Kansas City Chiefs Prove They Are Contenders This Season Despite Loss to Colts

The 1972 Miami Dolphins are safe once again after the Kansas City Chiefs suffered their first defeat of the season in a hard fought 19-9 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

The Chiefs had a chance to prove to the rest of the league that they are for real, and even though the score did not come out in their favor, Kansas City proved they will be contenders this season.

The odds were stacked against Kansas City coming into the game as they were facing a Colts team at home who had lost just seven regular season games in Indianapolis since 2004. If that wasn't enough, the Chiefs were also facing a quarterback in Peyton Manning who had lost back-to-back games just four times since 2004.

Kansas City had plenty of chances to defeat the Colts, but they had a few costly mistakes on offense that they were unable to overcome. Running back Jamaal Charles had another solid game with 5.4 yards per carry, showing once again why he is one of the most explosive backs in the league, but he also had a key fumble as the Chiefs were driving late in the first half.

Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe had the most crucial mistake of the day as he dropped a well-thrown ball from quarterback Matt Cassel that would have resulted in a 30-yard touchdown pass. Bowe proceeded to drop the next pass as well, and the third down screen attempt failed resulting in yet another Chiefs field goal attempt.

There were some positives for the Chiefs offense in the game as Charles continued to run well, and the Kansas City offensive line did not allow a sack all game against one of the best pass rushing units in the NFL.

The Chiefs offense has been bad on third down all season and they were just 1-for-10 against the Colts. The team's struggles can be attributed to poor play-calling in key situations.

The Chiefs went for it at the Colts 8-yard line on 4th-and-2 on their first drive of the game after marching down the field, but Cassel forced a pass into the end zone and it fell incomplete.

Kansas City also had numerous other short yardage attempts on third down and they were forced to punt after poor play-calls; one in particular occurred on the Chiefs first drive of the second half when running back Thomas Jones was stopped on a dive up the middle.

The Chiefs had 3rd-and-1 on the play, and they lined up Charles and Jones in the I-formation set, Charles went in motion and Jones was left in the fullback spot by himself as he took the carry and went nowhere.

The play had little chance from the start, but once Charles left the backfield, it became even more obvious who the ball was going to and the Chiefs drive ended quickly yet again.

Cassel had a decent game at quarterback, but the Chiefs offense was far too predictable for much of the game.

While the Chiefs offense was not very impressive, the Kansas City defense looked like the real deal against Manning and the Colts offense. Corner back Brandon Flowers had another great game as he shut down Pierre Garcon on nearly every opportunity he was given and the rest of the Chiefs secondary performed pretty well too.

Manning finished the contest with a lower QB rating than Cassel, and he struggled to get into rhythm for most of the game. The Chiefs run defense has played great all season, and they continued to do so against the Colts, limiting them to just 3.2 yards per carry.

The NFL is wide open this season, and the Chiefs proved there is no reason they can't contend this year in the AFC West.

The Chiefs will have their hands full with a potent offense coming off a loss for the second straight week when they travel to Houston next Sunday, but if the defense plays the way they did against the Colts, they should improve to 4-1 on the season.

Kansas City has plenty of play-makers on offense, but they need to find a way to get them into space, if the Chiefs can spread out the opposing defense, they can start putting up some points.

At worst, the Chiefs should be 6-2 when they finish Week 9, a record that any Kansas City fan would have taken before the season started.

After four games, the Chiefs are in first place, and their rebuilding process is further along than most would have expected, so a hard-fought loss to the Colts is nothing for Kansas City to hang their head about.