The Chiefs and the Colts is one of the more compelling games in the divisional round as you have a team that struggled in the 2nd half of the season in the Chiefs and a team that is 8-1 in their last nine games in the Colts. I still think the Chiefs can beat the Colts though for three reasons, it’s in Arrowhead, Patrick Mahomes and the weather forecast for Saturday in Kansas City. We’ll examine each of the reason in more detail and we’ll start with Arrowhead.
Arrowhead Stadium
The Kansas City Chiefs are the 1 seed in the AFC and as a result they get to play all of their playoff games with the exception of the Super Bowl at home. The Chiefs are one of the hardest teams to beat in the NFL at home. This season they are 7-1 and have outscored their opponents 259 to 144 which is an average of about 32 to 18 needless to say they are a tough team at home. The Colts are a decent road team going 4-4 on the road in the regular season, but did win on the road last weekend against Houston. Home field advantage is major in the NFL and the Chiefs use it to their advantage every season. Next, let’s look at MVP frontrunner Patrick Mahomes.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs Offense
Patrick Mahomes should win the MVP this season in the NFL as he has become only the third player in NFL history to throw for 50 touchdowns in a season the other two being Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Patrick Mahomes has put up monstrous stats this season going 383/580 with 5,097 yards for 50 touchdowns and 12 interceptions and he’s also getting it done on the ground with 60 rush attempts for 272 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Chiefs have suffered on offense since the Kareem Hunt incident, but have still put up explosive numbers. Kansas City ranks 1st in the NFL in terms of points per game scoring 35.31. They rank 15th in the NFL in rushing yards per game with 115.94. The Chiefs rank 3rd in the NFL in passing yards per game with 309.62. The offense is going to have to remain explosive throughout the playoffs as their defense is one of the worst defenses in the NFL which may prevent them from winning the Super Bowl this season. Next let’s look at the forecast for the game on Saturday in Kansas City.
Weather in Kansas City
The weather in Kansas City on Saturday is a high of 39 and a low of 29 with snow. This will negate the passing offenses as the cold makes it not only harder to throw the ball, but also to catch. The Colts one true weakness is their average running game which ranks 17th in the NFL while the Chiefs rank 15th in the NFL in rushing yards per game. The Chiefs run defense is one of the NFL’s worst, but I still look for them to be able to play the run better in this game against an average rushing team.
Prediction
This is going to be a back and forth game today. It is going to come down to possible the last drive of the game. Want to know who wins?
