Chiefs Host Vikings, Week 9, OPEN THREAD

Chiefs Host Vikings, Week 9, OPEN THREAD – so, here we go again, as the game last week was a rematch of Super Bowl I and this week is a rematch of Super Bowl IV with the Minnesota Vikings coming to town. If past events hold to form, the CHiefs should win this one. Actually, it’s a bit odd to me that there are those pointing out that this is a re-match of that January 1970 game because so much time has lapsed that there’s is nothing except team names that resemble SB IV.

Injury Reports

The first question on everyone’s mind is: who are the Kansas City Chiefs? Meaning, who will play today? Sl, let’s take a look at the

There’s still no word yet (late Saturday night) about whether or not Patrick Mahomes will start but I’m doubting it. From the Injury Report above I’m more concerned about the interior of the Chiefs OL without Laurent Duvernay-Tardif available at Right Guard. Left tackle has already been a concern with Cam Erving stepping in for Eric Fisher. It looks like it will be another week before Fisher is ready to go but even if Patrick Mahomes can start this week, the absence of LDT is huge. Martinas Rankin has done a good job at Left Guard so that’s a positive but Center has not been a stable position with Austin Reiter manning the middle.

The Vikings are at near full strength with the possible exception of WR Adam Thielen. He’s been a participant at the Vikes practices this week…

… so it’s still hard to measure if his hamstring will be ready for him to play at 100%. It’s important for the Chiefs to know because if he’s unable to go the Chiefs DBs can focus on their other start WR Stefon Diggs and if they can take QB Kirk Cousins’ two main targets out of the game, it gives the Chiefs D a massive leg up.

The Chiefs Game Plan

Taking away Cousins’ two main targets would be incredible but with RB Dalvin Cook leading the league in rushing with 823 yards the Chiefs main goal must be to slow their running game down. Notice I didn’t say STOP the run because I don;t think that’s a realistic possibility so if they can keep Cook under 100 yards and/or down to one or fewer TDs, it’ll be a great feat.

A big advantage for the Chiefs D is that Kirk Cousins is not Lamar Jackson. He rarely escapes the pocket and makes positive yards out of it. Cousins has 39 rushing yards this year so if he’s anything like Joe Flacco, the DL may end up with a goodly number of sacks again. They’ll need to come up with those sacks if the teams hopes to win today.

The Minnesota Vikings haven’t beaten a team with a winning record this season so the Chiefs should find themselves right in the thick of this game even if they have to start back Matt Moore at QB.

The Vikings Defense is a good one and their front is formidable. Whether it’s Moore or Mahomes, the Chiefs QB will need to get the ball out of his hands in a hurry.

Weather Report

It looks like another perfect day for football. Here’s the weather report for noon today:

Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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