
This Sunday marks a big AFC clash between the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
While the Colts are 8-2 and firmly in the playoff race, the Chiefs are 5-5 and barely holding on to postseason hopes.
Despite these teams being at opposite ends of the spectrum, expect it to be a close, exciting fight to the end between Shane Steichen and Andy Reid.
CBS Sports' John Breech makes a bold prediction that the Colts will secure a massive victory (27-24), sending the Chiefs into the realm of prominent losing records for the first time in recent memory.
"The Colts have a chance to roll into Kansas City and deliver a knockout blow to the Chiefs' division title chances while also putting their playoff hopes on life support.
The Colts will be coming into this game off a bye, which means that the NFL's leading rusher, Jonathan Taylor, will have had some time to rest his legs,
Again, and I can't repeat this enough, I hate picking against the Chiefs at home, but I can't pick against the Colts here. Indiana Jones conquers Kansas City."
While the Chiefs are struggling far more than they typically do, Reid is an elite coach and Patrick Mahomes is, well, Patrick Mahomes.
One area of this game that might decide how things play out is the potential approach of Kansas City defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo to Jones.
The Pittsburgh Steelers sold out to stop Jonathan Taylor in Week 9, and massacred Jones en route to a 27-20 victory over Indy. Jones tossed three picks and coughed up the same number of fumbles.
The following week in Berlin, the Atlanta Falcons and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich sent constant blitzes at Jones. This led to seven sacks taken, a bloodied Jones, a pick, and three more fumbles.
Spagnuolo is one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL, and will do the same on Sunday, as far as doing everything possible to stop Taylor, to put all the pressure on Jones to shoulder the offensive responsibility.
The Chiefs also have fantastic talents in defensive tackle Chris Jones, defensive end George Karlaftis, linebacker Nick Bolton, and cornerback Trent McDuffie.
The Colts' offensive line will be critical to helping Jones stay upright, but so will Steichen. The offensive coach must help Jones with quick pass play calls and RPOs to negate what will be an aggressive defense on Sunday.
The Chiefs aren't a slouch defensively and can halt any offense. Heading into this Week 12 clash, the Chiefs are the third-best scoring defense in the league, sitting at 181 points allowed.
Also, with Jones and others, the Chiefs have done well to negate opposing ground attacks, which the Colts arguably must have to fully function. Kansas City ranks ninth with 1,000 rushing yards allowed.
Breech's prediction is very realistic, especially considering how inconsistent and shallow the Chiefs have looked as a team this year.
But they have Mahomes, who is one of the greatest QBs in NFL history, and is poised to bounce his Chiefs back this Sunday against a red-hot team like the Colts.
Indianapolis and Lou Anarumo's defense must do whatever it takes to prevent the future NFL Hall of Famer from doing this.
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