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Kansas City Chiefs vs. Dallas Cowboys: Prediction, preview, pick to win

By The Sports Xchange
Alex Smith (11), Kareem Hunt and the Kansas City Chiefs pay a visit the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI
Alex Smith (11), Kareem Hunt and the Kansas City Chiefs pay a visit the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Photo by Matthew Healey/UPI | License Photo

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (6-2) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (4-3)

KICKOFF: Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, AT&T Stadium. TV: CBS, Jim Nantz, Tony Romo, Tracy Wolfson (field reporter).

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SERIES HISTORY: 11th regular-season meeting. Cowboys lead series, 6-4. Kansas City holds the bragging rights from the last matchup between the two franchises that once shared the city of Dallas. The Chiefs knocked off the Cowboys 17-16 thanks to two touchdown passes from quarterback Alex Smith in coach Andy Reid's first season in Kansas City. But the Chiefs own just one win in five tries in Dallas. This marks the team's first visit to AT&T Stadium.

KEYS TO THE GAME: A shootout seems likely between two of the league's top five scoring teams, and the Chiefs need to improve upon their red-zone performance. Kansas City settled for a mere six points on three trips to the red zone last week against the Broncos. Establishing the run with rookie Kareem Hunt and feeding a red-hot Travis Kelce should help the offense roll.

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On the defensive side, the Chiefs must find a solution for slowing down the Dallas run game, with or without Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield. Dak Prescott said it best. The Cowboys may have lost Elliott, but they still have best offensive line in the league. So they plan to continue to run the ball against a suspect Chiefs run defense. Prescott will have to convert third downs and make some plays down the field.

Defensively, the Cowboys must stop Hunt and prevent big plays on the outside from receiver Tyreek Hill.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

--Chiefs TE Travis Kelce vs. Cowboys FS Byron Jones. Kelce might be the best tight end in football right now. He has 44 catches for 556 yards and five touchdowns. He is coming off a seven-catch, 133-yard performance against the Broncos on Monday night. With his size and quickness, he is the ultimate mismatch player and will be a challenge for Jones, who has seen his fair share of top tight ends in the league. He will need to contain Kelce or he will get danced on in the end zone.

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--Cowboys WR Dez Bryant vs. Chiefs CB Marcus Peters. Peters is quietly becoming one of the best cornerbacks in the league -- a two-time Pro Bowl player who has a knack for turnovers. He has three interceptions this season and returned a fumble for a touchdown Monday night against the Broncos after also forcing the ball out on the tackle. The Cowboys can't shy away from his side of the field, and Bryant will need to make some big plays now that running back Ezekiel Elliott is suspended.

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: Cowboys CB Orlando Scandrick. He is coming off one of the best games of his career against the Redskins, with eight tackles, two for losses, and an 86-yard blocked FG return. But he can't rest on his laurels with speedy Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill on deck. Scandrick said former Olympian Marquise Goodwin of the 49ers was the fastest receiver he had ever gone against. Hill may be faster and certainly quicker.

FAST FACTS: Chiefs QB Alex Smith has 16 passing TDs and no interceptions in 2017, tied for the third-most TD passes without an interception to start a season in NFL history. He passed for two TDs and no interceptions and rushed for 57 yards in the last meeting. ... RB Kareem Hunt leads the NFL with 763 rushing yards and 1,070 scrimmage yards. He has the fourth-most scrimmage yards by a rookie in NFL history in a team's first eight games. He has 662 scrimmage yards (165.5 per game) with four TDs in his past four games on the road. ... CB Marcus Peters had an interception, a forced fumble and a 45-yard fumble return touchdown last week. He has 21 takeaways since entering the league in 2015, tied for the most in the first three seasons among active players. ... Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has 528 passing yards, four TDs and no interceptions and a rushing TD in two career home games against the AFC. In his past seven games at home, he has 1,758 passing yards, 14 TDs and two interceptions. He has three-plus TD passes in three of the past four games. ... RB Alfred Morris has 962 rushing yards (87.5 per game) and eight TDs in 11 career games against AFC foes when he has had 15-plus rushing attempts. ... DE DeMarcus Lawrence leads the NFL with 10.5 sacks and is tied for the league lead with three forced fumbles. He has a sack in all seven games this season. He has three sacks and two forced fumbles in the past three games against AFC teams. He has 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the past three games at home.

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PREDICTION: Tony Romo's excitement level for his first game at AT&T Stadium as an announcer instead of a player may bust open Jerry Jones' dome before halftime. One could do worse than to bet the over on this one with two explosive offenses, and the Chiefs will come out on top with a late field goal from Harrison Butker.

OUR PICK: Chiefs, 34-31.

--Bucky Dent

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