Why the Indianapolis Colts should fear the Kansas City Chiefs
The Indianapolis Colts are on a roll with a great quarterback and a winning playoff history against the Kansas City Chiefs. So why should they be worried?
On Saturday afternoon about midway through the first quarter of the playoff game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans, you could feel it. A sense of fear and dread was sweeping over the Chiefs Kingdom. Andrew Luck was setting the world on fire. The Colts offense had masterfully executed their first two drives and had opened up a 14-0 lead on the Texans in Houston. While there was plenty of time to go in the game, it already seemed inevitable that the Kansas City Chiefs were going to be facing Luck and the Colts in the divisional round and panic was starting to set in.
“Luck and the Colts offense is going to shred our defense!”
“This is the worst possible matchup for the Chiefs!”
“Not the Colts again! Why does it always have to be the Colts?!”
Visions of playoff losses of past years played through the Chiefs Kingdom’s collective consciousness: the Lin Elliott game, the “no punt” game, Andrew Luck recovering a fumble and leaping for a touchdown. We, as Chiefs fans, have been conditioned to expect the worst once the postseason rolls around. It’s almost all we know. When you add the fact that three of the most painful losses in franchise history all came at the hands of the Colts, it’s not hard to understand the sense of impending disappointment.
If that’s how you’re feeling today, I’m here to snap you out of it. First off, the fact that the Colts have given us fans three soul-crushing playoff defeats has absolutely no bearing on the outcome of this game. Patrick Mahomes was a newborn baby when Lin Elliott broke our hearts. He was eight-years-old during the “no punt” game. Even the Chiefs’ most recent playoff loss to the Luck-led Colts happened when he was still in high school. None of that matters to him or his teammates. The Colts are our (the fans) boogeyman, not theirs.
If one of these teams should be scared of the other, it is the Colts that should be frightened of the Chiefs. Before you accuse me of just being some “rah rah” homer, let me say unequivocally that the Colts are a very good team and that if the Chiefs don’t play well, they will lose. Period. I also acknowledge that Andrew Luck is likely going to put up some impressive numbers against the Chiefs defense. However, after crunching some numbers I think there is absolutely reason to believe that the Chiefs are the clear favorites in this game.
Let’s start by looking at the offenses that the Colts have faced in their wins this season.