You wouldn’t be able to fault the Kansas City Chiefs for asking the Indianapolis Colts for a little advice.
The last unbeaten team in the NFL travels to Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday for an encounter with the high-powered Colts.
Indianapolis (2-2) has a lot of experience with being unbeaten, as it started the 2009 campaign with 14 straight wins - the fourth time in five years in which it had started with at least seven wins.
Meanwhile, Kansas City has struggled just picking up victories of any kind. The Chiefs have won just 14 times in the last four years while starting two of those campaigns with five losses.
Kansas City (3-0) has been among the biggest surprises this season, opening the season with three straight wins for the first time since the 2003 squad started 9-0. The Chiefs are the first team to start 3-0 after going 0-3 the previous season since the Buffalo Bills in 2008.
Kansas City has allowed 14 points or less in its first three games for the first time in franchise history. The Chiefs stunned the San Diego Chargers 21-14 in Week 1 despite just nine first downs and edged the Cleveland Brown 16-14 in Week 2.
They thoroughly whipped up on the San Francisco 49ers in a 31-10 win in Week 3. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined for 192 yards on the ground and quarterback Matt Cassel threw for 250 yards and three touchdowns – both season highs.
Kansas City owned a 457-251 edge in total offense. The defense limited Frank Gore to 43 yards on 15 carries, allowed just 11 first downs, intercepted 49ers quarterback Alex Smith once and sacked him five times – three by defensive end Tamba Hali.
That defense, which ranks second in scoring defense (12.7) and has yielded 313 yards per game, will face its sternest test thus far in 2010.
Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning has thrown for 1,365 yards and leads the NFL with 11 touchdown passes against one interception for a league-best 112.2 passer rating.
Manning is 4-1 against Kansas City, the Colts have won six of the last seven and Kansas City is 0-4 at this venue.
Indianapolis seemed to have righted the ship with decisive wins over the San Diego Chargers and New York Giants after an opening day 34-24 loss to the Houston Texans.
However, despite 352 yards passing by Manning, a career-high 15 catches by Reggie Wayne and two TDs by Joseph Addai, Indianapolis was tripped up 31-28 last week when Josh Scobee drilled a Jacksonville franchise-record 59-yard field goal on the game’s final play.
The Colts are averaging over 29 points, second highest in the NFL, but they’re yielding 23 points, have been blitzed for 30-plus in both losses and rank 29th against the run.
Kansas City will try to control the clock and the Colts’ high-powered offense by keeping it on the ground. Charles is averaging 7.0 yards per carry and has rushed for 238 yards and Jones has added 217 yards for the NFL’s No. 3 running offense.
Cassel has completed 42 of 74 passes for 494 yards with four TDs and three interceptions. His favorite target has been rookie tight end Tony Moeaki, who has 12 grabs for 123 yards and two TDs. Electrifying rookie Dexter McCluster has also been worked into the game plan. He has scored on a 94-yard punt return and a 31-yard TD reception.
Cassel has been sacked just twice, but he will be on the lookout for Colts defensive ends Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney, who have combined for seven sacks this season.