Five things the KC Chiefs must do to beat the Minnesota Vikings
After squeaking past the New York Jets in Week 4, the Kansas City Chiefs head up I-35 to the Land of 10,000 Lakes to take on the Minnesota Vikings.
After winning their divisions in 2022, neither team has played their best football to date. Although they are 3-1, the Kansas City offense has put together a strong performance in only one of four games so far this season. After an 8-1 start to the 2022 season, the Vikings are 1-3 this year and have come up short in two very close games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chiefs are around 3.5 point favorites in this matchup (depending on the sportsbook), so this will not be a walk in the park for them. If Kansas City doesn't put together a quality performance, they could very easily find themselves with a 3-2 on Sunday night.
If the Chiefs are going to win this game and climb to 4-1, here are the five things they need to:
1. Don't turn the ball over
I feel like this going to be said every single week for the test of time. The Chiefs cannot keep turning the football over. The team currently ranks tied for 4th in giveaways, after Week 4, and has had a giveaway in every game this season, including at least two in the past three. To be fair, that is a little misleading since two of those turnovers were two Blaine Gabbert interceptions in garbage time against the Bears. But giveaways nearly cost them the game against the Jets and a pick-six against the Lions was a huge factor in that defeat.
One positive is that the Vikings' defense has not been able to produce a ton of turnovers themselves. Heading into Week 5, the unit currently ranks tied for 25th in takeaways, so any giveaways by Kansas City will more than likely be the result of self-inflicted wounds.
Another positive is the fact the one of the very few teams more careless than the Chiefs so far in 2023 has been the Minnesota Vikings. No team has turned the ball over more than them at 11. Kirk Cousins has lost three fumbles and has thrown four interceptions. Given how careless Minnesota has been on offense this season, a clean performance from Kansas City bodes very well for them.