Kansas City Chiefs: What You Need to Know Heading into Week 2

Expectations are high following the Kansas City Chiefs' demolishing of the Jacksonville Jaguars this past Sunday.  The Chiefs won their opening game in dominant fashion, 28-2, led by a defense that didn't allow the Jaguars to cross their own 50-yard line until there was under a minute remaining in the game.

This week, however, presents a different challenge.  While the Chiefs will get the Dallas Cowboys at home, they present a much tougher challenge than the Jaguars offense did.

Division Standings

AFC West Division Standings

Team	Wins	Losses
Denver	1	0
Kansas City	1	0
San Diego	0	1
Oakland	0	1

After one week of play, Kansas City sits tied atop the division with Denver, with Oakland having been edged out by Indianapolis and San Diego having been bested by Houston as time expired in their losses. 

NFC East Division Standings

Team	Wins	Losses
Dallas	1	0
Philadelphia	1	0
New York	0	1
Washington	0	1

Dallas enters the game with the Chiefs atop its division, tied with the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Cowboys survived a near scare with the New York Giants last week, despite having forced six turnovers.  If the Chiefs hope to win this game, they can't be as careless with the football as the Giants were.

Injury Report

(courtesy of NFL.com)

Kansas City

Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
Jamaal Charles	HB	Quad	Unknown	Probable
Donald Stephenson	OT	Shoulder	Full	Probable
Travis Kelce	TE	Knee	Limited	Questionable
Quintin Demps	S	Hamstring	Full	Probable
Eric Fisher	OT	Shoulder	Full	Probable
Allen Bailey	DE	Non Injury	Non-Participant	Questionable
Nico Johnson	LB	Ankle	Non-Participant	Questionable
Jon Asamoah	OG	Calf	Non-Participant	Questionable
Dezman Moses	LB	Toe	Full	Probable

Dallas 

Name	Position	Injury	Practice Status	Game Status
Tony Romo	QB	Ribs	Limited	Probable
Dez Bryant	WR	Foot	Limited	Questionable
Anthony Spencer	DE	Knee	Non-Participant	Doubtful
Danny McCray	S	Hamstring	Non-Participant	Doubtful
Ben Bass	DE	Shoulder	Non-Participant	Doubtful
Lance Dunbar	RB	Foot	Non-Participant	Doubtful
Ronald Leary	OG	Knee	Full	Probable

For the Chiefs, Jamaal Charles' injury doesn't appear to be serious.  He actually returned for two plays against the Jaguars on Sunday, before being removed from the game for good for "precautionary" reasons.

The Cowboys' two main injuries appear a bit more serious.  Both Tony Romo and Dez Bryant's X-rays and MRIs came back negative.  According to Todd Archer of ESPN.com, Bryant has stated publicly he'll play, but it remains to be seen what the team's medical staff has to say about that.

What Must Improve

For the Chiefs to win this game, the offense is going to have to be less conservative.  Dallas' defensive coordinator, and architect of the famed "Tampa-2" defense, thrives on taking away the underneath yardage from teams with a creative mix of zone blitzing, forcing quarterbacks to find the soft spot in the zones down the seams and near the sidelines.

On defense, Kansas City will need to be effective with the pass rush, as it was against the Jaguars, and also cover better out the slot.  Dallas Cowboys head coach, and offensive architect, Jason Garrett likes to work his top receivers into the slot and create mismatches.  The Chiefs struggles at times covering the slot against Jacksonville, though the Jaguars never turned that into any production.

The Chiefs also struggled to contain the quarterback this preseason, while their Week 1 opponent Blaine Gabbert wasn't a threat to take off, Cowboys quarterback Romo certainly is.