3 ways the Colts can pull off the upset against the Chiefs

The game against the Kansas City Chiefs starts the toughest stretch of games for the Indianapolis Colts in the Chris Ballard-Frank Reich era.

Since Frank Reich took over as head coach for the Indianapolis Colts, there has never been a run of games that are as tough as the next three weeks, considering the way the team has played. There have been plenty of times where the Colts have started off slow to start the season but picked up a series of wins against easy opponents.

In 2018, the Colts started 1-5 before defeating the 2-4 Buffalo Bills to start a five-game winning streak. Indianapolis finished that season 10-6 and clinched a wildcard spot in the playoffs. In 2019, the losing didn’t come until the end of the season when they fell apart after starting 5-2 and finishing 7-9.

In 2020, Indy never lost two straight games that season until the final week and then in the playoffs. The 2021 season, of course, was much different where the Colts were a rollercoaster of a team. Even after starting 0-3, their first win was against the 1-2 Miami Dolphins.

This week, the Colts finally come home for their first home game of the season against the Kansas City Chiefs. This week kicks off a tough three-game stretch before hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 6.

Chiefs this week, Titans next week, and then traveling to Denver to play the Broncos on Thursday Night Football. It’ll really show fans a lot about what the Indianapolis Colts are this year and how they can bounce back from the slowest start in Frank Reich’s tenure as head coach. So slow that it has many people calling for his job.

But what if Indy snags a win this week? What if the Colts shock the league and take down Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs? How can they even do this? There are three ways that the Colts can pull off an upset against the Chiefs.

3. Colts could return all starters to the lineup

Everyone could see the absolute meltdown Indy experienced in Jacksonville after missing some key playmakers on both offense and defense. The Colts are poised to likely return both Shaquille Leonard and Michael Pittman Jr. this week, which would be a huge boost to morale in the locker room.

The Colts’ defense has looked lost in the first two weeks without Shaq on the field. No one is on the field holding players accountable. By bringing in players like former Defensive Player of the Year Stephon Gilmore and a pass-rushing stud like Yannick Ngakoue, you’d expect the defense to be fine. However, Leonard is truly the leader of the Colts’ defense.

If Leonard is back in the lineup for the Chiefs, I’d expect a huge performance to bolster what was once a top-five defense in 2021.

The wide receiver room has been a bit lost and you could see that Matt Ryan was missing his favorite target on the field in Week 2 in Jacksonville. With Pittman back, Ryan will be able to find him early and often. This should open up more of the receivers in the passing game.

Bringing back leaders in the locker room and on the field is going to elevate the Colts to a strong performance at home.

2. Offensive line figures out their issues with the run game

There have been a lot of issues with the offensive line to start this season. This is something many fans in Indianapolis have not seen in quite a while since drafting Ryan Kelly and Quenton Nelson. With two new starters on the offensive line, there have clearly been some trust issues in the pass protection.

The Colts need to focus on what they do best and that is opening lanes for All-Pro running back, Jonathan Taylor. The offensive line needs to get back to the days of beating up the defensive line and holding the trenches long enough for the quarterback to get throws off.

Opening up the run game early against the Chiefs will speed up the clock and keep the offense on the field. By tiring out the Chiefs’ defense, this is going to also open up RPOs and play-action to get better pass protection for Ryan and the wide receivers.

Indianapolis needs to see Quenton Nelson be the leader and monster that he has been in the past and start ruining defensive line players’ souls by crushing them early in the game.

The offensive play will get better when the offensive line can come back to its full potential. It starts by trusting each other so that the new guys like Matt Pryor, Danny Pinter, and Bernhard Raimann have a chance to be better players.

If you zoom in on this photo, you see the issues very quickly. Both Braden Smith and Danny Pinter are guarding one player. Quenton Nelson and Ryan Kelly are also guarding one player.

Meanwhile, Josh Allen was easily able to get around the line and get to Matt Ryan for the sack. This level of play must elevate for the Colts to have the chance at winning.

1. The Chiefs look ahead on their schedule

The Kansas City Chiefs took care of business against the Arizona Cardinals. They then got the job done on Thursday Night Football against the Los Angeles Chargers. At the start of the season, they looked like they might have had the hardest schedule to start the year.

Now, they are looking at a team falling apart with the Colts. In Week 4, they play against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Following that matchup, there are games against the Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills, and San Francisco 49ers before their bye week.

That’s a tough stretch and this might just be a game where they don’t really need to focus as much. The Colts are looking bad and are considered one of the worst teams in the NFL. Overlooking teams haven’t necessarily been something that Andy Reid does, but who’s to say they aren’t focusing some attention on next week?

The Colts can be looking for the upset at home and this would be the biggest trap game for the Chiefs this season. Winning at home is not something many should bat an eye at. Twice, I have predicted an upset win against the Chiefs, and that still does not change to this day.

Indianapolis has been known to play down to bad teams and play up to good teams. Why should that change this week against one of the AFC’s best teams?

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