Prediction: Vikings 30, Chiefs 16

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Kansas City Chiefs are stepping bravely into their new world Sunday as they take on the Minnesota Vikings without running back Jamaal Charles. Charles, who tore the ACL in his right knee in last week’s game, has been their offensive engine every season except one since taking over as the featured back from Larry Johnson in 2009.

The exception was 2011, when Charles tore the ACL in his left knee in the season’s second game. Those Chiefs went 7-7 without Charles, though it often was ugly. The Chiefs scored more than 13 points just once in their final nine games, though the sluggish offense that year had as much to do with lousy quarterback play as Charles’ absence. That was…