Final, Colts 45-44: The collapse and comeback are really complete now. After trailing 38-10, Andrew Luck and the Colts won 45-44.
The story of the game for the Chiefs was injuries. They lost running backs Jamaal Charles and Knile Davis, outside linebacker Justin Houston, cornerback Brandon Flowers and wide receiver Donnie Avery.
The story of the game for Indianapolis was the play of Luck and wideout T.Y. Hilton. Luck finished 29-for-45 with 443 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions. Hilton had 13 catches on 18 targets for 224 yards and two touchdown.
If the Bengals win on Sunday, the Patriots play Cincinnati. If the Chargers win, New England has to play the comeback Colts.
The Patriots will have to hope they’re playing the first-half Colts if it comes down to playing Indianapolis. That second-half team was dangerous looking.
Fourth quarter, 4:21, Colts 45-44: The Colts have completed their comeback.
Andrew Luck delivered a perfect deep pass to T.Y. Hilton for the go-ahead touchdown. Hilton has 13 catches for 224 yards and two touchdowns.
Another key player went down for the Chiefs. Pro Bowl pass rusher Justin Houston limped off the field midway through the drive with a knee injury.
Now it’s an uphill battle for Kansas City, who have lost their best offensive and defensive players.
Fourth quarter, 5:36, Chiefs 44-38: The Chiefs had to settle for a field goal, but they successfully killed five minutes off the clock.
Unfortunately for Kansas City, a field goal still makes this a one-score game.
The injuries keep coming for the Chiefs. Knile Davis, the running back who was filling in for Jamaal Charles, is out for the game. Cyrus Gray is the only traditional running back left for Kansas City.
Fourth quarter, 10:38, Chiefs 41-38: The comeback is nearly complete.
After another impressive drive by Andrew Luck, running and throwing the ball, the Colts quarterback handed off to Donald Brown, who fumbled in the red zone. The ball then bounced off a Colts center Samson Satele and into Luck’s hands. Luck then drove forward for the touchdown.
T.Y. Hilton now has 12 catches for 160 yards after being Luck’s main target on that drive.
Fourth quarter, 14:40, Chiefs 41-31: Kansas City couldn’t get close enough for the field goal and had to punt.
The Colts have the ball on their own 10-yard line. They have a long way to go here.
End third quarter, Chiefs 41-31: The Chiefs are driving. It’s up to Indy’s defense to hold now.
KC started the drive with a long completion to Dwayne Bowe. They ended with a Colts holding flag and a Knile Davis run. The Chiefs are nearing field goal position. They’re on the Colts’ 41-yard line.
Third quarter, 2:31, Chiefs 41-31: Oh boy, the Colts are back within two scores.
Andrew Luck showed off his impressive mobility to deliver a strike to T.Y. Hilton on that drive. The touchdown pass went to the quarterback’s old Stanford teammate, tight end Coby Fleener.
We’ve got over 17 minutes left of football. Anything can happen at this point.
Third quarter, 4:12, Chiefs 41-24: The Colts are back down three scores. The Colts’ defense held strong.
The Colts are starting to run out of time if they want to complete this comeback.
Third quarter, 5:53, Chiefs 38-24: Welp, spoke too soon again.
Luck’s pass just went through Hilton’s hands and into Abdullah’s waiting arms for an interception.
Third quarter, 5:58, Chiefs 38-24: Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt finally got involved.
Kansas City just punted for the first time in this game. The Colts have a chance to cut the Colts’ lead to just one score on this drive. If Andrew Luck can pull off this comeback, he’ll have started carving out his legacy.
Third quarter, 7:32, Chiefs 38-24: The Colts are officially back in this one.
Luck quickly moved the ball down the field on a couple throws to T.Y. Hilton. Indianapolis scored on a screen to Donald Brown.
On the touchdown play, Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers went down with what appeared to be a head injury. Kansas City has already lost Jamaal Charles and Donnie Avery to concussions.
Third quarter, 9:00, Chiefs 38-17: It seems as though many, including myself, ruled this game over too early.
