Read More: Thomas Jones (RB – KAN), Steve Breaston (WR – KAN), Dwayne Bowe (WR – KAN), Tyler Palko (QB – KAN), Dexter McCluster (WR – KAN), New York Jets

Let’s take a look at exactly what the New York Jets will be facing Sunday when they meet the Kansas City Chiefs at MetLife Stadium. The Jets are 7-5, trying to stay in the AFC playoff race. The Chiefs (5-7) are having a down year, but are coming off a 10-3 victory over the Chicago Bears.

OFFENSE

The Chiefs have struggled offensively since losing quarterback Matt Cassel to injury, scoring just 22 points total in the three games in which Tyler Palko has been the quarterback. Kansas City has just one touchdown during that time. Palko, a second-year-player who had only two games of experience and no starts prior to this, has completed 64-of-102 passes (62.7 percent) for one touchdown, six interceptions and a passer rating of only 57.7.

Running back Thomas Jones spent three seasons with the Jets from 2007-09 and totaled 3,833 rushing yards with 28 touchdowns on the ground. Dexter McCluster has 425 yards rushing and 203 receiving for Kansas City. The Chiefs also have a potent pair of receivers in Dwayne Bowe (59 receptions) and Steve Breaston (48) if Palko can get the ball to them.

DEFENSE

Kansas City’s defense is led by linebacker Derrick Johnson, who has 100 tackles and two sacks so far this season. Linebacker Tamba Hali has eight sacks for the Chiefs. Cornerback Brandon Flowers has four interceptions for Kansas City.

Kansas City has been susceptible to the run, giving up 130.3 yards per game, which is 25th in the league.

KANSAS CITY (4-5) At NEW ENGLAND (6-3)

Monday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

OPENING LINE—Patriots by 14 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD—Kansas City 5-4; New England 5-4

SERIES RECORD—Chiefs lead 16-12-3

LAST MEETING—Patriots beat Chiefs 17-10, Sept. 7, 2008

LAST WEEK—Chiefs lost to Broncos 17-10; Patriots beat Jets 37-16

CHIEFS OFFENSE—OVERALL (28), RUSH (10), PASS (27)

CHIEFS DEFENSE—OVERALL (22), RUSH (26), PASS (16)

PATRIOTS OFFENSE—OVERALL (2), RUSH (19), PASS (1)

PATRIOTS DEFENSE—OVERALL (32), RUSH (9), PASS (32)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES—In last meeting between teams, Tom Brady(notes) suffered
season-ending knee injury in 2008 opener and was replaced by Matt Cassel(notes), now
Chiefs quarterback. Cassel will miss Sunday’s game, and possibly rest of season,
with injured throwing hand. … Chiefs assistants Maurice Carthon, Bill Muir,
Romeo Crennel, Anthony Pleasant and Otis Smith all coached or played under
Patriots coach Bill Belichick. … Tyler Palko(notes), who has thrown 13 NFL passes,
gets first pro start with Cassel out. … Chiefs have lost two straight after
winning four in row but are one game out of AFC West lead. … Thomas Jones(notes)
rushed for 103 yards last time he faced Patriots, on Nov. 22, 2009 with Jets.
… Javier Arenas(notes) third in NFL with 14.1-yard punt return average. … Chiefs
had no turnovers in last two games and are one of four teams without turnover
in at least four games. Others are New England, Cincinnati, Houston. … Chiefs
2-0 against Patriots on Monday night football. … Brady needs 295 yards passing
to set NFL record for first 10 games of a season. Drew Brees(notes) of Saints set mark
of 3,326 last Sunday. … DE Andre Carter(notes) tied for first in AFC with nine sacks
after getting club-record 4 1/2 against Jets. … CB Kyle Arrington’s(notes) five
interceptions are tied for first in NFL. … TE Rob Gronkowski(notes) has at least
seven catches in each of last four games and gained career-high 113 yards
receiving Sunday night. … Patriots 9-1 in their last 10 Monday night games.
… Five-time Pro Bowl guard Brian Waters(notes), signed by Patriots in September after
being cut by Chiefs in July, played past 11 seasons for Kansas City.

