I've been thinking about the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts game and I came up with five keys to the game for the Chiefs. Some of them are very obvious while others are not.
Here are five keys to the game for the Chiefs. Let me know what I missed in the comments.
Play the Chiefs brand of football. This is filed under the "No duh" category. The Chiefs need to be able to run the ball well. That's their thing. That's what they do. They need to play their brand of football. They don't need to change anything. People tend to change their offense against the Colts because they are so good. What the Chiefs like to do (rush the ball) happens to matchup very well on the "blueprint" to beat the Colts. Bottomline: Don't change what got you to 3-0 just because this is the Colts.
No silly mistakes. More than rushing the ball well, stopping Peyton Manning, creating turnovers....just don't make simple mistakes. The Colts are too good for the Chiefs to be making mistakes against. The Chiefs have done an outstanding job of playing fundamentally sound football (for the most part) this season. If they continue to do that, they'll be in this game.
Touchdowns and not field goals. Whenever possible, even if it means going for it on fourth and short in field goal range, the Chiefs need to push for touchdowns. You don't know how many opportunities you'll get so you need to capitalize on them because you know Manning will.
Figure out where the unconventional score comes from. It'll likely have to come from some place. Javier Arenas on the kick return? Brandon Flowers interception return? Dexter McCluster punt return? Tamba Hali forced fumble? Where will the big play come from. Part of the Chiefs success has been creating unconventional scores. I think they'll need something like that again. Maybe not a touchdown but perhaps a big return to put them on a short field.
Don't let 'em forget about Jamaal and Dex. Jamaal Charles and Dexter McCluster are weapons on the field but they also make a defense uneasy across the board. They're fast and can score from anywhere. Don't let the defense forget what Charles and McCluster can do and see if Charles and McCluster can prove what they can do. They're weapons. Don't forget it.