Kansas City Chiefs vs Carolina Panthers - Matchups to Watch
The Chiefs are 1-3 and would love to come out with a second straight win. Here are some of the matchups they would have to win in order for this to happen.
Chiefs Offense Line vs Carolina Defensive Line: As you can tell from one of my latest articles, Top 5 Reasons to Believe in the Young Chiefs, I think the Chiefs offensive line is on the rise. This line has given up 12 sacks this year, but only 3 in the last two games combined. The Panthers are ranked 19th in the league with 7 sacks, which is really just middle of the pack, but 5 of those sacks have come in the last two games. With both lines playing their best the last two games this should be a great matchup to watch.
Chiefs Running Game vs Panthers Rush Defense:The Chiefs’ running game, particularly Larry Johnson, has really been picking up stream lately and this matchup could be one of the main deciding factors of the game. The Chiefs are currently averaging 4.9 yards per attempt (7th in NFL) and 138.5 rushing yards per game (also good for 7th in the NFL). The Panthers are allowing 4.1 yards per carry (15th) on average along with 114.2 yards per game (19th). On paper this match up looks like it could go to the Chiefs.
Carolina Running Game vs Chiefs Rush Defense: This is a matchup that has the potential to be bad for the Chiefs. The Chiefs are giving up an average of 5.3 yards per rushing attempt (29th in the league) and are also allowing an average of 176.5 yards per game on the ground. Carolina likes to run the ball but thier rushing offense does not blow you away, as the Panthers are averaging 3.6 yards per attempt (19th in NFL) and 102.5 yards per game (also 19th in NFL).
Carolina WRs vs Chiefs Secondary: With the possibility that CB Pat Surtain might be out again this week the Chiefs could be forced to start the two rookie Brandons’ again, and this may not be a bad thing. Last week the young cornerbacks (Brandon Carr and Brandon Flowers) did a very good job aginast a very good Denver WR crew (the numbers don’t do this justice as quite a few of those catches and yards was when Denver was playing catchup). But, with all of that said these young CB’s, along with 3rd year saefties Jarrad Page and Bernard Pollard, will have their hands full containing the elusive Steve Smith and comeback kid Muhsin Muhammad.
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