Read More: Thomas Jones (RB – KAN), Jackie Battle (RB – KAN), Kansas City Chiefs

Jackie Battle was a relative unknown to people who aren’t fans of the Kansas City Chiefs up until Week 5. Then, with Thomas Jones putting in another average performance, he burst onto the fantasy scene with a fantastic 19 carry, 119 yard performance against the Indianapolis Colts. Battle has been listed as probable all week following the Chiefs’ bye week, but he’s fully participated in practice and should get his chance to be the featured back against the Oakland Raiders. From the KC Star:

“We basically have a plan in terms of not equally distributing the carries,” [offensive coordinator Bill] Muir said, “but certain plays we maybe like with a certain player. Obviously you get in a situation where a guy is running tough and he’s running for extra yards – the kind of game sometimes dictates who that back is.”

What does that mean for his potential fantasy numbers? It’s hard to say. Battle was fantastic against the Colts, while Jones’ age and level of performance suggest that Battle is going to see plenty of carries. However, he’s only put up huge numbers on one occasion and it’s tough to bank on a guy like that putting in a repeat performance.

For more on the Chiefs, check out Arrowhead Pride. For more on fantasy football, check out Fake Teams. Follow @sbnationfantasy on Twitter.

Read More: Thomas Jones (RB – KAN), San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings

The Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings both come into Sunday’s game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City looking for their first win of the season. The Chiefs were blown out twice to start the season with a combined losing score of 89-10 before playing the Chargers much closer last week in San Diego. The Vikings have been much closer in their matchups as they’ve lost three games by a combined 14 points.

The Chiefs and Vikings share two common opponents thus far this season in the Detroit Lions and San Diego Chargers. The Chiefs were blown out by the Lions 48-3, while the Vikings played it close with the Lions at 23-26 but lost in overtime. The tough thing for the Vikings is that they were actually leading that game 20-0 at halftime before falling apart in the second half. The Chiefs just dropped a tough one to the Chargers last week by a score of 20-17, while the Vikings fell to the Chargers 24-17 to open the season.

The Kansas City Chiefs are hoping that first-round pick Jonathan Baldwin will be able to play in this game for the first time all season. Baldwin is still recovering from a cracked thumb suffered in the preseason in an alledged altercation with running back Thomas Jones. He was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice but has been seen catching passes this week which is progress for him. 

The status of cornerback Brandon Flowers is still in question as to whether or not he’ll be able to play against the Vikings with the high ankle sprain suffered last week against the Chargers. The injury report should come out Friday night and give a clearer indication of his chances on playing Sunday.

The key to victory for the Kansas City Chiefs is very simple for this game against the Vikings. If you stop Adrian Peterson you will win this game. Peterson is probably the best all-around back in the NFL when you look at a strength and speed combination. The Vikings are currently 3rd in the NFL in rushing with an average of 159 yards per game. But they’re ranked 29th in the NFL in passing with 143 yards per game through the air. Vikings quarterback Donovan McNabb has completed 58% of his passes for 478 yards with two touchdowns and just one interception so far this season. The Chiefs need to stop Adrian Peterson and force McNabb to beat them through the air.

The Chiefs will be counting on Matt Cassel to lead them through the air because the Vikings have a stout defensive line and they play the run very well. They are 4th in the NFL right now in rushing defense by allowing just 67 yards per game on the ground. The loss of Jamaal Charles puts the target right on Dexter McCluster and Thomas Jones to pick up the slack.

But the Vikings have been struggling against the pass as they rank 29th in the NFL by allowing 299 yards per game so far this season. But they’ve faced Philip Rivers, Matt Stafford and Josh Freeman. Those are three pretty good quarterbacks. The Chiefs passing attack seemed to find a rhythm in the second half against the Chargers and if they can come out against the Vikings with that same success, it’ll give the Chiefs a great chance at winning this game.