The Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Indianapolis Colts at 4:35PM EST on Saturday in what will be the Kansas City Chiefs first playoff appearance since 2010. The Chiefs have lost their last 12 playoff games and have not won a playoff game since 1969 in the AFL. The Colts and Chiefs have faced each other three times in the playoffs and the Colts have been the victor all three times with the latest game coming in 2007. However, the Chiefs have a head coach with plenty of playoff experience in Andy Reid. Reid has coached in 19 playoff games over 14 years with the Philadelphia Eagles and will bring his playoff experience to a team that is in great need of it.
The Chiefs started the 2013 season with 9 straight wins with only one of those wins coming against a playoff team (Philadelphia Eagles). Then they faced the Denver Broncos twice within three weeks and not only lost both games to the Broncos by an average of 8.5 points but they also lost to the sandwich game against the San Diego Chargers. Kansas City won the next two games, against non-playoff teams, and lost the last two games of the season with one game that happened to be against their Wild Card opponent, Indianapolis Colts. A very telling statistic is that the Chiefs are 1-5 against playoff opponents this year. They have to prove that they can beat the quality opponent and the Wildcard is a great week to start.
On December 22, the Colts beat the Chiefs 23-7. The Chiefs held a 7-0 first quarter lead but the Colts came storming back and scored 23 unanswered points in Kansas City. The Chiefs played an extremely sloppy game. They turned the ball over three times (two fumbles, one interception) which is uncharacteristic for a team that ranks as one of the top three teams in the league in giveaway/takeaway ratio. Furthermore, the Colts got much needed pressure on Alex Smith and sacked him five times for a total of 21 yards. It seemed to be a game where anything that could go wrong went wrong and the Chiefs also committed seven penalties. Turnovers, inability to protect the quarterback, and sloppy play all contributed to the Chiefs loss against the Colts in Kansas City during Week 16.
The Chiefs have to throw the ball effectively in Indianapolis in order to win this game. The Colts will surely have a spotlight on all-everything running back Jamaal Charles especially with the recent loss of starting offensive lineman Eric Fisher. Because the Colts will try to stack the box and stop the run, the Chiefs and Alex Smith must execute on passing plays to limit the stress the offensive line will have to deal with when facing 7 or 8 men in the box consistently. However, this does not mean shying away from Jamaal Charles, no, not at all. Charles must be fed to the tune of 35 total touches throughout the game. Charles is the essential oil in the Chiefs offensive machine. He has totaled 1,287 yards rushing to the tune of 5 yards per carry and 693 yards receiving while racking up 19 total touchdowns. The Chiefs, offensive coordinator Doug Pederson, and quarterback Alex Smith cannot shy away from Charles but they also must be able to execute in the passing game to keep the defense from over committing on the run.
The Chiefs must rely on their two outstanding pass rushers; Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. These two have combined for 22 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 4 fumble recoveries, 1 interception and over 70 tackles. Hali and Houston, throughout the entire 2013 season, have continuously pressured opposing quarterbacks and made them step out of their comfort zone. In order for the Chiefs defense to be successful in this game and help deliver a win to Kansas City, Hali and Houston must push Colts quarterback Andrew Luck out of his comfort zone. They cannot allow him to sit in the pocket with enough time to find his second, third, or check down options in the passing game. If Luck is allowed to get comfortable on his drop backs he will surely pick apart the Chiefs defense and the game may be over by the third quarter.
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