The Chiefs have a chance to be a big time spoiler tomorrow against the Broncos in Denver.  The Broncos can make the playoffs with a win tomorrow, which would clinch the AFC West.  But, the Broncos have lost two games in a row by a combined score of 81-37!  The Broncos beat the Chiefs 17-10 earlier this year in Kansas City. Don’t forget that Kyle Orton is going to be plenty motivated to stick it to his old team tomorrow.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are likely to come out running the ball early in this game with Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster getting most of the work against a Broncos’ D that is allowing 127.7 yards rushing per game and 4.2 yards per carry so far this year.  Make no mistake though, the Chiefs are going to let Kyle Orton attack the Broncos’ secondary a lot in this game.  If the O-Line gives Orton time to throw the ball, he’s going to be very effective in getting the ball to WRs Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and Jonathan Baldwin as the Broncos are giving up 235.3 yards passing per game so far this year.

When the Broncos have the ball:  In the first matchup between these two teams, the Broncos rushed for 244 yards and completed only two passes.  Look for the Chiefs to focus on stopping the run and force Tim Tebow to beat them with his left arm.  Willis McGahee and Tim Tebow have combined to rush for 1,698 yards so far this year, so the front seven is going to have their hands full trying to stop them from running the ball.  The Chiefs should double cover WR Demaryius Thomas the whole game and force Tebow to beat them by throwing to someone else tomorrow.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 23, BRONCOS 17

The Kansas City Chiefs are sending 28-year old OLB Tamba Hali and 29-year old inside linebacker Derrick Johnson to the Pro Bowl.  Hali has played in 15 games for the Chiefs this year and he has 62 tackles, 12 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 4 tackles for a loss.  Johnson has played in 15 games for the Chiefs so far this year and he has 126 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 interceptions and 9 passes defensed.  Both of these guys have really stepped up their games since the arrival of Romeo Crennel as the defensive co-ordinator a couple of years ago.

The Raiders dumped the Chiefs in O.T. last weekend.  Kyle Orton completed 21 of 36 passes for 300 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 INTs.  Jackie Battle led the way for the Chiefs on the ground with 56 yards rushing on 14 carries (4.0 ypc).  Thomas Jones pitched in with 11 carries for 51 yards (4.6 ypc).  Dexter McCluster was busy as he carried the ball 3 times for 15 yards (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 89 yards (17.8 avg) in this game.  WR Dwayne Bowe led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs with 6 receptions for 80 yards (13.3 avg) and a TD.  WRs Terrance Copper (3 rec, 61 yards) and Steve Breaston (4 rec, 41 yards) also pitched in for the Chiefs in the passing game.  The Chiefs finished up with 135 yards rushing on 30 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 36 passes (58.3%) for 300 yards as they had possession of the ball for 32:39.  Ryan Succop got a chance to win this game as time expired but he had his 49-yard field goal attempt blocked by DE Trevor Scott, and the Chiefs never got the ball back.

The defense played great until O.T. for the Chiefs.  LBs Derrick Johnson (7 tackles, 2 passes defensed and 1 interception) and Tamba Hali (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Chiefs on D in this game.  CB Javier Arenas pitched in with 2 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception.  The Raiders finished up with 71 yards rushing on 25 carries (2.8 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 26 passes (61.5%) for 237 yards.  The Chiefs are now 6-9 on the season.

The Chiefs looked good in Romeo Crennel’s first game in charge as they beat the Packers last weekend at Arrowhead Stadium.  Believe it or not….the Chiefs can still win the AFC West, so this is a huge game for them.  They thumped the Raiders 28-0 in Oakland in the first meeting between these two teams this year.  The Raiders have lost three games in a row in which they have given up 108 points.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are going to be a power running team with Crennel in charge.  That means that Jackie Battle and Thomas Jones are going to be pounding away at the interior of the Raiders’ D.  They should have success as the Raiders are giving up 135.0 yards rushing per game and a stunning 5.1 yards per carry.  The Raiders have 39 sacks and they blitz when they get off the team bus, but if the Chiefs can give Kyle Orton time to throw….he’s going to have a big game.  Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston are going to give the Raiders’ corners fits tomorrow.

