The Kansas City Chiefs‘ defense had been hearing all season about how bad they

KANSAS CITY Peyton Manning Jersey , Mo. (AP) — were, and how they were the biggest threat to an offensive juggernaut falling short of reaching the Super Bowl.Then they shut down the Oakland Raiders in Week 17.Now, the Raiders are hardly one of the NFL's premier offenses, and they rolled into Arrowhead Stadium with little impetus to play hard. But by holding Derek Carr and the rest of the Oakland offense in check, it gave the Chiefs some positive momentum heading into the playoffs, not to mention proof that some subtle tweaks to their personnel packages had paid dividends. "We just have to keep it rolling," said linebacker Justin Houston, their longtime emotional leader. "It's a great time for us to play like this. We were firing on all cylinders from the front to the back end (against Oakland) and now we just have to build off it."That's because Andrew Luck and the rest of the Indianapolis Colts, who come to Kansas City for the divisional round on Saturday, represent a massive upgrade in competition.Luck threw the second-most touchdown passes in the NFL this season, behind the Chiefs' Patrick Mahomes, and enjoyed one of the best offensive line performances in the league.Their offense isn't a one-trick pony, either. They dominated the Texans on the ground in a 21-7 win in the wild-card game, when Marlon Mack piled up 148 yards rushing and a touchdown.Together Al Woods Color Rush Jersey , the Colts have roared into the postseason with seven wins in eight games."Andrew's going to get you every once in a while," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said, "and you've got to make sure you get him more than he gets you, but he's got a lot of good players around him. That offensive line, people can argue with you that it's the best in the National Football League. You look at the receivers, they've got good receivers, they've got good tight ends, you go all the way around."You've got to bring your best. That's what the playoffs are all about," Reid added. "This is the best in the National Football League, which is the best in the world, and you have an opportunity to do that. That's an exciting thing, but you better bring your best every play."The question for the Chiefs is simple, though: Is their best good enough?Indianapolis was fifth in scoring while the Chiefs were 24th in scoring defense. They were last in the league in rush defensive efficiency, average yards after contact and first-down percentage https://www.coltsfanshop.com/Erik-Swoope-Jersey , and they were second-to-last in yards-per-carry allowed despite many teams trying to play catch-up.As bad as those numbers were, though, the Chiefs were actually respectable against the pass. And they were downright dominant when it came to pressuring the quarterback, generating sacks on 7.4 percent of pass plays — better even than Khalil Mack and the Bears — and pressure on 31.1 percent of them.That means an intriguing matchup between the Colts offensive line, which hasn't allowed anybody to have more than one sack in a game since Week 4, and the Chiefs' pass dominant rush."The goal and strategy remains the same," Colts offensive coordinator Nick Sirianni said. "Run the football and set up other things by running it, and then be successful in situational football."The Chiefs made some key personnel changes late in the season, effectively benching veteran safety Ron Parker and cornerback Orlando Scandrick. Daniel Sorensen, Charvarius Ward and Jordan Lucas have been playing more, and their results against woebegone Oakland were encouraging.The Chiefs also could get safety Eric Berry back after he missed Week 17 with a recurrence of his heel injury. Berry only played a couple of games this season, but he changed the entire dynamic of the Kansas City defense for the snaps he was on the field."We've just got to lock in," Chiefs cornerback Kendall Fuller said. "For us, we're inside this building. That's the only thing we're focusing on. I'm not a big social media guy. We just come together week-in and week-out Malik Hooker Jersey , to win on Saturday. We just keep it in-house and focus on each other."Notes: Berry and WR Sammy Watkins (foot) participated in the portion of practice open to the media on Tuesday. DT Derrick Nnaddi (concussion) also said that he'd been cleared to rejoin practice. … OLB Dorian O'Daniel did not practice because of a calf and ankle injury. It’s no longer a secret that the Indianapolis Colts feel that they’ve hit the lottery with a couple of their recent draft picks. Rookies Darius Leonard and Quenton Nelson have been major contributors for the team in a season that was seen as just another step in the rebuild of the roster.To some extent that’s still true. However, neither Leonard or Nelson have played like rookies. Not even good rookies. They’ve been putting together some seriously impressive performances worthy of being very good NFL pros regardless of tenure.It’s not an ‘award’ but Jeff Legwold — senior writer for ESPN — has recognized the duo as being two of the top 10 rookies in the league to this point in the season. Sportscenter on FacebookLeonard has missed a game this season, but still leads the league in total tackles with 122, and has a nice little cushion over the next highest total of 106 tackles which is shared by, both, Miami’s Kiko Alonso and Green Bay’s Blake Martinez. Leonard is also tied for the team lead in sacks (6), has forced 4 fumbles (team high), and is third on the team in tackles for loss as well.Nelson has also taken the league by storm. As an interior lineman, Nelson has been a key cog in the Colts’ offensive line seeing a much improved season, and has undoubtedly assisted in Andrew Luck’s impressive season.Nelson was seen as a ‘can’t miss’ lineman in the 2018 NFL draft, but many struggled to give him the credit for being the right pick for Chris Ballard simply due to his positional value. Within Ballard’s vision of constructing this roster, though, it appears to have been a no-brainer on his part. Nelson has been very good in protection, and is often the first player down the field on running plays. His draw comes from his nature of being a bully in the trenches as well as his athletic ability to pull and open up running lanes on the perimeter. So far Quincy Wilson Color Rush Jersey , Nelson has proved to be a fantastic pick for the second-year Colts’ GM.Leonard was seen in another light, though, after he was selected by the Colts. He wasn’t seen as a good pick — at all. He was often reviewed as one of the worst picks, not just by the Colts, but by any team in the entire draft. His being selected in the second round was the main reason for this blowback, but Leonard has more than quieted the critics with his all-around play in his rookie campaign.As Leonard sits at second on Legwold’s list, this is pretty par for the course among NFL analysts right now and he has a very legitimate possibility for taking home defensive rookie of the year honors. For Nelson, only Baker Mayfield, Saquon Barkley and Phillip Lindsay sit above him on this rookie list on the offensive side of the ball, thus, it appears equally possible for him to be heavily in the mix for the offensive rookie of the year award as well. Any way you choose to look at it, the Colts have a very productive rookie class this year, and Leonard and Nelson are the clear front-runners at positions in which the Colts desperately needed difference making players on their respective sides of the ball. It looks like Ballard may know what he’s doing.