Cowboys vs. Chiefs: TV Info, Spread, Injury Updates, Game Time and More

Week 2 will decide if the Dallas Cowboys or Kansas City Chiefs are legitimate after fluky wins to begin the 2013 season, when Dallas travels to Arrowhead stadium.

Dallas welcomed the New York Giants to town Week 1 on Sunday Night Football and held off a Giants team that scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. Tony Romo and Co. escaped 36-31, but not without the help of six turnovers by New York.

The Dallas secondary surrendered 450 yards and four scores to quarterback Eli Manning, which speaks to the overall weakness of the secondary so far.

Things were much easier for Kansas City in Week 1, but a convincing win over Jacksonville is not all that convincing in the grand scheme of things. The Chiefs allowed just 178 yards of total offense in a 28-2 victory, but that may prove to be more of a Jacksonville offensive-ineptitude issue rather than evidence of an elite Kansas City defense.

Time will tell if the Chiefs defense is where it needs to be when Romo and the Cowboys come to town. Here is everything fans need to know about the matchup.

When: Sunday, Sept. 15, at 1 p.m. ET

Where: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.

Watch: Fox

Live Stream: NFL Sunday Ticket

Betting Lines (via Vegas Insider) 

• Over/Under: 46.5 pts
• Spread: Kansas City (-2)

Chiefs Injury Report (via NFL.com) 

Husain Abdullah	S	Foot		Probable
Jamaal Charles	RB	Quadricep		Probable
Dezman Moses	LB	Toe		Probable
Donald Stephenson	T	Shoulder		Probable
Nico Johnson	LB	Ankle		Probable
Travis Kelce	TE	Knee		Questionable
Dunta Robinson	CB	Not Injury Related		Questionable
Jon Asamoah	G	Calf		Probable

Cowboys Injury Report (via NFL.com) 

Anthony Spencer	DE	Knee		Questionable
Dez Bryant	WR	Foot		Probable
Tony Romo	QB	Ribs		Probable
Danny McCray	S	Hamstring		Probable
Ernie Sims	LB	Groin		Out
Morris Claiborne	CB	Shoulder		Probable
Lance Dunbar	RB	Foot		Probable

How Effective Will Jamaal Charles Be for Kansas City?

There's a stigma developing around Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles and his health. Charles missed the majority of 2011 and spent the chunk of this preseason fighting a foot sprain.

To make matters worse, Charles left the Chiefs' contest last week with Jacksonville after suffering an apparent upper-leg injury. According to Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, Charles is just fine after simply being awkwardly stepped on during a play. 

This is great news for Kansas City, horrific news for Dallas. The Cowboys only surrendered 50 total rushing yards last week, but New York became one-dimensional and only rushed 14 total times. Charles toted the rock 16 times on his own against Jacksonville for 77 yards and a touchdown while adding 23 yards as a receiver to boot.

Something has to give.

If Charles is a full-go he'll see about the same amount of work, if not more. The new scheme in Dallas looks solid up front, but Charles is one of the NFL's best after notching over 1,500 yards on the ground last season.

Charles' body simply needs to hold up for him to be effective.

Prediction

The dink-and-dunk offense in Kansas City orchestrated by quarterback Alex Smith was effective in Week 1, and it's hard to imagine the Chiefs showed everything in the playbook against the NFL's basement-dweller.

Expect the Chiefs and Andy Reid to open things up a bit vertically this week against a Dallas secondary that was exposed in Week 1. That in itself will open wider running lanes for Charles to explode through.

Dallas is not without talent on offense, especially with receivers Dez Bryant and Miles Austin, but the Kansas City secondary touts talents like Eric Berry and Brandon Flowers—a far cry from the iffy New York secondary Romo picked on last week.

Home-field advantage paired with an offense perfectly suited to exploit weaknesses on Dallas' defense means Kansas City proves its legitimacy while cruising to a 2-0 record.

Final Score 

Chiefs win 35-28

Follow B/R's Chris Roling on Twitter for more news and analysis @Chris_Roling