3 Things KC Must Do to Win in Denver

So we got this, right guys? Total trap-game, right? The Kansas City Chiefs bring a deflated team to Denver in the coming hours, and most would consider their chances to be sigh-inducingly slim. What can KC do to make this game competitive, or even pull off a stunner at Mile-High? Well, sadly, the gameplan for victory this Sunday involves some awfully lofty goals. If KC ends the day with a seemingly miraculous 1-1 record, a lot of things will have gone very, very right. Here are the three things that must happen for KC to win this afternoon:

 

3- Jamaal Charles gets 15 touches or more for 150 yards or more.

Andy Reid took some well-deserved flak for Jamaal having only 11 touches in Week 1, but he also deserves credit for being candid and honest about his failure in that regard. It should be clear that Reid will make #25 more of the offensive gameplan this time around, but a struggling offensive line must also succeed in giving their star player a seam on running downs. Despite this being the easiest goal on this list to accomplish, it’s far from a safe bet against an improved Denver defense that now includes Vince Wilfork stuffing up the center of the field.

 

2- Chiefs win the turnover ratio by at least +2.

Shaun Smith and Marcus Cooper are both polarizing starters in KC’s secondary that sometimes get burnt and sometimes make incredible, game-changing plays. As fans, we can only hope that we get the good side of that coin today. If first ballot Hall of Famer Peyton Manning helps us out with some errant passes, nobody in the Kingdom will complain, but the Chiefs clearly aren’t banking on that. To force turnovers, KC needs to go out and get them. This means pressuring Manning to get rid of the ball early and allowing the aforementioned guys in the secondary to go after that pick-six with reckless abandon. Maybe with a better team on paper KC would avoid such a rogue gameplan, but not this year, and especially not today.

 

1- Justin Houston, Tamba Hali and Dontari Poe combine for 3 or more sacks on Manning.

With the dreadful loss of both Mike Devito and Derrick Johnson, the Chiefs absolutely must see their other big-name defensive players step up if they want to be anything close to relevant this season. Multiple sacks, especially early in the game, can keep Peyton uncomfortable and lessen the chance of huge plays against that unproven secondary. KC’s chances to pull this off will begin and end at the line of scrimmage.

 

It’s an important sports day in KC, what with the Royals continuing their playoff race and the rival Detroit Tigers playing a day-game as well. Today could be remembered as a shining moment for both clubs, or the beginning of the end of their respective seasons.   

Wait...Is It Football Season?

The recent success of the Kansas City Royals got me thinking about something strange regarding this 2014 Chiefs season. In my limited time as a sports journalist, doom and gloom and disappointment made up at least a slight majority of the job. Despite reaching the playoffs in the first year of the Reid/Dorsey regime in 2013, we all know what happened to end that dream and leave us all with nightmares all through the offseason. At this point, it's too late to go back and reminisce on that historically pathetic defeat, but last Sunday the Tennessee Titans helped to prolong the pang of pain in the gut of every Chiefs fan.

As the Chiefs stumbled out of the regular season gates, I switched back channels continuously to my first place Royals as they held the Bronx Bombers scoreless on Derek Jeter Day. KC won that important series and claimed their first season series win against the New York Yankees since 1999. With the Royals now nearing the middle of September with a great chance to make the playoffs, I started to wonder if all my experience reacting to disappointment and failure would wind up going unused this year. Thanks to our Kansas City Chiefs, I now have no need to worry.

The first half of KC's first game mostly told the story of rust and regression. It all began promisingly enough- Jamaal scampered untouched for a smooth first down on KC's first drive. Dustin Colquitt buried the opposing offense inside their own ten yard-line, as he so often does, and Tennessee's first snap resulted in a false start in front of a wild Arrowhead crowd. Even when Cairo Santos bounced in his first NFL field goal, we thought KC could shake it off and be happy with a slim early lead. The Chiefs did follow this up with a long completion to promising TE Travis Kelce, after all. Then, there goes Santos again for attempt #2...

