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The Chiefs know their first playoff game will kick off at noon on Sunday, Jan. 11. Now they just need an opponent.
While players take off the pads for some rest this week and the coaching staff
begins plotting postseason strategy, the Indianapolis Colts, Tennessee Titans
and Baltimore Ravens will battle it out for the right to play the Chiefs.
If the Colts win a wild-card game over the Broncos, they will face the Chiefs. If the Broncos win, they will go to top-seeded New England, and the Titans-Ravens winner will come to Arrowhead Stadium.
On one hand, preparing for three possible opponents can be a time-consuming
task. On the other, it sure beats having to play three straight games just to
have a shot at winning a Super Bowl.
Only seven AFC wild-card teams have advanced to the Super Bowl, and the 1985
Patriots were the only team in NFL history to win three road playoff games before
advancing to the Super Bowl. No NFC wild-card team has ever advanced to the
Super Bowl.
"There are some who say a bye isn't a good thing, that it can cause you
to lose momentum," Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil said. "But I think I
speak for our players and coaches in saying that we appreciate the bye."
On Monday, Vermeil and his coordinators split up duties for breaking down the
three potential opponents while also keeping tabs on the Patriots and Broncos
in the event of an AFC championship game meeting.
As an example, tight ends coach Keith Rowan may concentrate on studying each
team's blitz schemes so that when the Chiefs take the field for serious preparation
next week, they will have a solid idea of what they will see in the game.
And while teams will inevitably introduce different wrinkles during their first
playoff game, experience has taught Vermeil that they will not drastically alter
their approach. The Chiefs know that Ravens coach Brian Billick is not going
to suddenly start using Jamal Lewis as a decoy and Colts coach Tony Dungy isn't
going to install an entirely new defense.
"The main thing is you go in and do what you do," Vermeil said. "You
just try to do it a little better."
Each potential opponent presents a different set of strengths and weaknesses.
A look:
• Indianapolis: Putting aside memories of the 1995 playoff loss to the
Colts, this Indianapolis squad might be the team that Chiefs fans want to see.
In each of their last three playoff appearances, including a 41-0 whipping by
the Jets in last year's first round, the Colts have been one-and-done. For all
his gaudy statistics and Pro Bowl berths, quarterback Peyton Manning is still
looking for his first playoff victory.
And remember, Dungy was run out of Tampa Bay because his teams consistently
came up short in the postseason.
Will this year be any different, especially if the Colts have to come into a
cold, loud, Arrowhead Stadium?
"We'll see," Dungy said. "If we come out and win, then we'll
say, ‘Hey, it wasn't any big deal.' If we lose, we'll say, ‘It's
the same way it was last year.' "
Then again, with Manning and Edgerrin James, the Colts do have the best run-pass
balance of the three, and the Colts did gain big road wins at Tampa Bay and
Tennessee this season.
• Tennessee: Vermeil watched helplessly from the Rams' sideline as Steve
McNair nearly swiped a ring off his finger in Super Bowl XXXIV. So you know
he doesn't want to see the league's most dangerous quarterback working against
his defense in January.
McNair, who missed two of the last three games because of leg injuries but is
expected to play against Baltimore this week, is the highest-rated passer in
the NFL and has almost as many rushing touchdowns (four) as Titans running back
Eddie George (five).
The Titans also boast the league's top run defense and enter the playoffs on
a roll after winning their last three games. But the Titans may not be able
to exploit the Chiefs' Achilles' heel: run defense. George has been a shell
of his Pro Bowl self for at least two years now and is averaging a paltry 3.3
yards per carry. As a team, Tennessee had 11 rushing touchdowns, 16 fewer than
Priest Holmes had by himself.
• Baltimore: With Jamal Lewis and the NFL's best rushing attack —
not to mention Ray Lewis and the league's third-ranked defense — the Ravens
are suited for winning at Arrowhead.
Jamal Lewis pounded out 115 yards and a touchdown when the Chiefs and Ravens
met in week four, but Baltimore was done in by three Kyle Boller interceptions
and Chris McAlister's muffed punt. Thanks to Dante Hall's 97-yard kick return
for a touchdown, the Chiefs got out of Baltimore with a 17-10 win.
Billick is hoping he can ride Lewis and Lewis to another title, the same way
he got by with Trent Dilfer under center when the Ravens pounded the Giants
in Super Bowl XXV. Problem is, Anthony Wright is no Dilfer and the Ravens have
the third-youngest team in the NFL. Inconsistent quarterback play, youth and
Jamal Lewis' nasty habit of putting the ball on the ground are all reasons why
the Ravens suffered road losses at Oakland, Miami, Cincinnati, St. Louis and
Pittsburgh this season.
Obviously, coming into Arrowhead and avenging the loss to the Chiefs would be
a tall task for the Ravens, but the ability to run the football and play defense
would give them a chance.
"The last time we had that philosophy, we went to the Super Bowl,"
Ray Lewis said. "With Jamal running like that and our defense playing the
way it is, I've said all along we're just going to be hard to beat."
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