The Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday as they attempt to get over a tough loss last week against the Green Bay Packers. A couple of important players look to be returning from injury this week, but against a hot and healthy Vikings team, it will be a big challenge for the Chiefs.
Here are five things to watch for vs. the Vikings:
Chris Jones could return to the lineup
Jones was listed as questionable on the official injury report Friday. This would be his first game back since suffering a groin injury in Week 5 vs. the Indianapolis Colts.
The return of Jones would be huge for the defense as it prepares to play Kirk Cousins and a talented receiving corps. Cousins has been on fire the last four games, throwing for 10 touchdowns and 1,262 yards. His performance earned him the honor of the NFC Offensive Player of the Month, so having Jones back to rush the passer from the interior would be a big help in slowing him down.
The Chiefs might be without Frank Clark, who is also questionable. They will be without Alex Okafor, who has been ruled out. It will be interesting to see what the Chiefs do on the defensive line. If Jones is not back, they will be thin on depth there.
Stopping Dalvin Cook
Dalvin Cook is the NFL’s rushing leader through the first eight weeks, with 823 yards and nine touchdowns. Stopping running backs is something that the Chiefs have struggled with this season — they are 27th in rushing yards allowed in a game. In four of Kansas City’s first six games, the defense allowed over 180 yards rushing, but recently they held the Broncos and Packers to 189 yards collectively. That is a big improvement, but that doesn’t mean the Chiefs have solved how to stop opposing running backs.
Last week against the Packers, they allowed 173 yards receiving, and all three of Aaron Rodgers’ touchdowns went to running backs. The majority of the problems that led to such a great performance in the air for the Packers running backs were matchups. Time after time, the Chiefs had a linebacker isolated out wide to cover Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams. It was a huge mismatch that left them trailing and allowed for a big play. Stopping the run is great, but if they can’t stop running backs in the passing game it will be for naught. Keep an eye out for Steve Spagnuolo to make personnel changes as to who is covering Cook on passing downs.
Big test for the Chiefs’ secondary
The secondary will have a big test this week as they face two of the best wide receivers in the league in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs. The two have been one of the best wide receiver duos in the NFL, and each has the potential to have a big game against the Chiefs.
Diggs has seven receptions for over 140 yards in his last three games, while Thielen looks to be returning from injury. He leads the Vikings with six receiving touchdowns. The Vikings also have a serviceable tight end, Kyle Rudolph, so it will be interesting to see what Spagnuolo comes up with in the secondary.
Charvarius Ward and Rashad Fenton have both played well the last few weeks. If the two can continue their solid play and keep Diggs and Thielen in check, it will show that the secondary isn’t as much of an issue as we thought it was to begin the season.
Which quarterback will we see?
Andy Reid wouldn’t say for sure whether we would see Patrick Mahomes return this week, so we will have to wait till closer to kickoff to find out. If Mahomes does return, there are a few things to keep an eye on.
A big part of Mahomes’ game is his ability to extend and make plays outside of the pocket due to his great mobility. It’s been less than three weeks since Mahomes dislocated his kneecap, and he has been fighting an ankle injury all season. If Mahomes plays, he will most likely not have the same mobility that we are used to.
I would also keep an eye on how the Chiefs protect him, considering two of the starting offensive lineman are out: Eric Fisher and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Chiefs keep a tight end or running back in the backfield to help keep Mahomes from getting hit.
I believe that Mahomes will sit against the Vikings, but nothing is certain. The recent play by Matt Moore should give the Chiefs enough confidence to go and get a win at home against the Vikings. Moore was able to go head to head against the Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, so if Kansas City can continue to put him in good situations, he has a good chance to beat the Vikings as long the defense holds up their end.
Will the Chiefs change things up at running back?
The running backs haven’t lived up to expectations this season. LeSean McCoy has struggled to hold on to the ball — he has two fumbles, which had a large impact on losses to the Colts and the Packers.
Kansas City isn’t looking for McCoy to be the same back he was in Buffalo, where he needed to carry the offense, but just a veteran who can get four to five yards and not turn the ball over. McCoy is averaging 5.5 yards a carry, but his troubles hanging on to the ball have really hurt.
Damien Williams has also been a bit of disappointment this season. He was expected to have a big role in the offense as the primary pass catcher out of the backfield. Williams has only 215 scrimmage yards on the season, which is a surprise even in the Chiefs’ pass-heavy offense. It makes you wonder what the reason is for his lack of involvement in the offense and whether we could see a change as to who gets more playing time at the running back position.
We could see the Chiefs lean back towards Darrel Williams, who did well in the absence of Damien Williams earlier this season. We could also see rookie Darwin Thompson, who was one of the top players for the Chiefs during the preseason. Thompson has recently got some praise from running backs coach Deland McCullough, so maybe the Chiefs bring Thompson in more against the Vikings to spark the backfield.
