The Kansas City Chiefs will welcome the Minnesota Vikings to Arrowhead Stadium in Week 9. With this game being centered around both offenses, the Chiefs defense will need to perform well for Kansas City to win.
Of course, on the offensive side of the ball, Kansas City could be without Patrick Mahomes and Eric Fisher. On the defensive side of the ball, the Chiefs could see Frank Clark, Chris Jones, and Alex Okafor sidelined due to injury on Sunday.
Despite the injuries, the Chiefs will need to keep their focus on slowing down the Vikings' red-hot offense. With that being said, here are three bold predictions for Kansas City's defense against the Vikings.
3. The Chiefs will sack Kirk Cousins five times
One way to get Kirk Cousins out of sorts is to make him uncomfortable in the pocket. Currently, the Chiefs expect Jones to play and are hopeful that Clark is able to suit up.
Regardless, Kansas City's defense has combined for 25 sacks through the first eight weeks (fifth-most in the NFL). On the other side, Minnesota has allowed only 15 sacks on their franchise quarterback (11th fewest in the NFL).
Provided that, the Chiefs front seven will step up in a large way at home and will sack Cousins five times. It would be the second-most sacks that Kansas City has had in a game this season (had eight against the Denver Broncos in Week 7).
2. The Chiefs will force two turnovers
Over the course of the offseason, the Chiefs added multiple players to try and bolster their defense. Thus, they signed Tyrann Mathieu while also trading for Clark from the Seattle Seahawks.
By adding those two players, the Chiefs have forced 11 turnovers this season (15th in the NFL). On Sunday, Kansas City will add to their total by forcing two turnovers on Minnesota's offense.
Cousins has only thrown one interception in the past month and Dalvin Cook hasn't fumbled since Week 5. Forcing a turnover, let alone two, will not be an easy task.
1. Kansas City will hold the Vikings to under 100 rushing yards
Without a doubt, Steve Spagnuolo, Chiefs' defensive coordinator, has spent the entirety of the week scheming a way to slow down Minnesota's rushing attack. That is due to the Vikings' offense being predicated on everything going off of their running game.
During the month of October, the Vikings had the majority of success running the ball with success and running play-action off of that. When you can contain Cook and Alexander Mattison, it forces Minnesota to become one-dimensional.
This season, the Vikings have rushed for over 100 yards in seven out of their eight games. The Chiefs' front seven will do their job by holding the Vikings to under 100 rushing yards on Sunday.
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