The schedule doesn’t lighten up this week for the Kansas City Chiefs as they host the red-hot Minnesota Vikings, winners of their last four games.
You could argue that the biggest key of this game for the Chiefs is simply to get healthy. Kansas City has a lot of players listed as questionable for this game who will likely be game-time decisions. Regardless of who plays, the NFL is an unforgiving league, and the Chiefs have to find a way to get a win.
Here are the keys to a Chiefs victory over the Vikings:
Jump out to an early lead
The Vikings aren’t built to come from behind. They need to establish the running game and play ball-control offense to be successful. Quarterback Kirk Cousins is at his best when thriving off play-action in a clean pocket.
If Cousins has to put the offense on his back and throw the ball all over the field, it could result in multiple turnovers for the Kansas City defense. The goal should be to jump out to an early lead and force the Vikings to get out of their comfort zone.
Increase WR Mecole Hardman’s snaps
In last week’s game, Hardman played just nine offensive snaps despite making two big plays and scoring a touchdown. He is averaging 18.7 yards per reception and is getting more comfortable within the offense each week. He has also been very productive in the return game, averaging 22.8 yards per return.
Hardman has yet to be consistently targeted throughout an entire game. The most targets he has received in a game so far is six, and he has just five combined targets in his last two games. It’s time the Chiefs increase his volume and see if he can take over a game.
Get the ball out of the QB’s hands quickly
The Chiefs will be without starting guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and starting left tackle Eric Fisher. To make matters worse, the Vikings have an excellent pair of pass-rushing defensive ends: Danielle Hunter and Everson Griffen.
Whether it’s Patrick Mahomes or Matt Moore who starts at quarterback for the Chiefs, this probably isn’t the best game to do a lot of seven-step drops and scan the field for very long. Staying in shotgun and making quick reads will offset the Minnesota pass rush. The Vikings’ cornerbacks have struggled this season and haven’t faced the type of speed that K.C. has at wide receiver.
Be aggressive in late-game situations
Coach Andy Reid faced a lot of criticism for punting the ball on fourth-and-3 last week on the offense’s final possession. Of course, the Chiefs never got the ball back as the Green Bay Packers bled out the clock to end the game.
Even though the Chiefs’ defense played well at times last week, it was clearly gassed at the end of the game due to being on the field for the majority of the second half. As an offensive-minded coach who has a plethora of playmakers, Reid needs to trust his offense more and play to win rather than playing not to lose.
Force negative plays
The Chiefs defense has played more aggressively as of late, and it has paid off. Over the past two weeks, it has 49 QB pressures and 14 sacks, the most in the league. It isn’t a powerhouse unit and won’t be this season, but K.C. is finding an identity on defense and is helping the offense out more often.
Dalvin Cook is one of the best running backs in the NFL and is sure to get a big workload in this game. He’s going to inevitably break off some impressive runs and rack up yardage, but if the Chiefs defense can get a few run stops during crucial moments it will pay dividends. Getting after Kirk Cousins on second- and third-and-long situations can help force turnovers.
