This appears to be a huge mis-match on paper but I have a feeling that the Chiefs are going to come to play in this game.  Still, the Broncos would have to be looking ahead to get beat by the lowly Chiefs.  The Chiefs are allowing 204.0 yards rushing per game and 5.5 yards per carry this season so look for Selvin Young, Andre Hall and Michael Pittman to all get there fair share of yards tomorrow.  But, the Broncos will likely want to pass to get the lead before running the ball to essentially take Larry Johnson out of the Chiefs’ offensive gameplan.  WRs Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal will be attacking the Chiefs deep while Brandon Stokley and TE Tony Scheffler will be working the short zones for the Broncos.

The Chiefs don’t want to get in a shootout tomorrow as they don’t think they can beat the Broncos at their game.  With that in mind look for the Chiefs to give the ball to Larry Johnson a lot.  In fact he might need a few breathers with rookie Jamaal Charles getting some carries tomorrow.  Still, with Damon Huard starting at QB the Chiefs should be able to throw the ball some against a Broncos’ defense that is allowing a stunning 315.7 yards passing per game this season.

PREDICTION;  DENVER BRONCOS 34, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 20 

The Kansas City Chiefs will be without starting linebacker Donnie Edwards for at least the next two weeks due to a ankle injury.  He has 10 tackles including one of them for a loss so far this season.  The Chiefs are already allowing 204.0 yards rushing per game and 5.5 ypc this season so losing one of their better playmakers will hurt the defense even more.

The Chiefs have decided to go with veteran Damon Huard at QB instead of Tyler Thigpen tomorrow against the Broncos.  Huard has completed 10 of 16 passes (62.5%) for 135 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions (70.6 QB Rating) this season.  But, he’s a far superior player to Tyler Thigpen and that’s without a doubt.  Thigpen has completed 28 of 69 passes (40.6%) for 279 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 interceptions (38.3 QB Rating) this season.  He has also carried the ball 2 times for 24 yards (12.0 ypc) this year.  Huard should start from here on out until at least Brodie Croyle is ready to return to action.  That’s if Herman Edwards still plays to win the game.

Veteran CB Patrick Surtain will miss tomorrow’s game with the Broncos due to a shoulder injury.  He has 6 tackles, a tackle for a loss, a forced fumble and he has defensed two passes this season.  Surtain will be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie CB Brandon Carr.  Carr has 14 tackles including one of them that was for a loss, but he might have trouble keeping up with rookie WR Eddie Royal against the Broncos.

The one thing that came out of the football game yesterday is that the Chiefs really suck as a football team. Tyler Thigpen turned in one of the worst QB performances in recent history for the Chiefs and that’s really saying something. He completed 14 of 36 passes for 128 yards with 1 TD pass and 3 interceptions (one of which was returned 10 yards for a TD by CB Chris Houston of the Falcons). Larry Johnson did get going in this game but it was a little bit too late to get the Chiefs back into this football game. He carried the ball 24 times for 121 yards (5.0 ypc) with 1 TD run. Rookie RB Jamaal Charles got into the action with 38 yards rushing on 7 carries (5.4 ypc) and he also caught 3 passes for 24 yards. WR Dwyane Bowe led the Chiefs in receiving with 43 yards on 4 grabs (10.8 avg) with a TD catch. The Chiefs finished up with 184 yards rushing on 33 carries (5.6 ypc) and they also completed 14 of 36 passes for 117 yards.

The Chiefs’ defense was pathetic in this game as the Falcons did whatever they wanted to on offense. CB Brandon Carr (9 tackles) and DE Turk McBride (6 tackles) led the way for the Chiefs’ “Defense”. The Falcons finished up with 186 yards rushing on 36 carries (5.2 ypc) and they also completed 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards. The Chiefs are 0-3 this season and it looks as if they can plan on picking high in next April’s NFL Draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs will likely play this game very close to the vest on offense.  With Tyler Thigpen making his first career NFL start the Chiefs will likely turn to Larry Johnson a lot in this football game.  Johnson has only rushed for 96 yards on 34 carries (2.8 ypc) this season but the Falcons are allowing 113.0 yards rushing per game and 4.6 yards per carry.  The Falcons will likely try to take the running game away from the Chiefs and make Thigpen beat them through the air.  Chiefs’ QBs have been sacked 9 times already this season so DE John Abraham (4 sacks) of the Falcons must be licking his chops.

