Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 2, 2014 http://hosted.stats.com/fb/preview.asp?g=20140104011&home=11&vis=12 (AP) -- The Indianapolis Colts think they're playing their best football at the perfect time. The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping to finally be healthy when it matters most. They'll meet for the second time in three weeks Saturday at Indianapolis in an AFC wild-card game. The Colts (11-5) have won three straight while allowing 20 points, including a 23-7 victory at Kansas City on Dec. 22. "I think if you check the last six Super Bowl winners, they got hot at the right time," Indianapolis defensive end Robert Mathis said. "That's what it's all about, getting hot at the right time." The Chiefs (11-5) have lost two in a row, but they approached Week 17 cautiously and now expect to have wide receiver Dwayne Bowe (concussion), linebacker Justin Houston (dislocated elbow) and left tackle Braden Albert (hyperextended knee) as they try to end a seven-game playoff losing streak. However, the status of linebacker Tamba Hali (knee) is up in the air, and right tackle Eric Fisher could miss this game due to a strained groin. "It's the start of a new season. That's how the playoffs work," coach Andy Reid said. "You're in the dance, as they say. It's another phase of the season. You've worked very hard as a team to get into this position. Now it's important that you exhaust yourself to make sure you're right." A 30-10 win over Jacksonville on Sunday closed out the Colts' regular season on a high note. Andrew Luck completed 26 of 37 for 282 yards and a touchdown, finishing his sophomore regular season with 23 TDs for the second straight year while cutting his interceptions in half to nine. That followed their Week 16 win over the Chiefs in which Luck improved to 2-0 against Kansas City. He went 26 of 37 for 241 yards while counterpart Alex Smith was 16 for 28 for 153 yards and an interception. Kansas City missed out on the AFC West title and a first-round bye with its late-season struggles, though some of its key players had a designed week off in Sunday's 27-24 loss at San Diego. Smith was among them. "Obviously, guys are going to be feeling pretty fresh, so that's a good thing," Smith said. "It will really help us as far as the week goes, having a great week of preparation." Prior to the loss to the Colts, Smith had thrown seven TDs without an interception in wins at Washington and Oakland. The Chiefs went 6-1 on the road with Smith at quarterback this year, and he threw 11 TDs and one pick in those games. He now gets another shot at a Colts defense that forced eight turnovers in the last three games while allowing nine third-down conversions in 37 chances. The defensive efficiency hasn't been there all season, and the team now looks back at a players meeting during the second half of the season as a turning point. "It was an important moment for us as a defensive unit, and the results are where they are now. We finished December strong," end Cory Redding told the team's official website. "It was basically just coming together, putting things out on the table as a unit. Get anything that's going to hold us back from achieving our goal out in the open and, 'Let's talk about it, let's hash it out and let's get to playing football fun and together as a unit.' That's what we did." Kansas City's defense had a stronger start, leading the Chiefs to a 9-0 start before injuries and inconsistency settled in as the team lost five of its last seven. It allowed 12.3 points per game in its first nine and 27.7 in the last seven. The Chiefs know the Colts offense doesn't cause itself many problems, yielding a league-low 14 turnovers. Kansas City was tied for second with 18, four of which came against Indianapolis. "That's a challenge I think both ways - both offensively and defensively," Reid said. "(The Colts are) efficient with the ball, they don't have a lot of penalties that are called against them and they don't turn the ball over much. That's this time of the year, you've got to eliminate mistakes. Mistakes get magnified in the playoffs." The Chiefs haven't won a playoff game since the 1993 season, with three losses during their postseason skid coming against the Colts. Indianapolis has dropped three straight in the postseason after last season's 24-9 wild-card loss to eventual Super Bowl champion Baltimore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thanatos 2,847 Posted January 3, 2014 KC rolls into town and falls flat. 16 27 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted January 3, 2014 Chiefs have a propensity for falling flat in these playoff games. I like Andrew Luck to win his first playoff game in a sort of close game. 24 17 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 4, 2014 Chiefs OLB Tamba Hali (knee) is active for Saturday's Wild Card game against the Colts. Hali was cleared to return after making it through pre-game wamups without any setbacks. It's the first time in five weeks that the Chiefs will have both Hali and Justin Houston (elbow) healthy. Kansas City's inactives are QB Tyler Bray, OT Eric Fisher, LB Dezman Moses, TE Richard Gordon, DT Jerrell Powe, C Eric Kush, and OL Rokevious Watkins. Colts RCB Vontae Davis (groin) is active for Saturday's Wild Card game against the Chiefs. Davis suffered a groin injury in Week 17 and will likely be playing at less than 100 percent. Greg Toler (groin) and Darius Butler (hip) are also active, as expected. Inactive for the Colts are CB Cassius Vaughn, TE Weslye Saunders, DB Sheldon Price, OLB Daniel Adongo, C Khaled Holmes, LG Joe Reitz,and DT Fili Moala. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted January 4, 2014 Like any playoff game, I can see this one going either way, but I'm on board the Chiefs-can't-beat-playoff-teams bandwagon. Close first half, Andrew Luck makes the difference in the second half 24 13 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 5, 2014 Looks like I shouldn't have put my faith in KC for this game. Granted, they lost pretty much every defensive player they had to injury, but come on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted January 5, 2014 injuries were absolutely brutal for the Chiefs in that one, I really think that game comes out differently if Charles doesn't get hurt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241 Posted January 5, 2014 Fitting ending for the Chiefs... That one is on Bowe though, he's gotta run inside the hashes on that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted January 5, 2014 Like any playoff game, I can see this one going either way, but I'm on board the Chiefs-can't-beat-playoff-teams bandwagon. Close first half, Andrew Luck makes the difference in the second half 24 13 Like I said, defensive game without a lot of scoring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vin+ 3,121 Posted January 5, 2014 https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/419649729266712576 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted January 5, 2014 Way to let your fans down Chiefs. What an awful game by a fraud franchise. Smh. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
