AFC Wild Card: Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts (Lucas Oil Stadium), the bracket opens here. Kickoff time: 4:35pm. Winner advances to the divisional round. Loser starts the offseason early.
Wild card weekend is the most chaotic football the calendar produces. Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium is the kind of game that decides whether a season was a long buildup or a quick exit. These are the games where the second-tier playoff teams have to prove they belong. Most don't. The few who do define the rest of January.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Lucas Oil Stadium shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
Kansas City Chiefs versus Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Wild Card. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of Kansas City Chiefs-Indianapolis Colts cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 12-4 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 8-8 | L2 |
| New York Jets | 8-8 | W2 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6-10 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals | 11-5 | W2 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 8-8 | L2 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 8-8 | W3 |
| Cleveland Browns | 4-12 | L7 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts | 11-5 | W3 |
| Tennessee Titans | 7-9 | W2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 4-12 | L3 |
| Houston Texans | 2-14 | L14 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Denver Broncos | 13-3 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 11-5 | L2 |
| San Diego Chargers | 9-7 | W4 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | L6 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle Seahawks | 13-3 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 12-4 | W6 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 10-6 | -- |
| St. Louis Rams | 7-9 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10-6 | W2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 8-8 | L1 |
| New York Giants | 7-9 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 3-13 | L8 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers | 8-7-1 | W1 |
| Chicago Bears | 8-8 | L2 |
| Detroit Lions | 7-9 | L4 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5-10-1 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Panthers | 12-4 | W3 |
| New Orleans Saints | 11-5 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4-12 | L2 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 4-12 | L3 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 1031414444 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 7 | 3 | 21 | 14 | 710314545 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | Dwayne Bowe 6 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) | 7-0 |
| Colts | T.Y. Hilton 10 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 7-7 |
| Chiefs | Ryan Succop 19 yard field goal | 10-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | Donnie Avery 79 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) | 17-7 |
| Chiefs | Anthony Sherman 5 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) | 24-7 |
| Colts | Adam Vinatieri 37 yard field goal | 24-10 |
| Chiefs | Knile Davis 4 yard rush ( Ryan Succop kick) | 31-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | Knile Davis 10 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) | 38-10 |
| Colts | Donald Brown 10 yard rush ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 38-17 |
| Colts | Donald Brown 3 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 38-24 |
| Chiefs | Ryan Succop 42 yard field goal | 41-24 |
| Colts | Coby Fleener 12 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 41-31 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Colts | Andrew Luck 5 yard offensive fumble return ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 41-38 |
| Chiefs | Ryan Succop 43 yard field goal | 44-38 |
| Colts | T.Y. Hilton 64 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick) | 44-45 |
| Chiefs | Colts | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 30 | 28 |
| Total Yards | 513 | 536 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 4 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 30/46 | 29/45 |
| Pass yards | 378 | 443 |
| Pass TD | 4 | 4 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 3 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 1 |
| Sack yards lost | 15 | 7 |
| Net pass yards | 363 | 436 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 32 | 19 |
| Rush yards | 150 | 100 |
| Rush TD | 1 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 1 | 2 |
| Fumbles lost | 1 | 1 |
| Penalties | 2 | 4 |
| Penalty yards | 15 | 19 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAN | |||||
| Alex Smith | 30/46 | 378 | 4 | 0 | |
| IND | |||||
| Andrew Luck | 29/45 | 443 | 4 | 3 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAN | ||||
| Knile Davis | 18 | 67 | 1 | 13 |
| Alex Smith | 8 | 57 | 0 | 16 |
| Jamaal Charles | 3 | 18 | 0 | 7 |
| Cyrus Gray | 2 | 5 | 0 | 3 |
| Dexter McCluster | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| IND | ||||
| Donald Brown | 11 | 55 | 1 | 13 |
| Andrew Luck | 7 | 45 | 0 | 21 |
| Trent Richardson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KAN | ||||
| Dwayne Bowe | 8 | 150 | 1 | 63 |
| Donnie Avery | 1 | 79 | 1 | 79 |
| Dexter McCluster | 7 | 52 | 0 | 19 |
| Knile Davis | 7 | 33 | 1 | 13 |
| Junior Hemingway | 2 | 30 | 0 | 17 |
| A.J. Jenkins | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 |
| Anthony Fasano | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5 |
| Anthony Sherman | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| IND | ||||
| T.Y. Hilton | 13 | 224 | 2 | 64 |
| LaVon Brazill | 4 | 54 | 0 | 30 |
| Donald Brown | 4 | 47 | 1 | 25 |
| Coby Fleener | 5 | 46 | 1 | 18 |
| Da'Rick Rogers | 1 | 46 | 0 | 46 |
| Griff Whalen | 2 | 26 | 0 | 17 |
Indianapolis Colts defeated Kansas City Chiefs 45-44 at Lucas Oil Stadium in the AFC Wild Card. The final scoring play was Colts: T.Y. Hilton 64 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick). The result came down to the final possession; Indianapolis Colts won by 1. Top line of the day: Andrew Luck: 443 pass yards on 29-of-45, 4 TD, 3 INT. Indianapolis Colts advance to the divisional round.
Indianapolis Colts walked out of Lucas Oil Stadium as the team that survived an AFC Wild Card Kansas City Chiefs will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 45-44. The game stayed within 1 points throughout, the kind of contest where every drive felt like a referendum and every defensive stop carried twice its usual weight. The final scoring play came from Colts: T.Y. Hilton 64 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Indianapolis Colts advance to the divisional round.
Indianapolis Colts 45, Kansas City Chiefs 44. Round: AFC Wild Card. Attendance: 63551. Q1: 3 scoring plays. Q2: 4 scoring plays. Q3: 5 scoring plays. Q4: 3 scoring plays. Top performers: - Andrew Luck: 443 pass yards on 29-of-45, 4 TD, 3 INT - Knile Davis: 67 rush yards on 18 carries - T.Y. Hilton: 13 catches for 224 yards
AFC Wild Card, played at Lucas Oil Stadium. Final: Kansas City Chiefs 44, Indianapolis Colts 45, with Indianapolis Colts taking the result by 1. **First quarter**
- Chiefs: Dwayne Bowe 6 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) - Colts: T.Y. Hilton 10 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick) - Chiefs: Ryan Succop 19 yard field goal
**Second quarter**
- Chiefs: Donnie Avery 79 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) - Chiefs: Anthony Sherman 5 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) - Colts: Adam Vinatieri 37 yard field goal - Chiefs: Knile Davis 4 yard rush ( Ryan Succop kick)
**Third quarter**
- Chiefs: Knile Davis 10 yard pass from Alex Smith ( Ryan Succop kick) - Colts: Donald Brown 10 yard rush ( Adam Vinatieri kick) - Colts: Donald Brown 3 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick) - Chiefs: Ryan Succop 42 yard field goal - Colts: Coby Fleener 12 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick)
**Fourth quarter**
- Colts: Andrew Luck 5 yard offensive fumble return ( Adam Vinatieri kick) - Chiefs: Ryan Succop 43 yard field goal - Colts: T.Y. Hilton 64 yard pass from Andrew Luck ( Adam Vinatieri kick)
**Top performers**
- Andrew Luck: 443 pass yards on 29-of-45, 4 TD, 3 INT - Knile Davis: 67 rush yards on 18 carries - T.Y. Hilton: 13 catches for 224 yards
A 1-point margin in AFC Wild Card is the kind of result that defines reputations on both sidelines.