Week 12’s premier 1:00 p.m. ET matchup will take place in Kansas City as the Chiefs welcome the Colts to Arrowhead Stadium.
Indianapolis enters this one with an 8–2 record and winners of five of their last six as they sit atop the AFC South. Running back Jonathan Taylor—who we’ll get to shortly—is an MVP candidate, Shane Steichen may have the inside track to winning Coach of the Year, and Daniel Jones is enjoying a career resurgence that plenty of other quarterbacks his age have seen with a simple change of scenery.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are a lowly 5–5 after dropping their last two games to the Bills and Broncos respectively and, if the season ended today, would be on the outside looking in to the AFC playoff picture. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes hasn't shied away from Kansas City’s recent failures, essentially putting the blame all on himself.
Sunday afternoon’s contest will carry major implications as to who’s in—and who’s out of—the postseason come early January. Here are three bold predictions for Chiefs vs. Colts.
Chiefs will hold Jonathan Taylor to less than 100 yards while keeping him out of the end zone
As mentioned above, Taylor has been on an absolute tear to begin his sixth NFL season, leading the NFL in rushing yards (1,139), rushing touchdowns (15) and yards per carry (6.0) while having yet to put the ball on the ground. The former Wisconsin star is also coming off an all-time performance against the Falcons in Germany that saw him rush for 244 yards and three touchdowns in an overtime win.
On Sunday, however, Taylor and the Colts will face off against one of the better run defenses in football in the Chiefs. Through 10 games, Kansas City is allowing the 10th-fewest rushing yards per game (100.0) and has surrendered a 100-yard rusher just once—limiting the likes of Ashton Jeanty, Jahmyr Gibbs and Saquon Barkley along the way.
That’s why I’m predicting them to stifle Taylor as well, limiting him to less than 100 yards on the ground while preventing him from scoring for just the fourth time this season.
Patrick Mahomes will return to early-season MVP form with a four-touchdown performance
On the flip side, I expect the Chiefs’ offense to get back on track behind a vintage performance from Mahomes.
It’s been a rough go over the past few weeks for the 30-year-old, who has posted two straight sub-80.0 passer ratings for the first time since 2023. However, Kansas City now returns home for the first time in just under a month—where on the year, Mahomes has thrown for 14 touchdowns, run for two more and has posted a passer rating of 113.2.
On Sunday against the Colts, look for the two-time NFL MVP to get back in a groove and account for four (or more) touchdowns against a defense that’s been far more susceptible to giving up points on the road than at home.
Kansas City will take down one of the AFC’s best in three-score route
With predictions of a sub-100-yard game from Taylor and a four-plus touchdown day for Mahomes, I bet you can guess where I’m going with the final score in this one.
At 5–5, there’s a legitimate chance Kansas City could miss the postseason if they don’t get their you-know-what together down the stretch of the season—and I just don’t see that happening with to an Andy Reid-coached, Patrick Mahomes-quarterbacked team.
The Colts, meanwhile, aren’t nearly as desperate for a win as they face their first true test of the 2025 season against a seasoned playoff team. In the end, with their backs against the wall, I’m predicting the Chiefs to win this one by at least three scores on Sunday afternoon—call it a 31–13 victory at Arrowhead.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Chiefs vs. Colts: Three Bold Predictions As Kansas City Looks to Keep Playoff Hopes Alive.
