The Kansas City Chiefs are facing the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday afternoon in Week 12. This is the first time these two teams will have met since their high-scoring shootout back in 2018. Both teams have gone on to win the Super Bowl since, but they have also changed quite a bit in that span.
Buy Chiefs TicketsLos Angeles is just looking for something positive to hang their hat on with attrition and a post-Super Bowl slump affecting their team. Kansas City is looking to keep things rolling with what would be their fifth consecutive win. Who will emerge as the victor in Week 12?
Here are five of the things we’ll be looking at throughout the course of the game:
Will the defensive line continue to feast?
The Chiefs are coming off of back-to-back games with five combined sacks from their defense. More impressive is that those games came against teams allowing the fewest sacks in the NFL. The Rams are the polar opposite when it comes to protecting the quarterback. They’ve surrendered 35 sacks and 101 pressures this season, registering as second- and third-most in the NFL respectively.
One of the reasons that pass-blocking for the Rams has been so poor this year is that they’ve started 10 different offensive line combinations this season. They could be heading toward their eleventh different combination on Sunday afternoon. This is a game where the K.C. defense should be able to get after the quarterback. Will they be able to continue getting sacks and pressures at a high percentage this week?
Can Isiah Pacheco & Skyy Moore do it again?
Last week, the Chiefs saw two of their offensive rookies flourish. Isiah Pacheco, on his fourth career start, recorded his first-ever 100-yard rushing game. It was also the first 100-yard rushing performance from a Kansas City running back since Week 4 of last season. Skyy Moore led Chiefs receivers in targets and receptions in Week 11, which was the best performance of his career.
When asked about their performances in Week 11, Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy preached consistency. He essentially said, ‘It’s one thing to do it once, can you do it again?’ I think that’s something that fans will be wondering heading into this game as well. Pacheco is facing a run defense that is much better than the one he faced a week ago. Can he have an effective performance on the ground? Moore will likely get fewer repetitions this week with JuJu Smith-Schuster returning. Will Moore be able to make the most out of the opportunities he does get?
QBs in their first career start against K.C.
Quite a few quarterbacks have made their NFL debut against the Chiefs, be it their first career start or first game. The most notable of those quarterbacks have lost, but a select few have been fortunate enough to win their games. It’s not a great omen for Bryce Perkins, who could make his first career start in K.C. on Sunday afternoon. There’s some gamesmanship going on with John Wolford’s availability, but Perkins took starting repetitions in practice for the Rams.
If Perkins goes on to make his first career start in Kansas City, he presents a unique challenge for the team. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who can beat you with precision passing and by using his legs. Planning to contain Perkins and force him to beat you in the passing game, might be the best play for the Chiefs.
Opportunities for turnovers?
If there is one qualm to be had about the Chiefs’ defense this season it’s that they haven’t been particularly good at producing turnovers. They have just a -3 turnover differential on the season and only three teams in the NFL have recorded fewer interceptions this year. This game could prove to be an opportunity for them to rack up some interceptions and turnovers between the quarterback situation and other injuries.
Entering Week 12, the Rams have a -7 turnover differential, good for the third worst in the NFL so far this season. They have thrown nine interceptions in 2022 and only eight teams have thrown more this season. Obviously, Matthew Stafford won’t be playing and has played for Los Angeles for the majority of the season. His absence shouldn’t hurt when it comes to the chances of a turnover or a mistake happening.
Chiefs vs. the point spread
The Chiefs enter this game favored by 15.5 points, which is the highest point spread of the season. As enticing as it might be to bet against a 3-7 Los Angeles Rams team who is missing their starting quarterback and their top-2 receivers, consider the Chiefs’ luck against the point spread this season.
Kansas City is just 3-6-1 against the spread this season. Even with everything pointing in the Chiefs’ favor, it’s hard to imagine that they beat this point spread. That said, it’d certainly be exciting to see them put up a dominant win against the reigning Super Bowl champions.
