Arizona Cardinals look to snap four-game losing streak against the Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs recently saw their stranglehold on first place in the AFC West slip away and they'll be looking to get themselves back on top when they host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday 21 November.
Previous meetings and recent games
These two teams only meet every four years, but the Chiefs have won the previous two meetings including a lopsided 49-0 win back in 2002.
This season the Chiefs surprised everybody by jumping out to the early season lead in the division. With two straight losses, both to divisional opponents, the Chiefs have seen their lead in the division slip away. They were blown away by the Denver Broncos
last week by a score of 49-29.
Although the Chiefs might be on a bad run of late, it's hard to get much worse than the Cardinals. The Cardinals currently possess the second longest active losing streak in the NFL having lost four in a row. They were most recently dismantled for the second
time this season by the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 36-18 last Sunday.
How they match up
Matt Cassel hasn't put up MVP numbers this year, but he's been consistent for the Chiefs and has limited his errors and continues to make good on-field decisions.
For the Cardinals, since the retirement of Kurt Warner, things just haven't been the same. The Max Hall experiment proved to be a bust and Derek Anderson will likely get the call on Sunday. The Cardinals have the league's second worst offence which is surprising
given the receiving talent they have in Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston.
To make things worse for the Cardinals, they also have the league's third worst defence. They also have the league's second worst point differential and are a dreadful minus-86.
There was a time earlier this year when the San Diego Chargers had the league's best rated offence and best rated defence but were 2-5, which just goes to show that stats don't always tell the whole story. But in the Cardinal's case, the stats more closely
reflect what is going on in Arizona as they have been terrible on both sides of the ball.
After watching what the Denver Broncos did against the Chiefs last Sunday, however, the Cardinals will believe that all is not lost. The Broncos 30th ranked run defence somehow held the Chiefs top running offence to a paltry 51 yards, providing the blue
print on how to stop the Chiefs – that is, if you manage to jump out to an early 35-0 lead.
What to expect
The Chiefs will be looking to get their ground game functioning again so expect them to give the ball to Thomas Jones – who only had four carries against the Broncos – a little more often.
The Cardinals seem destined to forgo the pleasure of play-off appearance this season after playing in the NFC Divisional play-offs last season. The Chiefs still have a lot to play for and that should be enough motivation for them to get the win.
Chiefs take it 37-23.
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