On Sunday, October 30, the Kansas City Chiefs will visit the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. This year’s Colts team might not be as strong as prior seasons squads have been, but that does not take away from the fact that Indianapolis has been a literal house of horrors for the Chiefs.
Kansas City Chiefs Face Familiar Ghosts
Want to hear a scary story? The Chiefs are only 1-6 in Indianapolis since the Colts moved there in 1983, including the playoffs. That is a terrible record no matter which way you look at it. The worst of those six losses would be the loss in the 2013 playoffs, Andy Reid’s first season as the Chiefs head coach. The Chiefs thoroughly dominated the game and held a comfortable 38-10 lead early in the third quarter. Then the kingdom came tumbling down. Jamaal Charles, Brandon Flowers, and Knile Davis all had to leave the game due to injuries. Andrew Luck made one of the luckiest plays in NFL history when an Eric Berry forced a fumble at the goal line bounced directly to Luck, who recovered and dove into the end zone for a touchdown. In the end, a coverage breakdown by Kendrick Lewis and Quintin Demps results in a 64 yard T.Y. Hilton touchdown to send the Chiefs home after holding a 28 point lead. It was the largest blown lead in NFL history.
In the playoffs of the 2006 season, a Herm Edwards lead team (who was also in his first season with the Chiefs) came into the RCA Dome on the back of one of the best rushing attacks in the league. Prior to the game, there was somewhat of a quarterback controversy. Trent Green was hurt in the first game of the season which lead to Damon Huard gaining the starting position for the Chiefs.
Despite leading the Chiefs to a 5-3 record of his eight starts, Green returned to the starting lineup for the remainder of the season. Green was and is the Chiefs second-leading passer, but he clearly was not the same player after the brutal concussion he received in the first game of the season. Coach Edwards stuck with Green in the playoffs even though the team dropped three of their final five games of the regular season. The quarterback controversy should not have mattered that year as the Chiefs were expected to dominate the game on the ground as the Colts were one of the worst rushing defenses the league had ever seen that year.
Larry Johnson had a career-best 1,789 rushing yards, was chosen first-team All-Pro and many people predicted he would have a huge game. But that is why games are played on the field and not on paper. The offense mustered paltry 126 yards of total offense with only 44 of those coming on the ground. Johnson was ineffective the entire game and could never get going. Green was intercepted twice and the offense struggled throughout the day. The defense did its part, holding the Colts to just nine points in the first half and intercepting Peyton Manning three times before being gassed in the second half and eventually surrendering two touchdowns to the eventual all-time leader in passing touchdowns.
This is only half of the scary story. There are even more terrifying aspects of this nightmare. Since 1985, including all games played between these two teams, the Chiefs are 3-13. The Colts have long been a trick to the Chiefs treat. Let’s hope this weekend the Chiefs can continue their winning ways this season and rid themselves of some of the ghosts of their past.
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