Five things the KC Chiefs must do to beat the Minnesota Vikings

5. Convert in the red zone

Kansas City's red zone offense has been very hit-and-miss so far this season. Overall, the offense is converting red zone trips to touchdowns at a 56.25% rate, which ranks 16th in the NFL heading into Week 4. What's particularly odd about that number is that the Chiefs are second in the NFL in red zone TD rate at home at 87.5%, but are 28th in the league on the road at just 25%. To be fair, that number climbs to 28.6% if you remove the kneel down at the end of the win against the New York Jets.

At Arrowhead, the Chiefs have been money in the red zone, but have struggled in their two road matchups. That could be mean something or it could just be a limited sample size since the New York defense has been the best defense they've faced so far this year.

One potential reason for hope is that the Minnesota defense is tied for 26th in the NFL in opponent red zone TD rate at home, with opposing offenses scoring a touchdown in 75% of red zone trips at U.S. Bank Stadium.

The reason that the red zone will be more important in this game is that Minnesota is easily more talented on offense than either the Jets or the Bears. It's not implausible that the Vikings will be able to score more points than New York and Chicago. Facing a team with a good quarterback like Kirk Cousins and perhaps the best wide receiver in football in Justin Jefferson, scoring seven points instead of three in the red zone will pay significant dividends toward winning this game.