When the Raiders have the ball:  The Raiders are going to come out running the ball with Michael Bush.  But, they are also going to be throwing the ball deep too.  The Chiefs picked off Raiders’ QBs six times in the first matchup between these two teams.  The Chiefs need to get some pressure on Carson Palmer, because he will throw the ball to the Chiefs’ if they hit him hard early in the game.  The Raiders do have incredible speed at WR, so the safeties better be ready to help the corners.

PREDICTION:  CHIEFS 27, RAIDERS 20

The Chiefs looked like a new team today with Romeo Crennel making his debut as the head coach and Kyle Orton getting his first start at QB.  Orton completed 23 of 31 passes for 299 yards without a  TD pass or INT.  Thomas Jones led the way on the ground for the Chiefs today with 48 yards rushing on 15 carries (3.2 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 27 yards.  Jackie Battle pitched in with 37 yards rushing on 10 carries with 1 TD run.  Le’Ron McClain pitched in with 20 yards rushing on 4 carries (5.0 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 26 yards (6.5 avg) today.  TE Leonard Pope (2 rec, 72 yards), WR Steve Breaston (4 receptions for 50 yards and 1 carry for 25 yards) and WR Dwayne Bowe (4 rec, 49 yards) led the way in the passing game today.  The Chiefs finished up with 139 yards rushing on 39 carries (3.6 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 31 passes (74.2%) for 299 yards as they had possession of the ball for 36:11.

The defense gave an outstanding team effort today.  LB Derrick Johnson (7 tackles and 1 pass defensed) and OLB Tamba Hali (4 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits) led the way on D for the Chiefs today.  The Packers finished up with 102 yards rushing on 18 carries (5.7 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 35 passes (48.6%) for 213 yards in this game.  The Chiefs are now 6-8 on the year.

The Chiefs got thumped 37-10 last weekend by the Jets, but they will be a different team this weekend.  That is because Romeo Crennel in the new head coach and Kyle Orton is his new starting QB.  The Packers are rolling, but they will be without top WR Greg Jennings this weekend.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  Romeo Crennel has stated that he wants the offense to be more run oriented and that’s likely a smart move.  Jackie Battle, Thomas Jones and Dexter McCluster will try to get the running game going against a Packers’ D that is allowing 106.0 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry.  The Packers are giving up 288.5 yards passing per game so far this year, so Kyle Orton should be able to make some plays down the field to Dwayne Bowe, Steve Breaston and Jonathan Baldwin.  He will have to be careful though as the Packers already have 27 interceptions so far this year.

When the Packers have the ball:  The Packers are going to come out throwing the ball with all guns blazing.  The Chiefs should blitz more than usual in an attempt to screw up Aaron Rodgers’ timing.  Sure, he will be without WR Greg Jennings, but the Packers have a lot of other weapons in the passing game.  WR Jordy Nelson, TE Jermichael Finley, WR James Jones, WR Donald Driver and rookie WR Randall Cobb give the Packers a lot of weapons for the Chiefs’ secondary to deal with.  RB Ryan Grant gives the Packers a nice boost on ground support.

PREDICTION:  PACKERS 31, CHIEFS 20

The first thing new head coach Romeo Crennel has done is bench 28-year old QB Tyler Palko.  Palko has played in six games for the Chiefs so far this year and he has completed 80 of 134 passes (59.7%) for 796 yards with 2 TD passes and 7 INTs (59.8 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 5 times for 15 yards (3.0 ypc) so far this year.  Crennel is going to go with 29-year old Kyle Orton (health permitting) or rookie 24-year old Ricky Stanzi at QB against the Packers this Sunday.  Orton has played in 6 games so far this year for the Chiefs & Broncos and he has completed 91 of 156 (58.3%) passes for 979 yards with 8 TD passes and 7 INTs (75.2 QB Rating).  Orton has also carried the ball 5 times for 17 yards (3.4 ypc) so far this year.  Ricky Stanzi was a fifth round pick out of Iowa in last April’s NFL Draft.  He has yet to make his NFL debut.

