The Atlanta Falcons are absolutely desperate for a victory, now losing two straight and dropping to three games below .500 as well as last place in the worst division in football one week before they have a bye. 

Another loss would push the season to the brink and allow Atlanta to fall even further behind in a division which has never been more winnable. With the Kansas City Chiefs coming to town this week as one of the best teams in the AFC, the task is not going to be easy for them to escape with a victory.

This is a physical Chiefs team with a stingy defense, and if the Falcons are going to have a shot, they are going to have to make things uncomfortable for the Kansas City offense and not allow them to play the game they want.

As crazy as it sounds given the quarterback on the other side, this is a Chiefs team that has become much more dependent on the run than the arm of Patrick Mahomes. Kansas City wants to run the football with Kenneth Walker, and Atlanta cannot afford to let him get going.

Notably, Mahomes suffered an arm injury last week that while he did return, there's no question his throwing cannon is going to be a little bit on the sore side. Making him throw the ball 30 times while pressuring him relentlessly is the path to victory for the Falcons to be able to send them back home with a loss.

The Chiefs have not been able to be the same threat through the air that they have been at the peaks of the Mahomes era, and this is extremely fortunate for an Atlanta secondary which just traded their best defensive back in Jessie Bates.

Even without Bates though, the Falcons have to make Kansas City lean on the passing game more than the run, because if Walker is able to establish himself early and impose his will, things could get out of hand in favor of the Chiefs. With an arm that is not 100 percent for Mahomes, the game plan is going to be running the ball.

If Atlanta can do what it did early in the year and stop the run, time will tell just how healthy Mahomes is and if he's able to do what it takes.