Arrowhead Pride
On Sunday, the (5-5) Kansas City Chiefs — now holding third place in the AFC West — will host the (8-2) Indianapolis Colts, who now lead the AFC South. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. on CBS — locally on KCTV/5. Kansas City is coming off a devastating loss to the Denver Broncos, which saw the team fall further behind in the playoff hunt. It also virtually ended the Chiefs’ chance at winning the division.
This matchup is critical. To ensure a playoff spot, Kansas City has very little margin for error over the last seven weeks of the regular season — while Indianapolis is well-positioned to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Here are five things to watch.
The Colts’ star running back is having an MVP-caliber season, leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,139) and rushing touchdowns (15). He also leads the league in yards after contact (891) by a wide margin.
Taylor is the centerpiece of the best offense in the league: Indianapolis is first in points per game, yards and yards per play — so if Kansas City wants a chance to win, he must be contained.
Kansas City allows 100 rushing yards per game — the ninth-fewest in the NFL — and surrenders the fourth-fewest points per game (18.1). This matchup will be enormous for defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s unit. The defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs must be ready to rally to the ball — and stop Taylor.
While the Indianapolis offense revolves around Taylor, quarterback Daniel Jones is having a career year as the driving force in the team’s play-action passing game. Jones has thrown the fourth-most play-action passes (86) this season, earning the fifth-most play-action passing yards (693). The Colts also utilize run-pass option (RPO) plays: Jones is tied for the fourth-most RPO pass attempts (41) and has the second-most passing yards (411) with them.
Jones has also been good at getting the ball out on time and on target: he holds the fourth-highest “on-target” throw rate in the league (79%).
Jones has been good this season — but over the last two games, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons recorded 13 sacks and four interceptions. Both teams were able to apply impactful pressure on Jones — which led to poor passes downfield — by getting Indianapolis into passing situations by limiting its running game on early downs.
So the Chiefs’ defense will face a tough task — but if it can stop the run, it should be able to find ways to disrupt Jones’ rhythm.
The game could feature a passing-of-the-torch moment from future Hall of Fame tight end Travis Kelce to budding Indianapolis superstar tight end Tyler Warren. Heading into the game, the 36-year-old Kelce is second among tight ends with 631 receiving yards, while Warren ranks third with...
