Week 12 game preview: Chiefs desperate for a spark with Colts set to visit Arrowhead
Kansas City, sitting at 5-5, is fighting for playoff life, while Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor lead Indianapolis as one of the NFL’s most surprising contenders.
A Week 12 matchup against the Daniel Jones-led Indianapolis Colts team (8-2), sandwiched between games against the Denver Broncos and Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, was not supposed to be a marquee matchup.
Back in May, front office personnel and the coaching staff were set to be on the hot seat. Fate would have it that Jones has been a revelation, Jonathan Taylor has had a renaissance, and the Colts are 2025’s Cinderella story.
But no one knew how bad the Chiefs would need this one.
With the Kansas City Chiefs (5-5) losing tie-breakers to its AFC rivals, it looks like the Chiefs need to go 11-6 just to punch their ticket to the dance. Even if teams like the Los Angeles Chargers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans play just above .500 football, that will still be the case.
“Yeah, we’re not overreacting, but there is a certain urgency you got to have,” head coach Andy Reid said. “To make sure that you clean up some of the stuff we’ve had. Overreacting doesn’t help; what helps is that you take care of your business individually and then collectively as a team. It’s what you have to do.”
The Chiefs are 4-1 at Arrowhead this season, but Indianapolis coming to town off a bye week to try and start a stretch of 6-1 will be no cake walk.
Taylor and his 1,139 yards rushing have taken the league by storm. That is first in the NFL, and Jones’ 2,659 yards passing is third.
It is not as if the Colts are flawless, though. Their defense is solid, but they have allowed 28, 27, 27, and 25 points to the likes of the Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons.
That is not exactly murderers’ Row.
They are susceptible against the pass, so don’t expect this to be the week head coach Andy Reid commits to the run. They are 25th in passing yards allowed, which could help wide receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy get back on track.
Mahomes does need to be on his game, though. Indianapolis is tied for seventh in takeaways, as well as sacks. Additionally, Lou Anarumo's defenses, dating back to his days with the Cincinnati Bengals, have historically given Kansas City’s offense fits.
“They definitely do some of the stuff (that they did with the Bengals),” Mahomes said. “Coach Anarumo is a great defensive coordinator, a great coach, and he has his stuff, but what I think makes him such a great defensive coordinator is that he tailors his scheme to the team that he’s playing with. He wants to go with their strengths … I think that’s something that makes him a great coach is that he’s not stuck in his ways of how he calls things.”
The Colts’ defensive third-down woes might be just what the doctors ordered, though. One area the Chiefs struggled in against Denver was going 5-of-13 in that category. The Chiefs were not able to extend drives when they needed to. Luckily for the Chiefs, Indianapolis allows the 27th most conversions.
“When you do it in crucial situations, that gets you,” Reid said. “Then it’s tough to overcome at times. Whether it’s a third down and short or where you’re down at the two-yard line and then you have to back up, those types of things, those come back to haunt you when you’re playing good teams. We might be able to overcome it against a not very good team, but against good teams, you got to be sharp. There’s not a huge secret to that.”
After going 1-for-5 in the red zone last week, Kansas City will also be going up against the 25th-ranked red zone defense. The defense will have a full plate containing Taylor and Jones’ plethora of weapons, but this should be a get-right game for the offense after a couple of poor showings.
Mahomes spoke about the game-winning plays that they are not making this year compared to last year. The Chiefs are currently 0-5 in 2025 in one-score games, compared to 11-0 in 2024. The Chiefs will likely have an opportunity to get that monkey off their back this weekend.
“I’ve preached that for the last few years,” Mahomes said. “... There’s not a lot of times in this league where you’re blowing teams out. There’s a couple plays here and there that you have to make, and we’ve been able to make those plays these last few years, and we’re not doing that this year.”
With a win, it would be the first time Kansas City would defeat a team that is currently in the playoff field.
Danny Dimes and Company
Getting back to the weapons, Jones has no shortage of them.
Taylor is the obvious one, who averages well over 100 yards per game, but the Chiefs are 9th in the NFL at stopping the run. Bills running back James Cook is really the only one who has exploited them, rushing for 114 yards in Week 9. Even that took him 27 carries to accomplish that feat, though.
In pressers this week, it is clear that Taylor is the top priority.
“Obviously, this year he (Taylor) looks fresh, he looks rejuvenated,” linebacker Nick Bolton said. “He’s running the ball very well, doing a lot of different things for them … They find different ways to use those guys and get them out in space and obviously get the ball to 28 (Taylor) whenever they get the chance to.”
The Colts lead the league in yards and points per game, though, and it is not all because of Taylor.
Michael Pittman Jr. (580 yards), Alec Pierce (585), and Josh Downs (316) offer up a pretty deep receiver room, one through three on the depth chart.
None of them are Jones’ leading receiver, either. 14th overall pick, tight end Tyler Warren, heads that up with 617 yards.
“He’s (Warren) does a lot of different things for them,” Bolton said. “Out of the backfield, in line, off the ball, they put him in as a fullback sometimes for some run plays. They put him in a fullback and pass the ball to him, over routes, deep routes, other routes. He does a little bit of everything for them. It’s going to be a challenge for us (to) kind of disrupt him at the line of scrimmage and make things hard for him.”
