Kansas City offense vs. Indianapolis defense
Ideally, the Chiefs would like to run the ball 40-plus times to control the time of possession and keep their defense well rested. Bam Morris, Tony Richardson, Donnell Bennett and Mike Cloud are doing an excellent job of sharing the load as witnessed last week when they combined for 98 yards on 38 carries. However, the Colts will stack the line of scrimmage with a lot of eight-man fronts to defend against the run and dare the Chiefs to beat them in the air.

	CHIEFS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	5
	Pass	24
	Tot. Yds.	17
	Scoring	6
	Int's allowed	7
	Sacks allowed	8
	COLTS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	14
	vs. Pass	21
	Total yds. allowed	18
	# of Ints.	13
	# of Sacks	20
	Turnover differential	-13

Indianapolis has yielded 98.6 yards per game on the ground and should be even more stout against a team like the Chiefs that will struggle to sustain drives by throwing the ball. Colts strong safety Tito Wooten will undoubtedly play closer to the line of scrimmage than usual and create more of a 4-4 look on obvious running downs. The Colts get great upfield pressure from their defensive ends, Chad Bratzke and Shawn King, which means that outside linebackers Mike Peterson and Cornelius Bennett play much bigger roles in the run defense because they are responsible for plugging the off-tackle holes that open up.

Middle linebacker Michael Barber is the key to the Colts' run defense against Kansas City. Barber needs to stack up strong in the "phone booth," stringing the Chiefs' inside running game to the outside where there is great penetration and containment. If Barber fills the holes inside and holds his ground, Kansas City's powerful running game will be neutralized, and the Chiefs will be forced to throw the ball to win the game.

The Colts secondary is going to be exposed a bit on Sunday, on purpose, to provoke Kansas City to go up top with the ball. Cornerback Tyrone Poole will play press coverage on the line of scrimmage against wide receiver Derrick Alexander. Free safety Jason Belser will cheat to Poole's side, giving the corner help in the deep third if he bites on some of Alexander's underneath moves.

This means that cornerback Jeff Burris will matchup man-on-man against No. 2 receiver Kevin Lockett. Burris will be forced to play soft coverage because he will get little help behind him with all the eight-man fronts that the Colts are expected to play.

The Chiefs are going to have to open up the playbook more in order to take advantage of the outside matchups that they will be given in the passing game. The difference in this contest will be quarterback Elvis Grbac's ability to burn the Colts off of the play-action fake when he is presented with single-coverage on his receivers down the field.

Indianapolis offense vs. Kansas City defense
Indianapolis' balance on offense and ability to manipulate defensive schemes has distinguished this unit as one of the most explosive and diverse attacks in the NFL. Rookie running back Edgerrin James has established himself as one of the top backs in the league with his consistent play in the Colts' first seven games. James is averaging more than 90 yards per game as a rookie and also has proven himself as a reliable blocking back as well as a receiver out of the backfield.

	COLTS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	22
	Pass	2
	Tot. Yds.	4
	Scoring	3
	Int's allowed	8
	Sacks allowed	4
	CHIEFS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	5
	vs. Pass	14
	Total yds. allowed	9
	# of Ints.	4
	# of Sacks	17
	Turnover differential	+7

The Chiefs are in an interesting predicament defensively. They lead the league in the giveaway/takeaway category with a plus-13 because of their aggressive style of play up front. They use outside linebackers Derrick Thomas and Donnie Edwards as rush ends to get great upfield pursuit, but they are putting themselves at risk against the Colts if they overpursue.

The key for the Chiefs is going to be to get upfield off the edges, but to do so while keeping great containment. They cannot afford to let James get outside with a good angle to the sideline because of his great burst and speed in the open field. James' increased role in the passing game is cause for even greater concern as the Chiefs look to pressure Peyton Manning. If Kansas City uses all seven men up front to create a pass rush, it puts them at a severe disadvantage against the dump-off pass to James out of the backfield.

Kansas City needs to be able to use the rush to not only get to Manning, but also to funnel James back inside. The outside linebackers are going to have to be aware in pass rush and recognize when James is looking to get to the flats. If Thomas and Bennett are not aware on the rush and break it off to cover James, the Colts will be able to pick up a lot of yardage in the short passing game against the blitz.

The one advantage that the Chiefs have is a very stable secondary that should be able to hold up against the Colts receiving corps downfield. Cornerback Chris Dishman will play aggressive, press coverage close to the line of scrimmage on wide receiver Marvin Harrison. Dishman is comforted by the fact that he will get help in the deep third from free safety Jerome Woods.

Woods is the key to the Chiefs' pass defense Sunday. Woods needs to cheat over to Dishman's side and keep everything in front of him. The Chiefs can afford to give up some yardage underneath, but with a struggling offense, Kansas City cannot give up any cheap plays to the Colts' passing game. That would force Kansas City's offense to play catch-up football.

On the other side, James Hasty is capable of covering the Colts No. 2 receiver, Terrence Wilkins in single-man coverage. Hasty can shut Wilkins out of this game and force Indy's passing game to become more one-dimensional. In nickel situations, cornerback Eric Warfield has proven capable of handling team's No. 3 receivers. Warfield continues to play impressive tight coverage even when teams have targeted him in the passing game.

Special teams
Pete Stoyanovich has been consistent as usual this season, connecting on 11 of 14 field-goal attempts, with a long of 51 yards. Punter Daniel Pope has shown a big leg, averaging 42.9 yards per punt, but his directional kicking is a concern. He is taking his coverage units out of position, and he has also not taken advantage of punting position, landing just eight punts inside the 20-yard line on the season.

	NFL RANK
	Category	KC	IND
	Punt return avg.	12	21
	Kickoff return avg.	20	14
	Opp. punt return avg.	6	31
	Opp. kickoff ret. avg.	4	19
	Time of possession	10	12

The Chiefs desperately need Tamarick Vanover to return to his job of returning punts. He has been nicked up all season and has averaged just 11.3 yards per return on the season.

Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt has not been impressive, but has only missed four of 16 kicks. His leg strength has been a concern with a long of just 43 yards, but his mechanics seem consistent, and he should be reliable. The Colts' punt coverage units are of grave concern. They are allowing a league-worst 17.8 yards per punt return.

Key matchups