Knee | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| Tyquan Lewis | DT/DE | Ankle | DNP | DNP | DNP | Out |
| Marlon Mack | RB | Ankle | DNP | DNP | FP | Questionable |
| Darius Leonard | LB | Concussion | LP | LP | LP | Out |
| Jabaal Sheard | DE | Not Injury Related (Rest) | — | DNP | FP | — |
| Rock Ya-Sin | CB | Hip | — | LP | DNP | Questionable |
| Denico Autry | DT/DE | Not Injury Related | — | — | DNP | — |
| Anthony Castonzo | T | Not Injury Related | — | — | DNP | — |
| Justin Houston | DE | Not Injury Related | — | — | DNP | — |
| Rolan Milligan | S | Knee | — | — | LP | Questionable |
| Anthony Walker | LB | Shoulder | — | — | FP | Questionable |
What they said
Justin Houston
“He’s a special guy. He’s one of a kind,” Houston said. “He’s Pat Mahomes, the throws he makes – he can make every throw, he can see everything (and) he has eyes in the back of his head. He’s a great quarterback.”
What we said
Patrick Mahomes
“Coach Reid puts us in those situations in training camp, but it’s different when you get to live action,” Mahomes said. “I said it after the game, you aren’t always going to win by two or three touchdowns, a lot of times in the NFL you’re going to have to find a way to score at the end of games. Getting into the meat of the schedule and as we keep playing more and more games, we’re going to be put in that situation again, and to have an early instance where we found a way to win is going to be able to help us out a ton in the long run.”
Odds
Chiefs by 11 points
Game points 56
I struggle with double digit favourites, even for the Chiefs at home. I can see plenty of points being scored by both sides though
Take the Colts +11 and the over on the points.
Prediction
Chiefs 34 Colts 24
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