KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (4-5)
AT
INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (7-2)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2007 – 12:00 PM (CENTRAL)
RCA DOME – INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA
TV: CBS Regional Coverage (KCTV-5 in Kansas City) – Gus Johnson and Steve Tasker.
RADIO: KCFX-FM (101.1) List of Affiliates – Mitch Holthus, Len Dawson, Bob Gretz and Bill Grigsby.
Complete 16 page release (PDF)
THE MATCH-UP
The Chiefs will make their first regular season appearance at the RCA Dome since ‘99 as Kansas City visits Indianapolis. The contest will mark the second time in the 2007 calendar year that Herm Edwards has led his Chiefs squad to the Hoosier State after suffering a 23-8 loss in an AFC Wild Card Game (1/6/07). Edwards will square off against a Tony Dungy-coached squad for the initial time in the regular season since the Colts won a 38-31 decision vs. the N.Y. Jets (11/16/03).
Kansas City will face the unenviable task of attempting to upend the defending Super Bowl champions on their home turf. Indianapolis boasts a 35-9 (.795) regular season home record under Dungy, tying the Patriots for the best mark in the league since 2002. The Colts did suffer a 24-20 loss vs. New England (11/4) in their last home contest, but have yet to drop back-to-back games at the RCA Dome under Dungy’s guidance.
Despite losing two straight contests at Arrowhead, the Chiefs are still in the thick of the AFC West title chase with a 4-5 record and are just one game behind San Diego (5-4). Kansas City is coming off of a 27-11 setback vs. Denver (11/11) and hopes to avoid a three-game losing streak for just the second time under Edwards. The Colts are atop the AFC South standings with a 7-2 record and enter this week’s game after a 23-21 loss at San Diego (11/11). The Colts have also lost two straight contests, but have not dropped three games in a row since the 2002 campaign.
Kansas City has won its last two road games and will be attempting to win a third consecutive road contest for the first time since winning four straight away from home in 2003. Kansas City is still seeking its initial victory at the RCA Dome where the club is 0-4 all-time (0-3 regular season, 0-1 postseason). The franchise’s last road victory against the Colts was a 38-28 decision at Baltimore (12/21/80).
Chiefs DE Jared Allen leads the NFL with 9.5 sacks and is on pace to finish the year with 16.5 QB takedowns which would be the highest tally by a KC player since the late LB Derrick Thomas led the NFL with a franchise-record 20.0 QB takedowns in ‘90.
Up next for the Chiefs are back-to-back home dates against AFC West foes Oakland (11/25) and San Diego (12/2). Indianapolis visits Atlanta next week on Thanksgiving night (11/22).
THE SERIES
Since the AFL-NFL merger in ‘70, Kansas City and Indianapolis have squared off 18 times in regular and postseason play, with the Colts holding an 11-7-0 advantage. In regular season action, the Colts hold an 8-7 edge against Kansas City. Indianapolis also owns victories in all three of the postseason meetings between the teams, a 10-7 victory at Arrowhead in a ‘95 AFC Divisional Playoff Game (1/7/96), a 38-31 win at Arrowhead in a 2003 AFC Divisional Playoff Game (1/11/04) and a 23-8 victory at the RCA Dome in a 2006 AFC Wild Card Game (1/6/07). The Chiefs won the most recent regular season meeting between the two clubs by a 45-35 count at Arrowhead (10/31/04).
Kansas City posted a 5-3 record against the Colts while they were stationed in Baltimore, but has just a 2-8 mark against them since the franchise relocated to Indianapolis in ‘84. Kansas City claimed a 20-7 win in the team’s first-ever meeting against the Indianapolis incarnation of the Colts on 11/24/85 and snapped a six-game losing streak against the franchise in 2004. The Chiefs are 0-4 on the road against the Colts since the team relocated to Indianapolis. In addition to a 23-8 win in last season’s AFC Wild Card Game at Indianapolis (1/6/07), the Colts also won the last regular season meeting at the RCA Dome by a 25-17 count (11/7/99).
The two AFC Divisional Playoff tilts in this series at Arrowhead are unquestionably the most memorable contests in Chiefs-Colts history. In both 2003 and ‘95, the Chiefs had a 13-3 campaign derailed by Indianapolis. For only the third time in NFL postseason history, neither team was forced to punt as the Colts registered a 38-31 victory (1/11/04) despite a 92-yard KOR TD from WR Dante Hall and a franchise playoff record 176 rushing yards from RB Priest Holmes. Three Kansas City interceptions and three missed FGs doomed the Chiefs to a 10-7 setback (1/7/96) in a contest played with a -9 windchill as the Colts advanced to the AFC Championship Game at Pittsburgh (1/14/96) to come within a game of Super Bowl XXX.
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