The Kansas City Chiefs travel to Atlanta this weekend to take on the Falcons.
Here are five things to keep in mind heading into game day.
1. Here's a look at the final injury report for both teams.
The Chiefs will be without right tackle Jaylon Moore (ankle) on Sunday, meaning Josh Ezeudu will likely make his second start of the season. Kansas City also won't have defensive tackle Peter Woods (neck stinger) for a second straight game.
Additionally, tailback Ken Walker (groin) won't play on Sunday. The veteran tailback reported groin tightness on Friday morning and was held out of Friday's practice. Walker was then initially listed as "Questionable" before being ruled out on Saturday.
Kansas City listed cornerback Mansoor Delane (shoulder) and running back Jaydn Ott (hamstring) as "Questionable" for Sunday, too. It's also worth noting that defensive tackle Chris Jones (personal) didn't travel with the team on Saturday, but he's expected to make it to Atlanta on his own and does not have a game desingation.
In some good news, wide receiver Xavier Worthy appears to be good to go after suffering a hamstring injury in last week's win over New York.
As for the Falcons, they'll be without rookie wide receiver Zachariah Branch (hamstring) on Sunday. Branch has primarily contributed as a return man on special teams this year. The Falcons will also likely be without starting linebacker Divine Deablo (forearm), who is listed as "Doubtful."
Additionally, Atlanta listed a pair of impact players as "Questionable" for Sunday's game in edge-rusher James Pearce (back) and defensive tackle Gervon Dexter (illness). Pearce, who registered double-digit sacks a year ago, made his season-debut last week. Dexter, meanwhile, ranks second on the Falcons with 25 pressures.
2. Kansas City will need to find a way to contain running back Bijan Robinson.
The top priority for the Chiefs' defense on Sunday is pretty simple: Kansas City has to find a way to at least contain Bijan Robinson's production.
In many ways, Robinson has mirrored what Ken Walker has done for Kansas City this year.
Both Walker and Robinson are near the very top of virtually every applicable leaderboard, including rushing yards (Robinson is first, Walker is second), total yards from scrimmage (Robinson ranks first, Walker ranks fourth), rushing yards-per-game (Walker ranks first, Robinson ranks fourth), broken tackles (Walker ranks second, Robinson ranks third) and average yards-per-rush (Walker ranks second, Robinson ranks fourth).
In other words, consider everything that Walker has been for Kansas City this year – that's what Robinson has meant to Atlanta. In simple terms, when Robinson has rushed for 145+ yards this year, the Falcons are 2-0. When he falls short of that number, Atlanta is 1-5.
Kansas City did an excellent job of containing Robinson back in Week 3 of the 2024 season, when the Chiefs held him to just 31 yards on 16 carries, and they'll need to find a way to turn in another strong effort on Sunday. It's also worth noting that Robinson ranks second on the Falcons in terms of targets (with 40) and will be a frequent component of Atlanta's passing game.
As for the Chiefs, Walker (groin) won't play on Sunday, and while his absence is significant, rookie tailback Emmett Johnson has flashed his immense potential in limited chances this season. He's likely to carry the load on Sunday, and there's no reason to believe that he isn't ready for the opportunity.
3. Creating pressure on Falcons quarterback Michael Penix is critical.
Penix has often flashed the magic this year that made him one of the top players in all of college football not too long ago, such as his three-touchdown performance against San Francisco that dealt the 49ers their only loss of the year.
An area where Penix has struggled, however, is when under pressure. According to ESPN Research, Penix has completed a league-low 18% of his passes when pressured this season, and looking at last week specifically, he completed just 1-of-9 passes for -3 yards and an interception while under pressure.
Fittingly, Kansas City is coming off one of its best games of the season in terms of pressuring the opposing quarterback. The Chiefs racked up a season-high five sacks against New York last week, recording a 50% pressure rate according to Next Gen Stats.
It shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise, either. The Chiefs have been delivering a strong pressure rate for much of the season, they just didn't have the sacks to show for it. In fact, Kansas City's 9.8% pressure-to-sack rate through Week 8 was the lowest in the NFL. The Chiefs bumped that number up to 26.3% on Sunday, hopefully marking a sign of things to come moving forward.
4. Wide receiver Drake London has accounted for 39% of the Falcons' receiving yards.
In addition to creating consistent pressure on Michael Penix, the Chiefs will need to find a way to at least contain wide receiver Drake London, who leads the Falcons in targets (68), catches (44), receiving yards (692) and receiving yards-per-game (76.9) while averaging 15.7 yards-per-catch.
Notably, London has accounted for 39% of the Falcons' receiving yards as a team this year, and while he's likely to make some plays throughout Sunday's game, the Chiefs will need to find a way to at least limit the 6-foot-4, 215-pound London's production.
5. Atlanta's defense can get after the passer.
The Falcons rank 20th in terms of scoring defense (24.8 points allowed-per-game) and 14th in sacks (20), but don't let those numbers fool you – this team is capable of causing some problems in the passing game.
Four different members of the Falcons have recorded at least 20+ pressures this year, as defensive linemen Brandon Dorlus (26), Cameron Thomas (26), Gervon Dexter Sr. (25) and Samson Ebukam (20) have each reached that tally. That group also doesn't include edge-rusher James Pearce, who made his season-debut last week after recording double-digit sacks a year ago.
The Falcons have often amassed those numbers without blitzing, too, as their 19.4% blitz rate is the fifth-lowest in the NFL.
One way to keep a strong pass-rush off balance is by running the football though, and for what it's worth, Atlanta has allowed at least 120 rushing yards in four of its last five games.
The Chiefs have topped 150 rushing yards as a team five times already this season, and – even without Ken Walker – their collective ability to run the ball effectively on Sunday may very well decide the game.