According to PFF, the Colts’ offensive line ranks second in both run and pass blocking.
Aside from Taylor, Indianapolis may not have household names, but they have very few weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball. Not only will it take a good game plan from the defensive coordinator’s unit, but it will also take better execution from his players across the field. And there is no denying that Jones is playing good football.
“He (Jones) looks like he functions – we’ve seen this around the league, the quarterbacks go from team to team, and all of a sudden they find a scheme or a coaching staff that really fits, and it feels like they fit the pieces together pretty good there,” defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo said. “There’s a lot of talent on this offense.”
Can KC’s D take advantage?
While it is true that Jones is having his best season of his career and is operating behind one of the league’s best offensive lines, he still has the snafus he displayed in his six years with the New York Giants.
He has never exactly been known for his pocket awareness, and he can be had if he does not see the pressure coming. Just last week against the Falcons, he was strip-sacked and put the ball on the ground two other times, in which the Colts were able to recover.
Jones could be especially gettable this week with the calf injury popping up on the injury report Thursday. He has been spectacular against the blitz, but few have dialed them up as well as Spagnuolo has historically.
Indianapolis is middle of the pack in giveaways, and Jones has thrown the 11th most interceptions in the league this season (7), but that does not mean there have not been opportunities.
According to PFF, Jones has notched 16 turnover-worthy plays, which ranks 33rd in the NFL.
The Chiefs are very mediocre at generating turnovers, with nine so far this season, tied for 24th. In the past, guys like defensive tackle Chris Jones and, to some extent, defensive ends George Karlaftis and Charles Omenihu showed a knack for generating strip-sacks.
Defensive backs such as Bryan Cook and Jaden Hicks know how to take the ball away when given the opportunity, and rookie Nohl Williams led the NCAA in interceptions in 2024.
“A lot of times, guys have their backs turned to the ball (and) to the quarterback,” defensive backs coach Dave Merritt said. “It’s not as easy to have picks, but overall, we have had some opportunities that you wish you could have back. Tips and overthrows are always going to be in every game that we have, so some of those tips and overthrows you would love to capitalize on them, but yeah, definitely would love to have more turnovers. We’re harping that every week.”
The Chiefs’ offense should be able to do a better job at keeping the defense out of high-pressure situations this week, but winning the turnover battle would go a long way in sealing a victory over the AFC’s current number two seed.
Potential bounce-back game for Rice
In the Colts games discussed earlier, where they allowed high points to mostly average offenses, wide receivers Troy Franklin, Puka Nacua, Zay Jones and Drake London had big games.
Some of those are household names, but if Rashee Rice is the number one wide receiver he is hyped to be, this is the game to showcase that.
Rice has racked up 250 yards in the four games he has suited up for, which is nothing to laugh at, but he is coming off one of his worst games in a Chiefs uniform. He had two critical drops, albeit contested ones, and hauled in just six of his nine targets for 38 yards.
Being a number one wide receiver begins with how the coaching staff deploys you, too. The game plan against Denver was not tailored around Rice. At times, he was lined up in the backfield and in-line blocking before clearing, becoming a secondary read for Mahomes.
If the Chiefs’ offense is to take the next step and consistently display the high-powered offense their high-quality stable of weapons would suggest, it may be time to feature Rice more. A gadgety, Deebo Samuel-type of game plan for the third-year wide out is not doing him or the offense justice.
The intermediate area of the field is something Rice has been dominant in through the tail end of his rookie season and the beginning of 2024. That could be a place to start forming an identity.
“I think we can be better at it for sure,” offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said. “Last year it was so much of not downfield; this year, it’s more downfield with that aggressive mindset, being able to connect on those. I really don’t care what it is, I really don’t. For us, the mentality right now is let’s make sure wherever we’re at conceptually with the play, it is intermediate to those guys, which they’re good at, let’s take advantage of those and let them run after the catch, that’s okay. When we take these investment shots downfield, let’s connect on them.”
Of course, if defenses start centering their game plans around Rice, it leaves tight end Travis Kelce and wide receivers Hollywood Brown, Tyquan Thornton and Worthy in advantageous situations too.
Key injuries
Chiefs: Left guard Kingsley Suamataia (concussion), wide receiver Xavier Worthy (ankle) and Isiah Pacheco (knee) logged limited practices on Thursday.
Colts: Quarterback Daniel Jones (calf) was limited Thursday, while Linebacker Jaylon Carlies (ankle) and cornerback Charvarius Ward (concussion) appear set to return from injured reserve. Defensive ends Samson Ebukam (knee) and Tyquan Lewis (groin) have been limited as well.
Key game details
Location: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
Date: Sunday, Nov. 23
Kickoff: 12:00 p.m. CT
TV/Streaming: CBS
Broadcasters: Jim Nantz and Tony Romo
Radio: 96.5 The Fan
Head Referee: Alex Moore
Betting Line: Chiefs -3.5 | Moneyline: -195 | Over/Under: 49.5
Weather Forecast: Partly cloudy, high of 63°, winds 5-10 mph, 8% chance of rain
