Kansas City Chiefs: Predicting results of every game in 2019
Week 5 – Kansas City Chiefs vs Indianapolis Colts (SNF) (Chris)
Before the sudden preseason retirement of quarterback Andrew Luck, the Indianapolis Colts looked to be a top challenger to the Chiefs in the AFC. With Luck no longer in the picture, the road to the Super Bowl seems to be slightly easier for Kansas City.
That’s not to say that the Colts will be a pushover in week five. In recent years, the Colts have been building a team that’s bigger than their now-retired star quarterback.
In place of Luck, the Colts turn to their backup in Jacoby Brissett, a former third-round draft pick by the Patriots in 2016. After playing two games during Tom Brady’s suspension in 2016, he started 15 games for the Colts when Luck was out for the season in 2017.
While Brissett may not be a star, he does have a chance to make something special out of the opportunity he has in Indianapolis. He may be a backup-caliber quarterback but he’ll still be surrounded by a decent supporting cast.
Losing Luck to retirement was a heavy blow to the Colts organization, but all is not lost. Under the leadership of former Chiefs’ front office executive, Chris Ballard, the Colts have steadily built a team that can compete.
Under Ballard, the team has hired a Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator as their head coach, built one of the league’s better offensive lines, and established a formidable defense. Add to this a decent receiving corps and an up-and-coming running back, the Colts could continue to ascend as an AFC power.
The week five matchup between the Chiefs and Colts may not hold the same weight that it did prior to Luck’s retirement, but Kansas City still cannot afford to overlook this game. This primetime game will put Mahomes and the Chiefs’ top flight offense on full display.
Not only will this game at Arrowhead generate a lot of excitement for Chiefs Kingdom, but it will give the rest of the world a glimpse of a Super Bowl contender. This Chiefs team is built to perform under the big lights.
PREDICTION: Not even a third of the way through the season, the Colts will still be trying to find their way with Jacoby Brissett under center. The game will be played in front of a fired-up Sunday night crowd at Arrowhead, which only makes matters worse for Brissett.
Kansas City’s offense will simply be too much for Indy, no matter how good their defense may be. This game will turn out to be a continuation of the divisional game played at Arrowhead last January.
Chiefs 35, Colts 17
STANDOUT PLAYER: Chris Jones will find extra motivation from a rowdy Sunday night crowd. He’ll take advantage of the confusion created by the noise at Arrowhead and tally three sacks and also recover a fumble deep in Indy territory.