The Dwayne Bowe Connection

The Chiefs reached a new low as they followed a blowout loss to the Cleveland Browns by getting shutout by the miserable Oakland Raiders.  The 15-0 drubbing is another blemish on the resume of coach Romeo Crennel and General Manager Scott Pioli, who will both likely be gone at the end of the season.  However, something has come to light in the last two games.  Since Dwayne Bowe went down with an injury the Chiefs have been unable to move the ball.  Bowe was injured on the second drive of the game against the Browns, and since then (seven quarters) the Chiefs have put up no points.

(Image from www.Photos.OregonLive.com)

Without Bowe the Chiefs were easily stopped by a terrible Cleveland Browns team and by a sub-par Oakland Raiders team, both of which that had shown very little life all season. Both teams were able to focus in on the run as they realized a Brady Quinn led offense without a major receiver had little to no chance of making a major play through the air.  Bowe now appears to have two broken ribs, and he was just placed on "IR", meaning that he will be out the rest of the season.  This news may come as a blessing in disguise, as the Chiefs have seriously decreased any slim chances they had of winning again.

(Image from www.Zimbio.com)

Next week the Chiefs face the Colts at home, and they will a wide receiver to step up, either Jon Baldwin, Steve Breaston, or Terrance Copper. However, Jamaal Charles will likely carry the load along with Peyton Hillis, who has done little since being on the cover of the popular video game Madden NFL 2012. The Chiefs don't have much of a chance though, as Andrew Luck has led the Colts to a postseason berth, just one year removed from having the worst record in all of football.

(Image from www.BleacherReport.com)

The Colts have been hot as of late. They've won seven of their last nine contests, and have an overall record of 9-5. Luck has shown himself to be a top choice for the Rookie of the Year award and has even looked to be a solid choice for the NFL's Most Valuable Player award. Luck is on pace to go over 4,000 passing yards on the season, a mark that is unheard of for a rookie.

(Image from www.ESPN.go.com)

The Colts have been improved defensively this year in a big way.  In the secondary, Darius Butler has managed to snag three interceptions and was able to return one of them for a touchdown. Robert Mathis has also been huge for the defense this year, as he already has seven sacks on the season to go along with an interception and a forced fumble. The Colts will not need to be great defensively though, because the Chiefs are without their only vertical threat, meaning that the Colts can afford to blitz on nearly every down.

On paper the Chiefs don't have a chance, but when a team is facing a rookie quarterback anything can happen.  Andrew Luck is hardly a typical rookie though, as he graduated after four years at Stanford and is playing like a veteran of the NFL.  Ultimately though the Chiefs need to continue to lose in order to secure the first pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, and there is no evidence to suspect that they wont.