Colts vs. Chiefs: General preview

The Colts easily dispatched the Texans in the wild card round. In doing so, they earned a date with the Chiefs in Kansas City. Here is a general preview of the Divisional round showdown.

The Colts embarrassed the Texans 21-7 on Saturday. Their reward? They get to face the best team in the AFC this Saturday. Kansas City has looked like a stellar team all season long en route to the number one seed. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have flaws.

Their biggest flaw as a team is their defense. They are 31st in the league in total defense and 27th in run defense. Marlon Mack will be a big key to this game. If the can get going the way he did in Houston, the Colts can control the clock and keep the Chiefs’ offense on the sidelines.

Putting pressure on Patrick Mahomes will also be key. The only quarterback to throw more touchdown passes this season than Andrew Luck was Mahomes. He has been spectacular and hasn’t made too many mistakes. But all young quarterbacks have issues with pressure.

The Colt’s offensive line will need to continue to play well. The Chiefs are tied for the most sacks in the league with 52, while the Colts allowed a league-low 18. Something has to give on Saturday. If the Colts want to pull the upset, they have to keep Andrew Luck upright.

Arrowhead Stadium is a great environment to have a playoff game. It will be loud the entire game. The Colts better be prepared to play in that environment. If they aren’t things could go south very quickly. They need to be disciplined to not have false start penalties that kill drives.

This should be an excellent game this weekend, and it could be another upset. But it will be a fight until the end no matter what.