Alex Smith just got strip sacked by Colts outside linebacker Robert Mathis. The ball was recovered by Indianapolis linebacker Kelvin Sheppard, but the ruling on the field is being reviewed. It appears Sheppard might not have had full possession until he was out of bounds.
Chiefs wide receiver Donnie Avery has been ruled out of the game with a concussion.
UPDATE: Ruling on the field stands.
Third quarter, 11:47, Chiefs 38-17: Andrew Luck finally targeted wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers and it paid off. The undrafted rookie hauled in a 46-yard jump ball. Running back Donald Brown scored from 10 yards out on the next play.
Rogers is a special talent. He doesn’t have incredible speed, but he’s big, strong and really quick for his size. He got kicked out of Tennessee after his sophomore season and reportedly had effort questions with the Volunteers and at Tennessee Tech. But he could be a big-time talent if Luck and Colts head coach Chuck Pagano can reel him in.
Third quarter, 13:39, Chiefs 38-10: That did not take long at all.
Alex Smith now has four touchdowns on the game. This one was a dumpoff to Knile Davis, who has filled in admirably for Jamaal Charles.
Smith has played very well the last two seasons, but he’s saved his best football for this game.
Third quarter, 14:54, Chiefs 31-10: And Luck’s first pass of the half was an interception to safety Husain Abdullah.
The Chiefs have great field position yet again and are already knocking on the door. This one is as good as over, it would appear.
End half, Chiefs 31-10: The Colts probably want to have that half back. Their offense wasn’t playing terribly, until Luck’s interception, but their defense has been a sieve.
We’ll see if they can pick it up in the second half. Luck is going to need to be on his A-game.
Third quarter, 0:13, Chiefs 31-10: That drive went horrendously for the Colts.
Luck started moving the ball downfield, then he was picked off by Chiefs cornerback Brandon Flowers. The Chiefs could score. They have three timeouts and the ball at midfield.
Second quarter, 1:51, Chiefs 31-10: Alex Smith had himself quite a drive, leading the Chiefs to seven more points.
The Colts are doing nothing to contain Smith’s scrambles and quarterback keepers. He has 40 yards on five carries and another 214 yards through the air.
The Colts may need to score again to close the half to have a chance in this matchup.
Second quarter, 9:14, Chiefs 24-10: Jamaal Charles has a concussion and will not return to the game, according to reporters in Indianapolis.
The Colts cut Kansas City’s lead to 24-10 with a field goal. Indy took a risk by going for it on 4th-and-1. It paid off when Luck ran 21 yards for the first down.
Second quarter, 13:05, Chiefs 24-7: Man, the Chiefs are not wasting their time here.
Alex Smith capped off a three-play drive with a shovel pass into the end zone to Anthony Sherman, North Attleborough’s own.
It’s going to take an epic Andrew Luck comeback for Indianapolis to win this one. The former No. 1 overall pick has it in him, though.
Second quarter, 14:28, Chiefs 17-7: The Colts held the ball for a grand total of 11 seconds. And Trent Richardson fumbled away his first carry of the game.
The Chiefs have tremendous field position to score again.
Second quarter, 14:39, Chiefs 17-7: No Jamaal Charles? No problem.
Alex Smith threw two incompletions, followed by a perfect 79-yard bomb to Donnie Avery. The Chiefs receiver caught the ball in stride and cruised his way into the end zone. The Colts can’t let this game get away from them.
End first quarter, Chiefs 10-7: We finally found some defense.
Donald Brown got Indianapolis’ first carry. Then Andrew Luck saw some pressure from KC and threw two incomplete passes.
I forgot Da’Rick Rogers is on the Colts. I loved him coming out of Tennessee Tech, but then he went undrafted and the internet draft community was very confused. He had some solid games for Indianapolis this year and could still have a solid career if he can keep his head on straight.
First quarter, 0:57, Chiefs 10-7: Hopefully everyone took the over in this game.
