Colts at Chiefs

The ball will be in the air when the Colts visit the Chiefs on Sunday. One of the key stats separating winner from loser will be Bud Goode's Killer Stat, yards per pass attempt.

A second key stat is pass interceptions. The Chiefs and Colts both throw less than one INT per game.

Yards per toss is a pure measure of passing efficiency. The Chief's QB Trent Green earns more than 7 yards per toss (5th) while the Colt's QB Manning averaged 7.5 (2nd).

The Killer Stat is a measure of the marriage between the QB and his brace of receivers. The Chief's leading receiver, RB Priest Holmes averages over 10 yards per catch. The Colt's WR Harrison has speed, moves and "hands." These two outstanding athletes will be the focus of attention.

With Chiefs on offense and the Colts on D, the yards per pass stat gives the Chiefs a 4-point edge. With the Colts on offense the advantage is 2 1/2 points to the Colts.

Yards per Pass Att Kansas City Chiefs 2003 through Week 17

Yards per Pass Att Indianapolis Colts 2003 through Week 17

Last week in the first wildcard playoff round, the Colt's earned a phenom 12+ yards per toss and their D allowed the Denver Broncos only 5+. One yard per pass attempt more than your opponent contributes 3+ points to the scoring differential.

The difference between these two teams' pass efficiency performances contributed 29 points to the 31-point Colt victory.

Will we see an encore of this lopsided win vs the Chiefs?

The electronic hardware says no. The Chiefs lead the league on points scored. With their ability to score, they're always in the game. And one pass interception contributes 6 points.

Scoring projection: Chiefs over Colts by 9.

Bud Goode and Bill Sanders

Copyright 2003, BudGoodeSports.com. All rights reserved.