After two home wins, the Kansas City Chiefs are ready to head to Atlanta to face the Falcons in their first away game of the season. With a matchup on Football on Sunday evening Atlanta is now hoping for a second consecutive surprise win in prime time. The Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles at the end of the Monday Night Football in Week 2. Maybe this will give the Atlanta team some confidence for the game against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Kirk Cousins ​​will look to carry the momentum from last game into his matchup against Patrick Mahomes. As far as the Chiefs signal caller is concerned, last Sunday was arguably one of his worst games ever. For that reason, it will be an exciting game for Kansas City’s offense against the NFC South on Sunday night.

There are several players worth highlighting and keeping an eye on in this match. Who can win the one-on-one duels throughout the game? What key duels are worth watching on Sunday?

Here are three crucial player duels for Chiefs-Falcons.

Travis Kelce’s slow start may not be a cause for concern, at least from a statistical standpoint. However, it was somewhat uncharacteristic of him to catch only a few passes each game. A catch against the Bengals was nullified by an offensive penalty. And inside the opponent’s five-yard line, he was credited with a run against Cincinnati on a backwards pass.

The game against the Falcons will test Kelce as he will be up against two experienced safeties who have seen him a lot. Jessie Bates, in his second season with the Falcons, had some key matchups against him early in his career with the Bengals. And of course Justin Simmons has been a thorn in the Chiefs’ side here and there since his days with the Broncos. Both veterans have great instincts and a feel for the football. Their ball skills may be the best of any safety duo in the entire NFL.

Will they be able to get around easy throwing windows when Mahomes wants to hit Kelce? Or can the tight end break free and start to pump up his stats like we usually see?

They may not be considered elite or even great offensive tackles in the NFL. However, Jake Matthews and Kaleb McGary have both been solid cornerstones in Atlanta for some time. Matthews’ stature and heavy hands give him solid skills as a blindside protector. McGary, meanwhile, moves smoothly and has above-average athleticism for a blocker his size. Pass blocking from Atlanta’s offensive tackles has been a little inconsistent so far. TJ Watt single-handedly destroyed any hope the Falcons offense had when he rushed McGary.

On the other side of the game, George Karlaftis and Mike Danna will be great opponents to watch. Karlaftis and Danna will both rely on power and physicality. Less speed is usually a plus for blockers like Matthews and McGary. However, Karlaftis and Danna’s hand-counter moves are huge. Additionally, if they’re called upon to run stunts or plays, can the Falcons’ offensive tackles maintain their advantage?

This is an exciting matchup as the experienced Cousins ​​is still trying to regain some sense of composure following his Achilles tendon tear last season.

Since the Falcons’ new coaching staff came on board, fantasy football owners have been excited to have Bijan Robinson on their team. Robinson’s performance in his rookie season was under a lot of scrutiny last year. But through the first two games of this season, Atlanta is rightfully continuing to give him a chance to both run outside and have cutback lanes between the tackles. Robinson has racked up 165 rushing yards on 32 carries so far. His yards per run mark is 5.2 in those two games.

But that’s not all, of course. The Falcons can rely on one of the better secondary forwards when needed. Tyler Allgeier is a perfect runner type who can offset Robinson’s speed. Allgeier can’t be caught either east or west. He really stays in the north lane to take the field.

The Chiefs rank middle of the pack in run defense after two games. They did the most damage to Lamar Jackson in the season opener. Kansas City will have to work hard to get out of blocks, something the linebackers struggled with early on. Atlanta did a great job last week of blocking down or getting to the second level to open up running lanes. If the Chiefs can’t shut down running attacks, the Falcons will take some possessions away from Mahomes and Co.