Great teams find a way to win even when they aren’t playing their best football.
Neither the Kansas City Chiefs nor the Indianapolis Colts played particularly well last week. But the Chiefs persevered and pulled out a win against the Lions, while the Colts got beaten badly by the Raiders.
Though Jacoby Brissett has been surprisingly effective in the aftermath of Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement, the injury-plagued Colts look like a decent team destined to stay in the middle of the pack.
Even behind a stout offensive line, Jacoby Brissett needs his stars to succeed. With T.Y. Hilton injured and Marlon Mack banged up and on the sidelines for most of Week 4’s game, a valiant effort from Zach Pascal (four catches for 72 yards) wasn’t enough to get the job done.
To win games, Brissett also needs help from his defense. The Colts had difficulty getting to the quarterback, combining for only one sack on the day against the Raiders. Injuries to linebackers and in the secondary showed just how weak the defensive line really is, and it isn’t pretty. Without Darius Leonard leading the team at linebacker, this defense is in rough shape.
The Chiefs, by contrast, look like they might be the best team in the NFL.
Patrick Mahomes had a very mortal game against the Bucs, going 24 for 42 for 315 yards, but the Chiefs still won. Strong running from LeSean McCoy helped keep KC in the game, but it was the defense that saved the day.
Cornerback Beshaud Breeland had an amazing fumble recovery that he turned into a 100-yard touchdown run. Though the secondary and run defense had their problems, the pass defense, led by a strong performance by Chris Jones, held it together for Kansas City. They got to Matt Stafford four times, and held off the Lions.
In their sloppiest game of the season to date, the Chiefs still found a way to win. Despite some hiccups, we should expect them to keep doing just that.
| HOW TO WATCH CHIEFS VS. COLTSWITHOUT CABLE | |
| FUBOTV | TRY NOW |
| HULU WITH LIVE TV | TRY NOW |
| SLING TV | TRY NOW |
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Indianapolis Colts
- When: 8:20pm ET, Sunday, Oct. 5 (coverage begins at 7pm ET)
- Where: Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri
- Streaming: Sunday Night Football airs exclusively on NBC and is available on any platform that carries the network. Fans have a number of options for streaming the week’s marquee game.
Chiefs vs. Colts live stream: How to watch Sunday Night Football online
1) FuboTV
- Cost: $54.99 per month
- FuboTV devices: Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Android TV, iOS and Android devices
- FuboTV local channels: Fox, NBC, CBS (check local availability here)
If you’re a big-time sports fan, FuboTV is your best streaming service option. If you love international soccer and you’re a Spanish speaker, FuboTV also offers various add-on packages, including Fubo Latino and Fubo Português. FuboTV’s basic plan showcases nearly 100 channels and includes NFL Network. At $54.99 per month, you’ll also get FS1, FS2, NBCSN, NBA TV, Big Ten Network, Pac 12 Network, BeIn Sports, and CBS Sports Network, along with premium channels like FX/FXX/FXM. The only notable omission for sports fans is ESPN. You can add Fubo’s Sports Plus package for an additional $8.99 per month, which allows you to stream NFL RedZone. (Here’s the complete FuboTV channels list.)
2) Hulu with Live TV
- Cost: $44.99 per month
- Hulu devices: Roku, Apple TV, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch, and iOS and Android devices
- Hulu local channels: ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, the CW (check your local availability here)
Hulu with Live TV includes sports programming among its offerings, including ESPN and FS1, and as a subscriber to the service, you’ll get free access to Hulu’s sizable on-demand library. (Check out the full list of Hulu Live TV channels.)
3) Sling TV
- Cost: $25-$40 per month (40% off first month)
- Sling TV devices: Amazon Fire TVs, Android Fire Stick, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Xbox One, Google Chromecast, Oculus Go, and iOS and Android devices
- Sling TV local channels: NBC, Fox (check your local availability here)
Both Sling Blue ($25 per month) or Sling Orange + Blue ($40 per month) include NFL Network and a number of sports channels—like three ESPN channels and NBCSN—and it’s still a nice perk that Sling subscribers can order a la carte packages. Sling TV also offers a special Latino package for bilingual viewers. Sling TV is currently offering a deal where you can subscribe for 40% off the regular price for the first month of your subscription. That means Sling Blue would cost $15, and Sling Orange + Blue would cost $25. (Here’s a complete guide to Sling TV channels and our Sling TV review.)
