The Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans are meeting Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium and I'm packing up to go out there. Here are a few things on my mind this morning as we await this game:
WR Dwayne Bowe vs. CB Cortland Finnegan. Chiefs receivers will have their hands full with Finnegan. He's the guy who was involved in that fight with Texans WR Andre Johnson and is generally regarded as a dirty player. He likes to initiate contact so it'll be interesting to see how Bowe handles himself. Finnegan has gotten the best of a lot of receivers so Bowe will need to be on his best behavior not to fall into his trap.
Does Jamaal Charles want to top Chris Johnson? On a couple of occasions Charles has said that he's as good as guys like CJ. I remember hearing it last year and now that he's been doing it all year I understand. Charles is the best back in the NFL. Johnson had that title for a little less than a year so it's time for him to move over so Charles can be recognized. He could do that by winning the personal rushing battle between these two.
Please avoid this. The only way I envision the Chiefs losing is with some big plays for the Titans. From Chris Johnson to Kenny Britt to Randy Moss, these guys have big play capabilities. I'm sure Romeo Crennel has been preaching to the Chiefs defense all week to avoid the big play. If the Chiefs make them go 80-plus yards, 10-plus plays every time, I feel a lot more confident.
Playing as Vegas favorites. Vegas finally has the Chiefs as the favorites to win the division. Now that they're, for the first time this year, truly the favorites, I wonder if the attitude changes. The Chiefs are no longer the little engine that could coming out of nowhere. If you believe Vegas, they're the top dogs, though I don't think Todd Haley would bring that up.