Kansas City (2-0) at Atlanta (1-1)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC
BetMGM NFL Odds: Chiefs by 3 1/2
Series record: Chiefs lead 7-3.
Against the spread: Falcons 1-1, Chiefs 1-1.
Last meeting: Chiefs defeated Falcons 17-14 at Kansas City on Dec. 27, 2020.
Last week: Chiefs defeated the Bengals 26-25; Falcons defeated the Eagles 22-21.
Chiefs offense: overall (15), rush (19), pass (14), scoring (6).
Chiefs defense: overall (29), rush (17), pass (31), scoring (19-T).
Falcons offense: overall (18), rush (17), pass (20), scoring (25).
Falcons defense: overall (11), rush (27), pass (7), scoring (10-T).
Turnover differential: Chiefs minus-2, Falcons minus-2
Chiefs players to watch
RBs Carson Steele and Samaje Perine are expected to get most of the work in the backfield after Isiah Pacheco hurt his ankle in the final minute of a win over Cincinnati. Steele is an undrafted rookie who turned heads in training camp with his run-through-a-wall style. The Chiefs were planning to use him mostly in short-yardage situations. Perine signed with the Chiefs on Aug. 30 and has been trying to pick up the playbook quickly. He is at his best catching the ball out of the backfield.
Falcons player to watch
FS Jessie Bates III is coming off a huge performance in a 22-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles this past Monday night. He broke up what appeared to be a touchdown pass to DeVonta Smith and sealed the victory with an interception in the closing seconds. Bates also contributed a team-high 12 tackles, including one behind the line, earning NFC defensive players of the week honors. For the season, he has been credited with 18 tackles — 13 of them solo efforts.
Key matchup
QB Kirk Cousins vs. Chiefs secondary. Cousins completed five of six passes for 70 yards on the final drive, including a 7-yard touchdown to Drake London with 34 seconds remaining, to lead the Falcons to their improbable victory in Philadelphia. He should be overflowing with confidence as he faces a Kansas City defense that has allowed huge chunks of yardage the first two weeks against star quarterbacks Lamar Jackson of the Ravens and Joe Burrow of the Bengals. The Chiefs rank next-to-last out of 32 teams, giving up an average of 256.5 yards per game.
Key injuries
The Chiefs lost Pacheco to an ankle injury, one week after putting WR Marquise Brown on injured reserve because of shoulder surgery. The Falcons are relatively healthy, though LB Nate Landman did go injured reserve before last week’s game at Philadelphia with calf and quad issues. That left Atlanta with only three inside backers — Kaden Elliss, Troy Anderson and rookie JD Bertrand — on the active roster.
Series notes
The teams have only met 10 times with the Chiefs winning seven of them, including the past two. … In their most recent game, Patrick Mahomes threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns, and Travis Kelce had a big game as the Chiefs won 17-14 on Dec. 27, 2020. Younghoe Koo missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt that would have sent the game to overtime. … Atlanta’s most recent victory over the Chiefs was a 40-24 triumph on Sept. 9, 2012, in Kansas City.
Stats and stuff
Both of the Chiefs’ wins this season have been decided on the final play of the game. Ravens TE Isaiah Likely landed out of bounds on a would-be tying TD catch in Week 1, and Harrison Butker kicked a winning 51-yard field goal last week against the Bengals after the winning drive was extended by a pass interference call on fourth down. … Cousins was the first NFL quarterback in the past 30 years to complete at least 80% of his passes while throwing for at least 70 yards on a drive that began on the road in the last two minutes with his team needing a touchdown to erase a deficit, according to OptaSTATS. … Chiefs OT Wanya Morris caught a TD pass last week against Cincinnati. OT Eric Fisher caught a TD pass in 2020 and did the same for Kansas City in a playoff game against Pittsburgh in 2022. … Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier combined for 150 yards on 23 carries against the Eagles. Overall, the Falcons averaged 5.4 yards per carry. … Kansas City WR Rashee Rice has 12 catches for 178 yards and a TD through the first two games of the season. … Falcons WR Darnell Mooney had a 41-yard touchdown catch and two more huge receptions on the winning drive against the Eagles, totaling a team-high 88 yards on those three grabs. … Chiefs DT Chris Jones has 77 sacks. He needs two more to pass Justin Houston for fourth most in team history. Chiefs FS Chamarri Conner returned a fumble 37 yards for a touchdown against Cincinnati. He also had a sack on a blitz. … Falcons DE Grady Jarrett had six quarterback hits in the first two games. … Butker has kicked four game-winners in his Kansas City career. He also has made 29 field goals of at least 50 yards.
Fantasy tip
Don’t read too much into Travis Kelce’s meager production in the Kansas City offense. The four-time All-Pro tight end has just four catches for 39 yards through two games, with a long catch called back by a penalty last week against Cincinnati. He should get a bigger workload as the Chiefs adapt to Brown’s absence and the loss of Pacheco.
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