The Chiefs are a team that’s custom made for the Falcons to dominate.  The Chiefs are allowing 213.0 yards rushing per game and 5.7 yards per carry and that has to have Michael Turner (262 yards rushing, 7.3 ypc) and Jerious Norwood (111 yards rushing and 5.6 ypc) foaming at the mouth.  Rookie QB Matt Ryan had a rough time against the Bucs’ defense but they are much more formidable than what the Chiefs will put in front of him.

PREDICTION:  ATLANTA FALCONS 27, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 10

The Chiefs played a horrible all around football game and Herman Edwards should be ashamed on his team’s effort in this game.  Damon Huard completed 2 of 4 passes for 17 yards with a interception before leaving the game with mild head trauma.  Tyler Thigpen replaced Huard and he was horrible completing 14 of 33 passes for 151 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Larry Johnson was keyed on by the Raiders’ Defense and he only produced 22 yards rushing on 12 carries (1.8 ypc) in this game.  WR Dwyane Bowe was one of the few Chiefs who came to play in this game as he finished with 90 yards receiving on 6 catches (15.0 avg).  TE Tony Gonzalez pitched in with 5 grabs for 39 yards (7.8 avg) with a TD grab.  The Chiefs finished up with 55 yards rushing on 19 carries (2.9 ypc) and they completed 17 of 38 passes for 135 yards.

The Defense pretty much sucked in this game too for the Chiefs.  DT Tank Tyler (8 tackles) and safety Bernard Pollard (6 tackles, 2 fumble recoveries) came to play…..too bad no one else did on defense.  The Raiders rushed for a stunning 300 yards on 47 carries (6.4 ypc) in this game!  They only completed 6 of 17 passes for 55 yards but they didn’t need to pass against the Chiefs.  The Chiefs should begin looking for a new head coach as they are now 0-2.

These are two fairly evenly matched football teams who will likely prefer to run the ball in this game.  These two teams split last seasons’ series with the Chiefs outscoring the Raiders 30-29.  The Raiders will attack the Chiefs’ defense with the two-headed running attack of Justin Fargas (97 yards rushing) and Darren McFadden (46 yards rushing).  The Chiefs allowed 126 yards rushing against the Patriots last week so the Raiders should have some success on the ground.  To win this game though, the Raiders must trust JaMarcus Russell to throw the ball dowfield to Ashley Lelie, Ronald Curry and Javon Walker.  The Chiefs’ safeties must also keep tabs on TE Zach Miller who is one of Russell’s favorite targets.

The Chiefs will likely be content to feed the rock to Larry Johnson against the Raiders as he has rushed for over 100 yards in all 5 of his starts against them.  With Damon Huard starting at QB the Chiefs might open the offense a tad more than if Brodie Croyle was starting this game.  With that in mind, look for Tony Gonzalez to be effective on the shorter passes and for Dwayne Bowe to stretch the field for the Chiefs.

PREDICTION:  KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 20, OAKLAND RAIDERS 17

The Chiefs have added 25-year old WR Marques Hagans off of the practice squad.  He played in 2 years for the Rams covering 4 games (1 start) in which he caught 8 passes for 101 yards (12.6 avg).  The Chiefs have demoted WR Maurice Price and RB Jackie Battle to the practice squad.  Price didn’t play last season but Battle played in 3 games for the Chiefs last season and he carried the ball 14 times for 47 yards (3.4 ypc) with a TD run.  He also caught 1 pass for 4 yards.  It will be interesting to see how the Chiefs use Hagans who does have some talent.

The Chiefs have signed 26-year old QB Ingle Martin to the practice squad as he will serve as the #3 QB on the Chiefs until Brodie Croyle is ready to return.  He played in all 4 preseason games for the Titans this season and he completed 13 of 25 passes (52%) for 185 yards without a TD pass or a interception (76.2 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 6 times for 18 yards (3.0 ypc).  Martin has only one game of NFL experience in 2006 with the Packers and all he did was kneel on the football 2 times for a loss of 5 yards.  This was a good signing for the Chiefs who had to protect themselves more at QB with Croyle out.