The Vikings are 2-2, well-rested off a bye week and returning home to TCF Bank Stadium. The Chiefs are none of the above as we take our early look at the Vikings' next opponent. Warning: The opinions expressed here belong to the author, who welcomes everyone else to form their own.
Let's roll …
NEXT UP: Kansas City Chiefs, noon CT Sunday at TCF Bank Stadium. Sunday, the Chiefs were 9 ½-point home favorites when they lost 18-17 to a beat-up Bears team on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Matt Forte with 18 seconds left. The Chiefs have lost four straight to fall to 1-4, tied with Baltimore, Houston and Jacksonville for the AFC's worst record.
KEY INJURY: Jamaal Charles, the team's offensive identity and the versatile weapon that overcomes quarterback Alex Smith's many deficiencies, tore the ACL in his right knee on Sunday and is out for the season. Since 2012, when Charles returned from tearing the ACL in his left knee, the Chiefs have relied on Charles for 30.9 percent of their offense. According to ESPN, only Chicago running back Matt Forte (31.2) has accounted for a higher percentage during that time.
REPLACING JAMAAL: Charles' workload will fall to shifty second-year player Charcandrick West, who has 12 career carries, and Knile Davis, who has two career 100-yard games. The Chiefs also are working out former Texan, Brown and Viking Ben Tate and former Saint Pierre Thomas today. Coach Andy Reid also said Monday that 5-8, 176-pound receiver De'Anthony Thomas, a dangerous weapon on bubble screens, can play some at running back in this offense.
THE SERIES: This is only the 11th meeting since these two met for the first time in Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970. The Chiefs upset the Vikings 23-7 in that meeting and hold a 7-4 overall advantage. In the last meeting, Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel posted a 102.7 passer rating while leading Kansas City to a 22-17 win over Donovan McNabb, who fell to 0-4 as a starter to open the 2011 season. The Chiefs haven't played in Minnesota since a 45-20 loss in 2003.
A LOOK AT THE FILM: Smith sees ghosts
For Vikings fans, it will be interesting to see the Chiefs without Charles. For Chiefs fans, it could be sickening. Watching Sunday's game, it was immediately obvious that the key to shutting down the Chiefs' offense is taking away the screen game. Doing that forces Smith to throw the ball down the field, which he can't do consistently well because he either doesn't have the time (21 sacks, No. 2 in the league) or he hurries when he doesn't have to because he's so used to getting pummeled. Against the Bears, he ran for a first down on third-and-seven, but rushed a wide-open screen to Charles on the next snap. That could have been a big gainer but fell incomplete because Smith clearly was sensing pressure that wasn't there. Without Charles' versatility as a runner and short-pass receiver, Smith could be lost. With Charles, the Chiefs led the Bears 17-6 and had the ball inside the Chicago 10-yard line in the third quarter. After Charles left, the Chiefs had two first downs and gave up 12 unanswered points.