The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off an underwhelming 23-20 victory over the New York Jets in Week 4 and will face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday with a chance to advance their record to 4-1.
If Kansas City wants to win more comfortably in Week 5, the offense must be sharper, and its defense will need to figure out how to contain the prolific Kirk Cousins-Justin Jefferson connection that has become one of the league’s most dynamic duos.
Buy Chiefs TicketsDespite Minnesota’s struggles this season, a victory in this matchup won’t come easy. The Vikings’ defense is sure to play with a chip on its shoulder against the defending Super Bowl champions and given the self-inflicted setbacks generated by Kansas City’s offense, it will take a much more concentrated effort to secure a win this week.
Don’t be surprised if this game is much more competitive than some experts and analysts predict.
Here are three keys to a Chiefs win in Week 5 against the Vikings:
Pressure Kirk Cousins
Kirk Cousins is not the most elusive athlete in the NFL. In fact, Cousins is among the least athletic quarterbacks in the league today. He makes his money accurately distributing the ball from the pocket.
Cousins does not evade pressure well, and when defenders force him to improvize he is far more likely to commit turnovers.
Stationary quarterbacks, like Cousins, need a clean pocket around them to have success. Giving him less room to step into his throws will be a great formula to slow the Vikings offense down.
Get Vikings offense behind the sticks
Cousins and the Vikings’ offense can make plays when on schedule, but when their game plan has to change, it becomes very difficult for them to move the ball.
Minnesota’s offense prioritizes running the ball to open up the play-action passing game, and if the Chiefs force the Vikings to commit penalties, their game plan will be thrown off.
If Kansas City can keep Minnesota off schedule and behind the sticks, expect this to be another masterful performance by the Chiefs’ defense.
Exploit Minnesota's defense
In order for the Chiefs to take control, this offense must get into gear early and keep its foot on the gas. This season, Kansas City has relied on the defense to win games — something foreign to this team in the Patrick Mahomes era.
This week is a great chance for the Chiefs to gain some momentum offensively against the Vikings’ bottom-half defense. Minnesota does not force many turnovers and has only one interception on the season so far.
The Chiefs must figure out how to move the ball against, and it does not necessarily have to be through the air. Isiah Pacheco is averaging 4.9 yards per carry through the first four games and should be able to alleviate the pressure on Mahomes.
This could be a get-right game for the Chiefs’ offense.
