The Kansas City Chiefs are fighting to swerve a shock playoff omission, with Daniel Jones and the surging Indianapolis Colts awaiting as their next hurdle.Â
Andy Reid's side, who were denied a third straight Super Bowl crown by the Philadelphia Eagles in February, sit 5-5 and third in the AFC West after suffering a 22-19 defeat to their division rival Denver Broncos in Week 11.
The clock is ticking, with SportNews NFL's Neil Reynolds and Phoebe Schecter deeming it a defining period of the campaign for Patrick Mahomes and co.
"Mahomes talked earlier this week about it being a season-defining game and Andy Reid talked about the urgency that is needed," said Schecter on Inside the Huddle.
"This would be the first time Mahomes has lost three back-to-back games potentially since college. I just don't see how they even allow that to happen. And they've been really close.
"There were just missed throws [against the Broncos]. I feel like they will pull it together because I don't think Daniel Jones is going to be able to keep up with that pressure.
"If you came into this year and said, 'OK, who is ninth in the AFC race behind the Texans and the Jags?', you never would have said it was the Chiefs. It's unchartered territory we're in right now."
Reynolds added: "This is a fascinating game because the Chiefs are kind of clinging on at 5-5. And the Colts are about to start a period of their season where they're going to have some tough second-half games."
Daniel Jones has asserted himself as one of the comeback stories of the season in the NFL by leading the Colts to an 8-2 record at the top of their division having won the starting spot from Anthony Richardson upon his arrival during the summer.
One of his few blemishes came two weeks ago when he threw three interceptions, lost two of three fumbles and was sacked seven times in defeat to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
He did, though, battle past the Atlanta Falcons' then No 1-ranked pass defense in Germany, albeit with the help of a blistering Jonathan Taylor display.
The former New York Giant must now face Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the best in the business at feasting on a quarterback's weak points.
"When we were in the studio together against Pittsburgh... I just worry about the increasing pressure that seems to be on Daniel Jones. Physical pressure, not mental pressure, although that should be there as well as he's chasing a Super Bowl," said Reynolds.
"Is Spags going to light up Daniel Jones? That would be my worry from a Colts fan."
Taylor is an Offensive Player of the Year frontrunner and an outside MVP contender with 1,399 scrimmage yards and a league-leading 17 total touchdowns as the heartbeat of the Colts offense. Stop him and you stop the Colts, Schecter believes.
"Spags is understanding that if you shut down the run game, Daniel Jones does not do well being forced to throw the football more than 70 per cent of the time, essentially," she said.
"And I think that there's an opportunity here for the Chiefs where they are desperate for finding an answer, right? They're desperate to find what is going to give them that life. Offensively, they're struggling, they're not able to connect.
"Chris Jones has not had a good couple of weeks. He's not shown up. This is a great opportunity for him to kind of be that big guy to block up the line of scrimmage.
"The biggest thing against Jonathan Taylor, and we saw it in that game in Berlin, is you just can't give up on the run. You can't just let him be patient back there and make moves, so everybody's going to have to play up and just be OK with the fact that Daniel Jones is going to try and throw that ball deep, but trust your guys back there to handle that."
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