From that doink on, KC's numerous questionable areas of the roster were exposed. An apparently downgraded secondary eventually gave way to a single touchdown that gave the Titans the lead, if only because of Kansas City's complete failure to reach the end-zone. Chiefs fans had a few positives to take to halftime- most of them being sacks from key defensive stars- but the second half failed to bring amy significant improvement from the offense.

This team isn't as awful as many Chiefs fans will believe following this ugly loss, but there's a fundamental problem with making that argument; I still don't think the Chiefs are good enough to make a playoff run this year. This season's schedule, as we'll review in the coming week, is undeniably harsh, and nobody can seem to find an area in which KC legitimately improved their roster. It's no wonder to me why I keep trailing off mentally during analysis of this blowout to daydream about the next Royals game.

Here's the good news: the Chiefs held a sneaky-good Titans offense scoreless for over thirty minutes of game-time. The bad news was, you know, the rest of the game. The worse news is the terrifying feasibility of the Chiefs falling into a huge hole early this season. Kansas City's next six opponents include five playoff teams from last season and the Miami Dolphins, who just beat New England by double-digits. This goes without mentioning the two awful, season-ending injuries to Mike Devito and Derrick Johnson.

Losing in such an embarrassing fashion surprised many, but to avoid falling to 0-7, the Chiefs have to pull off an equally surprising upset against a superior opponent. So, why not do it next week in Denver? Stay tuned in the next few days for analysis of that upcoming inspirational upset victory/ humiliating bloodbath defeat.

Doug LaCerte operates this blog, writes for Rant Sports and occasionally speaks of himself in third-person for the sake of fake professionalism. Feed his fickle ego by following him on Twitter @DLaC67, troll him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google, because they're gonna make you use that shit, anyway.

Chiefs/Broncos Round 2: An Arduous Attempt at Arrowhead

Well, shit. I didn't see that coming, but who did? Who would have predicted that the Chiefs would lose the cornerstones of their blitz game, and the offense would put up 38 points in a losing effort? Last week's game with the Chargers was about as fun as they get, until the very end. If only the Chiefs could have bled a few more seconds off the clock, we could be talking about a one-loss team with an offense that's finally coming to life. Instead, KC heads into their second game with Denver with some serious doubts and concerns.

If not for some lofty injuries, KC could be looking at this game with confidence in their ability to make things interesting. Unfortunately, after the roster went largely unblemished throughout the first half of the season, the Chiefs will again be seriously hindered today by injuries. Justin Houston will definitely miss this game, and Tamba Hali, Eric Fisher, Jon Asamoah and Mike DeVito are all questionable. Devito missed Friday practice for non-injury reasons, and the rest of the aforementioned players had limited participation in practices throughout the week.

If the Chiefs can make this game close, it could be one for the history books. Do they really have what it takes to limit Peyton with a downgraded defense and make this a tight game? My five predictions inspire less hope than I'd like to admit.

1- KC needs to win the turnover ratio to stop this game from getting out of hand, let alone winning. Their failure to do so over the last two weeks has resulted in KC's only two losses of the season. I'll try for a third time to predict a positive ratio for KC that helps them keep this game close.

2- Jamaal finally went off last week, after getting a chance on some screen passes and getting some holes to shoot through on running downs. Denver isn't stupid enough to let #25 burn them today, so look for other options to come open with much of the attention on Charles. Dexter McCluster and Donnie Avery should combine for at least 6 catches and 150 yards of offensive production this afternoon.

3- The Chiefs have been steadily productive on special teams, but they need to pull out all the stops to win today. Expect one big play to flip the field for KC and keep things tense for Peyton and the Broncos.

4- Whether it's Moreno or Montee Ball at RB, Denver will continue its success with running the ball. DeVito is an undervalued veteran on that defensive line whose impact will be sorely missed on running downs today. Expect Denver to pick up at least 90 yards on the ground against that hobbling KC defense.

5- Without the ability to get pressure on the league's best QB, KC's secondary is bound to struggle. Manning's ability to shred the Chiefs through the air will be the key to a disappointing loss. Peyton throws for at least 375 yards to win 38-24 and hand the Chiefs their third straight loss. Ugh. I'd really love to be wrong about this one.