Giants (0-2) Chiefs (0-2)
Kansas City lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the last Super Bowl. Last week in what was billed as the Super Bowl LIX rematch, the game was tied 10-10 at halftime. The disappointed Kansas City fans watched their team lose a second home game in a row, as the Eagles won again, with a 20-17 score.
The Giants were on a road trip, and battled it out with the Dallas Cowboys in a game that went into overtime. The Giants held a 13-10 halftime lead, and that lead flipped back and fourth, but the Cowboys came out on top 40-37.

Kansas City Chiefs - NY Giants - 2021
The Chiefs had finished off their 2020 season with a 31-9 Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay, and things were not going well for them in 2021. They were a 3-4 team, and tied for last place in their division. The Chiefs had just taken a 27-3 loss to the Tennessee Titans, their worst game ever with Andy Reid as their head coach. After those seven games they met up with the 2-5 Giants, who had just come off a game with the Carolina Panthers. The Giants held a 25-3 halftime lead and kept the Panthers scoreless over the rest of the game for a win. In this eighth game matchup, the Giants held a lead in the fourth quarter, but Kansas City ended up with a 20-17 win over the Giants. That was the last time the two teams played each other.
Kansas City went on to win the next seven straight. The Chiefs split their last two games of the season, losing one to the Cincinnati Bengals by three points. They won their division with a 12-5 record, and fell one game short of playing in the Super Bowl. It was a 27-24 overtime loss in the AFC Championship game that kept them from advancing to the Super Bowl. Ironically, another three point loss to the Bengals.
There's something about Kansas City playing close games. In the following year, they won the the AFC Championship game over Cincinnati by three points, and went on to win Super Bowl LVII over the Eagles, by three points. They ended the 2023 season with a Super Bowl LVIII three point overtime win over the 49ers.

Kansas City Chiefs Offense
We all know that Patrick Mahomes can throw the ball, and he'll always run with the ball if the opportunity is there, but he's not supposed to be the lead rusher on the team. Mahomes is, and by a large margin, over the top running backs on the team. Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco each have just 47 total rushing yards, way less than half the 123 yards their quarterback has run for. They have twice as many carries, 7 first downs to Mahomes 10, and no rushing touchdowns to Mahomes 2. The Chiefs have scored just 4 touchdowns this season, all thanks to Mahomes passing and running.
Mahomes has been getting rid of the ball quickly this year. His average time to throw, less that two and a half seconds, has him near the top in that category. Many times Mahomes has thrown quickly because he has to. His completion percentage over the past three years has been over 67 percent, and now it's at 58.8. Quick throws and his mobility takes pressure off his offensive line, and right tackle Jawaan Taylor does everything he can to keep Mahomes clean. Sometimes it's costly as Taylor already has 6 penalties this year, coming off a league leading 43 over the past two seasons.
Mahomes can use some more weapons. Tight end Travis Kelce was the leading receiver last year, and Xavier Worthy was next. Worthy was injured in game one, missed the next, and is out for this game. Hollywood Brown has been targeted the most, and has caught 15 of 21 for 129 yards. Kelce is next with 6 catches on 10 targets for 108 yards. Rashee Rice is still on suspension and will be out for this game.

Kansas City Chiefs Defense
The Chiefs were ranked 4th in the NFL in keeping points off the board, and even though they have two losses, that hasn't changed much. George Karlaftis, Tershawn Wharton, and Chris Jones were the sack leaders last year in that order, coming up with half of the teams 39 total sacks. Karlaftis leads the team with 2 sacks, and Wharton is now with the Carolina Panthers.
Russell Wilson has shown he can throw a deep ball. How will the Chiefs defense hold up? They gave up three touchdowns and 318 yards to Justin Herbert in their first game. Then they shut down Jalen Hurts last week, no touchdowns and just 101 passing yards. They kept top receiver A.J. Brown off the board, with just five catches for 27 yards. It was just two rushing touchdowns, and two field goals that gave the Eagles their 20-17 win.
What does defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo have cooked up for the Giants? The Giants seem confused as to which of their three running backs should take the lead. They're waiting to see who has the hot hand to get the most carries. The Giants lead the league with their passing yards per game, so the Chiefs defense will be anxious to shut that down fast.

Giants Offense
The Giants thought they had came up with some answers for their offensive line. In the offseason they brought in tackle James Hudson to do the job. Someone should have told him that the job was not to go for some kind of single drive NFL penalty record. During a stretch of plays on the Giants first drive, Hudson committed four penalties, two 15-yard personal fouls, and two 5-yard false starts. One of the plays called back was a Russell Wilson 50 yard pass to Wan'Dale Robinson that would have had them at the Cowboys 2-yard line.
The Giants did manage to score a field goal on that drive, and with Hudson on the bench, there was only one more offensive line penalty during the half and the Giants had a 13-10 lead. Wilson didn't stop throwing big passes, and finished up completing 30 of 41 for a career high 450 yards, three of those completions going for 48 (Malik Nabers}, 50, (Wan'Dale Robinson), and 52, (Darius Slayton). He threw for 3 touchdowns, and one interception. Malik Nabers was the top receiver with 9 catches for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Robinson caught 8 for 142 yards and 1 touchdown.
The Giants offensive line did their job, at least with their pass protection. The running backs came up with only 62 yards, and Cam Skattebo came up with one touchdown. Skattebo carried the ball 11 times for 45 yards, although 24 of those yards came on one run. The Cowboys were confused when backup quarterback Jaxson Dart suddenly came on the field, and expected a carry, but Dart handed off to Skattebo. The Giants have to do better with their rushing attack. Rookie Marcus Mbow did a real good job coming in for Hudson, and it looks like left tackle Andrew Thomas could be available for this game.

Giants Defense
The Giants gave up 220 rushing yards, with Washington averaging 6.9 yards a carry in their first game of the season. Last week at halftime it looked like they solved that problem, as Cowboys running back Javonte Williams had come up with just 16 yards on 6 carries (2.7 avg). Things changed from then on, and the Cowboys rushing attack totaled 135 yards on 28 carries for an average of 4.8 yards a carry. The Giants have been giving up big yardage on early downs, which opens up more options for the opposing team, and also limits their own pass rush options. The Giants are ranked last in the league with their rushing defense. Kansas City's rushing attack has been off, but the Giants will still have to watch out for what Patrick Mahomes can do when he takes off.
It doesn't help that inside linebackers Micah McFadden and Chris Board have been placed on injured reserve, and Darius Muasau and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles are out for this game. Bobby Okereke has played great, but there's little depth behind him. Last week the Giants they came up with three sacks, one each from Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns, and Elijah Garcia, who was just brought up from the practice squad. There was also one interception by Dru Phillips, but too many penalties hurt their efforts.

Overall
The good news of course would be that the Giants win this game. Semi good news would be that if it's a loss, it won't be against a division team where they are already sitting at 0-2. Last Sunday the Giants fans witnessed a game where their team put in a great effort and scored 37 points, only to lose to the Dallas Cowboys. Do the Giants have some secret sauce they spread over Kansas City? The teams have played in 15 games, and the Giants have won 11, and are undefeated at home (7-0). We'll find out this Sunday.

NFC East Games
Sunday at 1:00pm Rams (2-0) at Eagles (2-0)
Sunday at 1:00pm Raiders (1-1) at Washington (1-1)
Sunday at 4:25pm Cowboys (1-1) at Bears (0-2)
Sunday at 8:20pm Chiefs (0-2) at Giants (0-2)
The Eagles and Washington are the NFC East teams favored to win in these games. Check out.
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Next Games
Sept 28 Chargers at Giants
Oct 5 Giants at Saints