After two weeks of facing off with subpar opponents, the Kansas City Chiefs now head north to meet the dangerous, desperate Minnesota Vikings. KC and even Patrick Mahomes made ugly mistakes that helped keep last week's game close until the very end. How will the Chiefs respond to the eyebrow-raising mediocrity exhibited in their last performance? Improving their red zone efficiency would be a huge step in the right direction.
KC ranked second in the NFL last season in red zone efficiency with 71%. This year, their 56% ranks 17th league-wide. That could explain the drop from first in the league in scoring last season to 9th in the league right now. Despite never yet playing up to their potential this year, the numbers indicate that even a stale Chiefs offense is top-ten. They rank in the top ten for scoring, passing yards, rushing yards and total yards. Mahomes is still top-ten in passing yards and touchdown passes, and he currently ranks fourth in QBR.
The Vikings' offense enters this contest with the NFL's third-highest passing yards per game average and perhaps the NFL's best wide receiver. Justin Jefferson currently has the most receiving yards in the league with 543 in four games. His success isn't translating into success for Minnesota, though. The Vikings lost close games to the Bucs, Eagles and Chargers, and they just beat the Panthers 21-13 last week.The 3-1 Detroit Lions now lead the NFC North, so Minnesota needs to make up some ground soon or lose all hope of winning their division.
It's fair for Chiefs Kingdom to be a bit scared of this Minnesota offense when KC just made Zach Wilson look legit for nearly an entire football game. Nick Bolton will be a game-time decision, but the other major pieces of the Chiefs defense are healthy. Trent McDuffie will have a long, difficult day at work, but help from Justin Reid and other pieces of KC's strong secondary should be enough to limit what the Vikings do best.
Minnesota's defense ranks 20th in total yards allowed and 19th in points allowed, so KC's offense can probably score enough to win this game without performing at the very peak of their capabilities. Don't be too upset if the 1-3 Vikings keep this game close; they're desperate and talented, more-so than the Jets. I think we'll see a solid bounce-back performance from KC and a hard-earned 31-24 victory.
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