Kansas City Chiefs |
Saturday, January 4, 2012 - 4:35 PM ET |
Indianapolis Colts |
||
 |
AVG. YDS (RNK) |
TEAM CATEGORY |
AVG. YDS (RNK) |
 |
| 208.8 (24th) | Pass Off. | 232.8 (17th) | ||
| 128.5 (10th) | Rush Off. | 108.9 (20th) | ||
| 247.6 (25th) | Pass Def. | 231.9 (13th) | ||
| 120.2 (21st) | Rush Def. | 125.1 (25th) | ||
| 11-5 | Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana | 11-5 | ||
| 5th Seed | Spread: Colts -2.5 | 4th Seed | ||
Rematches of non-divisional rivals in the playoffs are always interesting because the public in general tends to pound the team that won in the regular season rather hard in Vegas, but the team who lost in the regular season end up playing rather well in the eventual rematch.
WalterFootball.com broke it down rather nicely this week, since three of the four Wild Card games feature rematches between non-divisional opponents. Straight up, the regular season winner is 36-29 in the eventual rematch, but the true tale is that the winner is 24-40 against the spread. That said, Walter pointed noted that out of all the rematches, the Colts have the best odds to come out on the right side in this game.
I disagree, actually. The reason I think the Chiefs might upset the Colts this weekend is how players on each of the teams are talking. Words convey attitude and one of these two teams is confident they will move on, while the other is completely focused on the game at hand.
I think if you check the last six Super Bowl winners, they got hot at the right time. That's what it's all about, getting hot at the right time.
While this is true of any team that goes on to win the Super Bowl, what I took from this is that Robert Mathis and his teammates are already thinking about games beyond this weekends game. As Bronco fans, we all know how that kind of mentality plays out on the football field in January.
Andy Reid is no stranger to January football and he appears to be doing a better job keeping his players focus on the game at hand, than Chuck Pagano.
MHR Hot Reads
Obviously, guys are going to be feeling pretty fresh, so that's a good thing. It will really help us as far as the week goes, having a great week of preparation.
The one caveat that is keeping me from coming out and predicting a Kansas City victory is the fact that this franchise has not won a playoff game in 20 years - not since Joe Montana and Marcus Allen were leading the offense. Plus, the porous defense, that was once considered 1985 Bears-like, is ranked near the bottom of the league in yards and they are now giving up points as well.
In a twist of irony, the post season drought was mostly caused by these same Indianapolis Colts. The two of their three post season defeats since 1993 came against Peyton Manning when he was the signal caller for the Colts.
Since this is a game preview, I guess a prediction must be made. I really do feel like the Chiefs have a good chance to come out on top, but with a close call such as this you have to go with the team with the better quarterback. There is little doubt in my mind that Andrew Luck is far superior under pressure than Alex Smith, so I think the Denver Broncos will face either the Colts or San Diego Chargers in 10 days.
Colts 23, Chiefs 20