Fresh off a bye week, the AFC’s top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs host the Indianapolis Colts tomorrow in an AFC divisional matchup at Arrowhead Stadium.
The Colts, who are playing as good football as anybody in the league right now, have won five straight games, including last week’s 21-7 victory over the Houston Texans.
Led by quarterback Andrew Luck, and a stingy defense that has allowed 17 or fewer points in three of their last four games, the Colts hope to improve to 5-0 against the Chiefs in the playoffs. The last time they met, in the 2014 postseason at Lucas Oil Stadium, Luck, led his team to a 45-44 victory despite trailing 38-10 in the third quarter.
Meanwhile the Chiefs are 3-2 in their last five games, but the week off should have given them more than enough time rest and prepare for this difficult matchup.
For the Chiefs, things have been a little rough on offense since they waived running back Kareem Hunt, but head coach Andy Reid and potential MVP Patrick Mahomes likely focused on working all the recent flaws in their game to have the Chiefs explosive offense running like a well-oiled machine.
After a 1-5 start, Luck’s play for the Colts has been stellar as the Colts offensive line has been able to provide superb protection. The Texans last week could not put Luck on the ground, but in fact, the Colts offensive line has only allowed two sacks in the last four games.
If the Chiefs pass rush doesn’t find a way to pressure Luck and allows him to stand in a clean pocket to direct his offense, they won’t be able to stop the Colts and we could be in for a shootout as they are more than capable of scoring a lot of points to keep up with the Chiefs.
The Colts are a team that has plenty of weapons, not only through the air but also on the ground. Running back Marlon Mack has become a force in the Colts offense as he’s rushed for over 100 yards in three of the last four games, including 148 last week against the Texans in Houston. He has a good chance of continuing that trend as he’s facing a Chiefs defense that ranks 27th against the run as it allows 132.4 rushing yards per game.
If the Chiefs’ maligned pass defense (ranked 31st in the NFL) can’t stop the Colts, it will be up to Mahomes to put enough points on the board to outscore Indianapolis. Mahomes (who this season passed for 5,097 yards and 5o touchdowns) has the skills and the weapons around him to accomplish that, so don’t expect Reid to shy away from such a confrontation.
This should be a very entertaining game and could come down to the last possession of the game with the Chiefs coming out on top and winning by less than six.