For $10 extra per month, you can get NFL RedZone via the Sling Blue Sports Extra package.
How to use AirTV with Sling
AirTV solves one of Sling’s biggest problems: The inability to receive all of your local channels. By purchasing a basic AirTV for $79.99 or the AirTV Player for $119.99, you can merge those local channels into your Sling TV, (or on your mobile device if you have the basic AirTV). As the Daily Dot wrote in its AirTV review, “It’s practically magic.”
The basic AirTV is a dual-tuner streaming device, while the AirTV Player is basically an upgraded Chromecast that has Netflix preinstalled. You’ll still need to own an HD antenna because even though AirTV gets you access to your local channels, it doesn’t actually physically show them to you.
But AirTV—which has no monthly fee—serves to strengthen one of Sling’s biggest weaknesses compared to other live streaming services like Hulu with Live TV, YouTube TV, and PlayStation Vue. All those services have plenty of local channels. While select NFL and college football games (on Fox, FS1, and FS2) are no longer on Sling, you can still catch Fox games with AirTV.
4) PlayStation Vue
- Cost: $44.99-$79.99 per month
- PlayStation Vue devices: PlayStation 3 and 4, Roku, Amazon Fire, Google Chromecast, Kodi, iOS and Android devices
- PlayStation Vue local channels: NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS (enter your ZIP code here to check your availability)
If you’d like to watch live NFL games directly from your PS4, PlayStation Vue is your best bet. PlayStation also works with streaming devices like Roku and Amazon Fire products, but what separates PlayStation from the rest of the streaming services is that it’s also compatible with Kodi. No matter how you stream, you’ll get to choose from four tiers of channels—all but the cheapest include NFL Network. From there, you can also add NFL RedZone as part of the $10-per-month Sports Pack, which also unlocks ESPN Bases Loaded, ESPN Classic, Longhorn Network, Outside TV, and NBCUniversal regional sports networks. You can see the full list of PlayStation Vue channels here. Two other great perks: You can stream on up to five devices at once, and there’s also unlimited cloud DVR.
5) YouTube TV
- Cost: $50 per month
- YouTube TV devices: Google Chromecast, Roku, Apple TV, Android TV, Xbox One, iOS and Android devices
- YouTube TV local channels: NBC, CBS, Fox, ABC, the CW (enter your ZIP code here to check your availability)
YouTube TV is a great option for college football fans, including ESPN and FS1. (Take a look at the full list of YouTube TV channels here.)
6) NBC Sports app
Devices: Roku, Amazon Fire Stick and Fire TV, Xbox, iOS and Android devices
If you have cable, or one of the aforementioned live TV streaming services, you can download the NBC Sports app and watch Sunday Night Football there in HD. If you’re using a web browser, you may need to install the latest version of Adobe Flash and your browser will need to be current enough to support HTML5 Media Source Extensions. You’ll also need a minimum internet connection of 10-plus Mbps. (Here are some tips for faster WiFi.)
Fantasy Football: Who should I start?
Chiefs
LeSean McCoy, Running Back: Mahomes is so good that it is actually hard to tell who is going to catch passes besides tight end Travis Kelce. However, McCoy’s career has been rejuvenated in Kansas City and should be treated as at least a flex and possibly an RB2 the rest of the way.
Colts
Marlon Mack, Running Back: Mack left the game early in Week 4, but early reports say he should be good to go this week. Considering Jacoby Brissett was the leading rusher in his absence, he shouldn’t have any fears about losing the starting job.
Chiefs vs. Colts: Why it matters
Even a totally healthy Colts team would have trouble handling these Chiefs. Despite a weaker performance last week, Mahomes is still averaging 377 yards per game. Brissett’s average is 227.
While Kanas City’s defense has its problems, giving up around 30 points a game, the Colts are equally unimpressive. They went into Week 4 at 21st and 25th in terms of DVOA respectively, and didn’t do anything much differently last week.
It isn’t impossible to imagine the Colts stealing a win from Kansas City. With Mack back, and better defensive play, this game could be competitive.
However, with the game in Arrowhead, barring another uncharacteristically weak performance from Mahomes and a stifled LaSean McCoy, it is hard to imagine the Colts taking out one of the league’s best teams in their own stadium.
Look for the Chiefs to continue their dominance in primetime on Sunday night.
READ MORE:
- How to watch NFL RedZone without cable
- How to watch NFL Sunday Ticket without a DirecTV satellite
- How to watch NFL Network online (without cable)
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