The Chiefs marched down to the one-yard line, but Knile Davis couldn’t pound his way into the end zone. Kansas City settled for a 19-yard field goal from Ryan Succop.
Kansas City’s biggest play was a 63-yard reception by Dwayne Bowe. The big receiver already has 81 yards on the day.
First quarter, 4:34, 7-7: Apparently no one is going to bother playing defense in this one.
Andrew Luck and the Colts matched Kansas City’s effort by responding with a touchdown of their own. Luck was 7-for-7 with 74 yards and a touchdown. T.Y. Hilton caught four of those passes for 51 yards, including the score.
Indianapolis did not run the ball in the first drive. They have both Donald Brown and Trent Richardson at running back. Richardson has been a bust since Indianapolis traded a first-round pick for the second-year player to the Browns.
First quarter, 8:11, Chiefs 7-0: The Chiefs got by without Jamaal Charles for half of one drive, at least.
Running back Knile Davis carried the ball three times for 14 yards. Alex Smith threw for 34 yards and ran for another 16.
Kansas City scored on a 6-yard pass from Smith to Dwayne Bowe.
UPDATE: Jamaal Charles is questionable to return. He’s undergoing concussion tests.
First quarter, 8:15: Jamaal Charles left the field after his third carry of the game. The running back hit his head on the turf. He was taken to the locker room without a helmet on his head or in his hand. It appeared they put him through concussion tests on the bench.
First quarter, 14:55: Quintin Demps couldn’t bring the kickoff back to the 20. Kansas City will start off with some rough field position.
Bill Belichick actually talked about the risk-reward of taking a kickoff back deep out of the end zone. He talked about how the hangtime of a kickoff is equally as important as the length.
Belichick seemed to lean towards returning risky kicks rather than downing them for a touchback.
First quarter, 15:00: The Chiefs won the toss and chose to receive.
4:22 p.m.: We’re just under 15 minutes from kickoff here. For the Patriots fans out there, New England’s Round 2 opponent won’t be decided in this matchup. The Patriots will face the winner of this game if the Chargers win on Sunday. If the Bengals win on Sunday, New England will face them.
3:11 p.m.: Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali is officially active.
Quarterback Tyler Bray, linebacker Dezman Moses, offensive linemen Eric Kush, Rokevious Watkins and Eric Fisher, tight end Richard Gordon and defensive lineman Jerrell Powe are inactive for Kansas City; cornerbacks Cassius Vaughn and Sheldon Price, tight end Weslye Saunders, linebacker Daniel Adongo, offensive linemen Khaled Holmes and Joe Reitz and defensive lineman Fili Moala are inactive for the Colts.
8 a.m. ET: It hasn’t been long since the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts faced off — just two weeks, in fact.
One would think the AFC Wild Card Playoff game would be easier for Andrew Luck and the Colts, since it’s at home in Lucas Oil Stadium, but the Chiefs are getting two key players back. Pass rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali are expected to suit up on Saturday. Houston has been out since Week 12, while Hali has been playing with an injured knee.
The Chiefs’ defense has not been the same since the bookend outside linebackers got hurt. It will be on them to pressure Colts quarterback Andrew Luck, whose play suffered after losing wide receiver Reggie Wayne in Week 7. The signal caller’s production picked it back up to finish the season, however.
Let’s see how these two teams match up below.
Colts’ 17th-ranked passing offense vs. Chiefs’ 25th-ranked passing defense
Chiefs 24th-ranked passing offense vs. Colts’ 13th-ranked passing defense
Colts’ 20th-ranked rushing offense vs. Chiefs’ 22nd-ranked rushing defense
Chiefs’ 10th-ranked rushing offense vs. Colts 26th-ranked rushing defense
Based on those stats, it appears the Colts have the advantage when they’re on offense and when Kansas City is passing. Alex Smith will have to step up for the Chiefs and Jamaal Charles will have to keep dominating on the ground if Kansas City hopes to win.
The game kicks off at 4:35 p.m. on NBC. Stay here for all the updates leading up to the game.
