On Deck: Chiefs

On Deck will be here all season to provide you with everything you need to know (and a few things you don't) about every Cowboys game during the 2013 season. 

The Opponent: The Kansas City Chiefs won just a couple of games in 2012 but have a new look with veteran head coach Andy Reid taking over and Alex Smith coming in to play quarterback. They're a favorite to be one of the teams that finds the playoffs this year after missing out last season.

Past Meetings: The last time the teams met was in 2009 at Arrowhead Stadium, otherwise known as the Miles Austin game. Austin, making his first career start for the injured Terrell Owens, caught two touchdown passes and racked up a club-record 250 yards receiving en route to a big 26-20 win.

What's Hot: The Cowboys' new Monte Kiffin-led defense racked up six turnovers in Sunday night's win over Eli Manning and the Giants, nearly half the total from the entire 2012 season under Rob Ryan's tutelage. The Cowboys got some solid play from some no-name defensive linemen, too, and Sean Lee and Bruce Carter looked great in their new 4-3 defense roles. Running back DeMarco Murray racked up more than 100 total yards, even though the Cowboys didn't run the ball as much as was expected in Bill Callahan's debut for calling plays.

The Chiefs rolled the Jacksonville Jaguars, which might be the NFL's worst team as the Kansas City defense pitched a shutout with Jacksonville getting its only points on a safety. Alex Smith did an admirable job in his first start as a Chief and under the direction of offensive guru Andy Reid. Smith didn't top 200 yards passing, but he did throw for two touchdowns and rushed for 25 yards.

What's Not: The Cowboys offensive line is still not good, but it's better. Even still, there was some issues with running the ball, but that might have been more a result of play-calling. Travis Frederick was effective in his NFL debut, but the O-line could still get a whole lot better.

Dwayne Bowe caught just four passes for 30 yards in his 2013 debut and will look to bounce back against a secondary that could be missing Mo Claiborne, and at the very least will have a less-than-100 percent version of him.

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Familiar Faces: Brian Waters, the former UNT standout, who was signed last week by Dallas to give them depth, and an added starter, for that matter, on the offensive line, will make his return to Arrowhead, where he played for 11 seasons with the Chiefs. Another former Chief, Brandon Carr, will also make his first return to KC since joining the Cowboys last season. Carr had a pick-6 in last week's win over the Giants.

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