The Kansas City Chiefs will meet the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium for the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs. You always hear teams are built for the playoffs but that appears to be the case with the Chiefs. They match up against most teams well because of their potent rushing attack and they'll get no bigger test than when the Ravens front seven comes to town.
There are reasons to believe the Chiefs can win this game. Their rushing game, if it can get going, will make this a close game without a doubt. The Chiefs, when they run the ball well, are truly one of the best teams in the NFL. The problem is that, if you shut down the run, they become one-dimensional and very beatable.
So how will the Chiefs respond in this game?
I'm predicting a Chiefs victory. Yeah, I'm a homer and picking the Chiefs is what I do but this one isn't that hard to see. If the Chiefs have any semblance of a rushing game, they will have opportunities to hurt the Ravens in the passing game. As they cheat to stop the run, Cassel absolutely has to hit his receivers. If he's on target, then the Chiefs have clearly shown they can put up points in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Ravens aren't fazed by going on the road in the playoffs as they've played five playoff road games in the last two years and won three of them.
The Ravens are three point favorites but I'm going to predict a Chiefs victory -- 20-17.