The Kansas City will travel to Indianapolis to take on Matt Ryan and the Colts. What should we expect from the 2-0 Chiefs in this matchup?
The Chiefs are going into this matchup without their starting Linebacker Willie Gay. After being suspended for four games after an arrest that occurred in January, he will not be eligible to return until Week 7. Also, kicker Harrison Butker who was out last week is also still dealing with his ankle injury and will not play against Indianapolis.
The Colts have a star WR Michael Pittman Jr as questionable as well on the injury report, which he was out on Sunday, also Linebacker Shaquille Leonard and WR Alec Pierce. They started off the season already tying with the Houston Texans in Week One and being shut out by the Jaguars in Week Two leaving them at a 0-1-1 record. This is a typical trap game for the Chiefs as they are coming off a long rest week and facing a conference opponent who started off the season pretty slow. What should we expect from the offense and defense in this upcoming showdown between the Chiefs and the Colts?
Offense
Patrick Mahomes has already thrown for 595 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Going into Indianapolis this Sunday, he expects to put up another phenomenal performance to end off another great start to his September legend is one of the best QBs in this month. The Colts are always the team that gives KC their best shot as we saw in the 2019-2020 season when they faced the Colts and lost that game 19-13.
Defensively the Colts were hitting on all cylinders having terrific performances from former Chief Justin Houston and star Linebacker Shaquille Leonard. Mahomes and the company need to worry about some key players in the secondary for the Colts. They have defensive backs Stephon Gilmore who was defensive player of the year in 2019 and already seasoned leader in the Colts secondary Kenny Moore.
Those guys will be looking to slow down the receivers this week and cause timing issues for Mahomes to force turnovers. Expect Tight End Travis Kelce to have a big game as he is a master at exposing those zone coverages and if he has 100 yards this game, he will tie Tony Gonzalez with second-most as a tight end in NFL history with 31 games of 100 yards or more. Clyde who has been great the past two games will have a chance to once again be a threat in the receiving game and explode on some long run this game on Sunday afternoon.
Defense
The Chiefs will be going into this game without their electrifying and energetic starting Linebacker Willie Gay. Gay, who is suspended for four games was their east and west guy who flies to any part of the field to attempt to make a play. He is also one of their best-covering linebackers and will have to go forward with Linebacker Darius Harris who impressed coaches this preseason.
Steve Spagnuolo made a comment in a presser this week that Gay will be missed, but is excited to see Harris who will be filling in. Jonathan Taylor who was the leading rusher last year is looking to feast on this front seven who will be missing one of their best linebackers. This will be a game where you see Nick Bolton everywhere on the field trying to fill the void of his partner in crime.
Not only will Harris be called upon to step up, but also rookie Leo Chenal will have a chance it incorporates himself into this defense and tries to earn more reps in the absence of Gay during this time.
Although we are looking for the best replacement in the absence of Willie Gay, the front 4 will be heavily called upon as they had a great second half last week making Herbert uncomfortable and being the main reason the Charger’s offense went stale last week in the second half.
Karlaftis who is leading the rookie defensive ends with 9 pressures, looks to get his first sack of the regular season in Indianapolis. This will be a perfect game to get him involved more on the defensive line as they will be challenged by veteran QB Matt Ryan. Ryan who is not the most mobile in this league gives the advantage to the front four that is hosted by Jones., Clark, Dunlap, and Karlaftis.
Score Prediction
Even though the Colts lead the series record and have beaten the Chiefs in the last 4 games out of 6, Mahomes and the Chiefs are of course the favorites in this matchup.
With questions on wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr starting this week and Alec Pierce returning to practice, the secondary for KC should not have a big load on their hands outside the numbers. If we see a clean performance such as week one, the score prediction for the Chiefs will be 38-17 with KC covering the spread.
The Chiefs are looking to start off the season 3-0 as they have a tough 3-game stretch coming up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders, and the Buffalo Bills.
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