This Sundays match-up with the Indianapolis Colts must be treated by every Chiefs player and coach as nothing less than a playoff game, simply because another loss at home would mean the goal of making the playoffs would be unattainable.

If the Chiefs were to drop to 2-5, they would have to go 8-1 over the remaining nine games to finish at 10-6, which is in most seasons the mark that must be achieved to qualify for postseason play. This of course could happen, but most likely would not and therefore winning this game against the Colts this Sunday is imperative.

The momentum that is being carried over from the destruction of the Atlanta Falcons last weekend must be maintained when high noon hits at Arrowhead this Sunday. The Colts will of course present a formidable challenge, and considering that in the past and most notably last season in the playoffs , they were not phased by the crowd noise at Arrowhead, the Chiefs will have to take it upon themselves to dig down deep and find the desire and energy necessary to pull this game out.

Against the Colts the Chiefs will have to dominate the line of scrimmage just as they did against the Falcons. The chances of them scoring 50+ points again is very slim, however they most likely will need at least 35 to get another win.

The Chiefs clearly have the best offensive line in football, and they must utilize their men up front to create the needed advantage and to keep Peyton Manning off the field as much as possible. Tony Dungy and the coaching staff of the Colts will be expecting the Chiefs to run the ball and they will try to prepare for it, but despite the Colts anticipation of the rush the Chiefs must stick with it anyway. Even if the Colts jump out to an early lead, Dick Vermeil and offensive coordinator Al Saunders must continue to attack Indianapolis on the ground, and of course this will open up the play action pass for Trent Green.

If the Chiefs are fortunate enough to beat the Colts on Sunday, they are looking at a schedule that should allow them to get back into a good position for a playoff run late in the season. After the Colts game the Chiefs have two straight road games against Tampa Bay and New Orleans, both of these teams are struggling, and the Chiefs should not have trouble beating them if they play to their strengths, despite the fact the games are away from Kansas City.

All of this talk is just hot air if the Chiefs don’t hold up their end of the bargain on Halloween. And it is crucial that the Chiefs coaching staff does not get any brain cramps and decide to try 40+ plus yard field goals with an inexperienced kicker when it’s fourth and one on your side of the field in a tight game in the fourth quarter. Will Shields, Willie Roaf, Brian Waters, Casey Weigmann and John Welbourn have proven that they can get the necessary yards needed for the first down, if they would just be given the opportunity.

A win over the Colts this Sunday would serve as a notice to the rest of the league that the Chiefs are the team that many prognosticators before the season started had in the Super Bowl, or at least the AFC Championship game. It would also be a great boost of confidence to beat another Super Bowl contender and put together back to back wins.

This is one of the strangest seasons in the National Football League in recent memory with so many teams displaying Jekyll and Hyde personalities, with a dominating performance one week and looking like the ’76 Tampa Bay Buccaneers the next.

Despite all of the confusion, the Chiefs would most likely set themselves up to be 5-4 heading into the Monday night showdown with New England in November if they can just get by the Colts. That is unquestionably a “big if”, however the team that showed up at Arrowhead last Sunday is much closer to the real Kansas City Chiefs than the one that played in the first few games of the season.

With this Sunday being Halloween it would only be appropriate to present Peyton Manning with a Ryan Leaf mask before the game and force him to wear it for all four quarters. This would insure a Happy Halloween and one that would catapult the Chiefs back into the hunt and serve notice to the rest of the AFC that Kansas City is back!

Oh, and by the way Chiefs, just treats this weekend! No tricks.