The Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers will meet on Thursday night at 7 p.m. (CDT) in Arrowhead Stadium for the final preseason game.
There are a lot of keys for the Chiefs in this game less than two weeks from the regular season opener. Here are three things the Chiefs should hope to accomplish in this game.
Staying healthy: This is the number one key to the game. The Chiefs can play horrible and if they come out completely healthy, then there will be a slight victory in there. No short-term injuries that will affect a player for Monday Night Football on Sept. 13 and certainly no long-term injuries. Either would be devastating to the Chiefs, who have little depth.
Starting fast: The Chiefs have been talking about starting fast for what seems like 20 months now. Oh. Wait. It has been 20 months since they've been saying that. The first team offense will likely only play a few series (if that) but they still need to score a touchdown. The defense isn't quite there yet so the Chiefs do need points from the offense. And they need to come early.
Controlling special teams: This is an important one that you wouldn't normally think about. The Chiefs players in the second, third and fourth quarter will probably be made up of guys that are going to need special teams to make the team. Those are usually backups -- your third inside linebacker, fifth safety, etc. That's why they need to dominate special teams in this game. That's what those guys are going to be making their money on in 2010, if they make the team, so they should be very good at it.