Colts lead AFC South, Chiefs struggling to stay in playoff race ahead of Sunday matchup at Arrowhead

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen spent some time this week delivering clichés about NFL parity, how anybody can beat anyone else and that “you can throw records out the window each and every week” because of it.

That would be silly for the Colts.

And very much welcomed by the Chiefs.

Because in a matchup Sunday of an 8-2 team leading its division, and one 5-5 and desperately trying to stay in the postseason hunt, the teams carrying those respective records are hardly the ones anyone expected. Indianapolis tops the AFC South and is rolling along, while reigning AFC champion Kansas City has nearly been eliminated from the West race entirely.

“You’ve got to be on your ‘A’ game no matter the records, no matter who you’re playing,” Steichen explained. “We know Kansas City is a hell of a football team. They went to three straight Super Bowls. They’ve got one of the best players in the world playing quarterback for them, and they’re very talented. So we’ve got to be on all the details and specifics going into this game.”

The Colts have won five of their past six games behind rejuvenated play from quarterback Daniel Jones and the otherworldly play of running back Jonathan Taylor. They also are coming off a bye, right on the heels of an emotional overtime win over Atlanta, which gave Indianapolis a chance to spend a little extra time preparing for Patrick Mahomes and Co.

What they saw last Sunday was a microcosm of the Chiefs’ season.

After their own bye, the Chiefs visited Denver for a critical divisional matchup, and they proceeded to commit too many penalties, turn the ball over too much and make far too many mistakes on defense. With a chance to drive for the winning points, Kansas City’s once-feared offense instead had to punt, and the Chiefs’ defense gave up the decisive field goal in a 22-19 defeat.

“We aren’t overreacting,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said of their playoff predicament, “but there’s a certain urgency you’ve got to have to make sure you clean up some of the stuff we’ve had. Overreacting doesn’t help. What helps is that you take care of your business.”

Right away, because the Chiefs have no margin for error. They are 3 1/2 games behind the Broncos in the West, and they are just 2-4 against the rest of the AFC, which puts them outside the playoffs if the season ended this week.

“It hasn’t always been just championships. We’ve dealt with adversity, and guys have learned and gotten better from it,” Mahomes said. “Obviously this is something that we haven’t dealt with so early in the season, but at the same time, I know the guys in that locker room and know how they’re going to respond. All we can do is stick together, and push ourselves to be even better.”

Finding balance

The Chiefs only ran the ball 14 times against Denver, even though it was a low-scoring game in which field-position came at a premium. By contrast, they threw the ball 45 times. Reid said part of the wide disparity is because of the number of run-pass options that became throws, but nonetheless, the Chiefs will be striving for more offensive balance this week.

Home sweet home

It will have been nearly a month since Kansas City last played at Arrowhead Stadium, a 28-7 rout of Washington that also was the last time the Chiefs won a game. And they won’t play another home game until Houston visits on Dec. 7.

Some familiarity

Steichen should be plenty familiar with the Chiefs, even though the Colts have played them on rare occasions over the years. That’s because he left to take the Colts job just two days after Philadelphia lost to Kansas City in the Super Bowl in February 2023. He also spent close to a decade coaching against the Chiefs when he was with the AFC West-rival Chargers.

One in, one out

The Chiefs will have left tackle Josh Simmons for the second consecutive game after their first-round draft pick missed the previous five to deal with a family matter. Their offensive line could still be unsettled with left guard Kingsley Suamataia dealing with a concussion that he sustained in the loss to the Broncos.

Kelce’s influence

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce may go down as the best of his generation, and he’s still influencing how the game is played by the next generation of tight ends. Just ask Tyler Warren, who has already broken the Colts rookie record for receptions by a tight end, and who needs just 110 yards to surpass Hall of Famer John Mackey’s rookie mark for yards receiving (726) that has stood since 1963.

“There’s a lot you can learn from watching him,” Warren said. “I feel like he’s a very unique player, right? He’s done stuff that not a lot of tight ends really ever did, so watching him is awesome. He’s a great player so it will be cool to go out there and compete.”

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