This game represents a rematch from Week 16, a game that the visiting Indianapolis Colts defeated the Kansas City Chiefs by a score of 23-6. It's one of those types of matchups in which two opponents might now eachother more than they would like, but it will likely mean a much closer game.
The interesting dynamic here is whether Kansas City showed its full hand in the regular season matchup, as it was nearly guaranteed to meet the Colts this week.
Here is everyhing you need to know about the first of four wild card matchups this weekend.
Saturday, January 4th 2014 (4:35 PM ET)
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis IN
Station: NBC
Announcers: Dan Hicks, Mike Mayock and Alex Flanagan (sideline).
Point Spread: Colts (-2.5)
Over/Under: 46.5
Expected Game-Time Weather: N/A
Chiefs Offense vs Colts Defense | Team | PPG | Passing Yds | Rushing Yds | Total Yds | Sacks | Turnover Diff. |
| Chiefs | 26.9 (6) | 208.8 (24) | 128.5 (10) | 337.2 (21) | 41 (18) | +18 (2) |
| Colts | 21.0 (24) | 231.9 (20) | 125.2 (26) | 357.1 (20) | 42 (11) | +13 (3) |
Indianapolis' defense was nothing more than mediocre during the regular seaon. It ranked in the bottom third of the league in points aainst and rushing yards against. It also ranked in the bottom half of the league against the pass. The story was a tad different over the course of the last three games, where Indianapolis gave up a total of 20 points. The issue with using that as an indicator is that two of those three games were against the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars.
An interesting dynamic here is that Indianapolis gave up less than 300 total yards and just seven points to the Alex Smith-led Chiefs club back in Week 16. If that's any indication, which I am not sure it is, the Colts should do well on defense here.
Kansas City started out the season extremely slow on the offensive side of the ball. It averaged just 22.8 points per game in its first 10 outings before putting up an average of over 40 points in a four-game stretch from Week 12 to Week 15. Smith put up over 3,700 yards and 24 scores on the season, both of which were career highs. Kansas City put up over 30 points per game in its eight road outings during the regular year.
Colts Offense vs Chiefs Defense | Team | PPG | Passing Yds | Rushing Yds | Total Yds | Sacks | Turnover Diff. |
| Colts | 24.4 (14) | 232.8 (17) | 108.9 (20) | 341.8 (15) | 32 (6) | +13 (3) |
| Chiefs | 19.1 (5) | 247.6 (25) | 120.2 (22) | 367.8 (24) | 47 (6) | +18 (2) |
First off, Kansas City's sack totals are skewed simply because it racked up a ridiculous nine sacks against the Oakland Raiders back in Week 6. Outside of that, the Chiefs averaged a decent 2.5 sacks per outing. It's also important to note that Kansas City struggled on defense down the stretch with Tamba Hali and Justin Houston missing some time. When all hands were on deck, Kansas City's defense was among the best in the entire NFL.
The Chiefs yielded an average of less than 18 points per game on the road, which was lower than the number they gave up at home during the regular season.
For their part, the Colts' offense was what I consider inconsistent during the regular season. They put up single-digit point total twice on the season, but did score at least 25 points in half of their 16 games. Andrew Luck and Co. also put up over 20 points in each of their last five regular season outings. Despite a makeshift offensive line in front of Luck, he went down only two times per outing on the season. Indianapolis finished the season with a plus-six turnover margin at home, while the Chiefs were plus-19 away from Arrowhead.
Key Matchups
Donald Stephenson vs Robert Mathis: Stephenson will be replacing the injured Eric Fisher in this one. This might not be that big of a loss for Kansas City considering that Fisher finished in the bottom-10 of the NFL among tackles in pass protection during the regular year (via Pro Football Focus). Though, it's still a huge concern. Mathis finished the regular season with a league-high 19.5 sacks and a whopping 39 quarterback hurries. If Kansas City is unable to protect Smith from that side of the line, it could be a long day for the veteran quarterback.
Da'Rick Rogers vs Marcus Cooper: Imagine this. A matchup between a rookie seventh-round pick who was released in training camp and an undrafted rookie who is already playing for his second franchise on the season. As it is, Rogers has quickly become Luck's No. 2 wide receiver with the injury to Reggie Wayne and Cooper came out of the gate strong before struggling down the stretch. This will be an intriguing matchup.
Jamaal Charles vs Colts' Run Defense: Charles finished with nearly 2,000 all-purpose yards and 19 touchdowns on the season. He's going up against a Colts' defense that ranked 26th in the NFL against the run. If Charles, who rested last week, has a field day here, Kansas City should advance rather easily.
Statistical Leaders
Indianapolis Colts
Andrew Luck: 60.2 completion, 3,822 passing yards, 377 rushing yards, 27 total touchdowns, nine interceptions and a 87.0 rating
Donald Brown: 537 rushing yards, 27 receptions, 214 yards and eight total touchdowns
Trent Richardson: 458 rushing yards, 28 receptions, 265 yards and four total touchdowns
T.Y. Hilton: 82 receptions, 1,803 yards and five touchdowns
Coby Fleener: 52 receptions, 608 yards and four touchdowns:
Kansas City Chiefs
Alex Smith: 60.6 completion, 3,313 passing yards, 431 rushing yards, 24 total touchdowns, seven interceptions and a 89.1 rating:
Jamaal Charles: 1,287 rushing yards, 70 receptions, 693 yards and 19 total touchdowns
Dwayne Bowe: 57 receptions, 673 yards and five touchdowns
Dexter McCluster: 53 receptions, 511 yards and two touchdowns
Donnie Avery: 40 receptions, 596 yards and two touchdowns