The Chiefs have fired 44-year old head coach Todd Haley.  The Chiefs are 5-8 so far this year and they are only averaging 13.3 points per game while allowing 23.5 points per game.  Haley is supposed to be a good offensive coach, but the Chiefs have been pathetic this year, which likely made this decision really an easy one for Chiefs’ management.  Haley finishes his career with a 19-26 (42.2%) during the regular season in his three years in charge of the Chiefs.  He was also 0-1 in the playoffs.  64-year old Romeo Crennel will take over as the Chiefs’ interim head coach.  Crennel has a 24-40 (37.5%) record as a NFL head coach (four years with the Browns).

The Chiefs never had much of a chance yesterday as the Jets kicked their butts.  Tyler Palko completed 16 of 32 passes for 195 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 12 yards in this game.  Jackie Battle led the way on the ground for the Chiefs with 33 yards rushing on 10 carries (3.3 ypc) and he also caught 2 passes for 26 yards (13.0 avg).  Thomas Jones pitched in with 12 yards rushing on 5 carries (2.4 ypc).  WRs Dwayne Bowe (6 rec, 69 yards), Steve Breaston (4 rec, 44 yards) and Jerheme Urban (2 rec, 28 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Chiefs.  The Chiefs finished up with 65 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 16 of 32 passes (50%) for 156 yards as they had possession of the ball for only 22:18.

The defense did the best that they could as they were clearly overmatched.  LB Derrick Johnson led the way for the Chiefs yesterday with 12 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  DE Glenn Dorsey (9 tackles), DE Tyson Jackson (8 tackles and 1 tackle for a loss) and OLB Tamba Hali (7 tackles and 1 sack) also played solid football yesterday.  The Jets finished up with 159 yards rushing on 42 carries (3.8 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 21 passes (61.9%) for 155 yards.  The Chiefs are now 5-8 on the year.

The Kansas City Chiefs broke a 4-game losing streak last weekend in beating the Bears 10-3 in Chicago.  The Chiefs have only given up 16 points the last two weeks and they are going to need another big time effort on that side of the ball to have any chance of an upset win over the Jets.  The Jets have won two games in a row and they really need this one to stay in the playoff race in the AFC.  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Chiefs have the ball:  The Chiefs are going to come out running the ball this Sunday.  Look for Dexter McCluster, Thomas Jones and Jackie Battle to handle the workload against the Jets’ D, which is allowing 112.9 yards rushing per game and 3.9 yards per carry so far this year.  The Chiefs want to be ballhogs, if possible this Sunday in New Jersey.  Tyler Palko will likely have time to throw the ball this Sunday, the problem is that his favorite WR Dwayne Bowe is going to he locked up against CB Darrelle Revis.  Opposing QBs only have a 69.0 Rating against the Jets this year, so Palko is going to have to protect the football this weekend.

When the Jets have the ball:  The Jets are getting back to be a run first team and I look for that to continue this weekend.  The Chiefs are going to have to try to stop Jets’ RB Shonn Greene and he’s a power back.  The front seven is going to have to tighten up the chinstraps this weekend.  The Chiefs are going to have to get after Jets’ QB Mark Sanchez, as he is prone to making mistakes when under a heavy pass rush.  The Jets do have solid receivers in Santonio Holmes, Plaxico Burress and TE Dustin Keller, so the Chiefs’ secondary is going to have to step up this weekend.

PREDICTION:  JETS 16, CHIEFS 6