The latest
NFL Network’s David Carr: Kansas City Chiefs are still ‘the team to beat’ in AFC | Yahoo! Sports
NFL Network’s David Carr explains why the Kansas City Chiefs are still the team to beat in the AFC playoffs.
Russell Wilson Is Your NFL MVP, not Patrick Mahomes | FOX Sports Radio
Colin Cowherd knows everybody likes the shiny new toy on Christmas but Russell Wilson proved last night that the real value is in consistent game-winning performances. Patrick Mahomes hasn’t won the games that matter while Wilson quietly has his team poised for a deep playoff run.
“We just played good, sound football,” linebacker K.J. Wright said. “We read our keys, and they do a lot of stuff to get your eyes off, but we communicated really well. Mahomes is a good quarterback, but this defense can take really good football teams and make them look normal.”
SI.com’s Ben Baskin says the Seahawks’ win once again exposed the Chiefs’ porous defense.
No teams have ever hoisted the Lombardi with a defense as bad as the Chiefs have had so far this year. Of the 52 Super Bowl winners, 45 of them have had a top-10 defense. For all the talk about the last half-decade or so being The Era of Offense, it is as difficult as ever for a poor defensive team to make a run in the playoffs. The last five Super Bowl winners have had average defensive rank of 3.6. (2017 Eagles ranked fourth, ’16 Patriots first, ’15 Broncos fourth, ’14 Patriots eighth, ’13 Seahawks first.)
Chiefs show desperation in turning to rookie cornerbacks at Seattle | ESPN
“I think I played decent but not good enough,” Ward said. “It was my first game, my debut at cornerback on defense. I was kind of nervous, but you can’t be nervous in the NFL. [Wilson and some of the Seahawks] have been to a couple of Super Bowls. They’re experienced and I’m kind of inexperienced. I’ve just got to grow within this next week, be ready for the Raiders when they call my number again.”
2019 NFL mock draft: The strangest QB draft in years | SB Nation
31. Kansas City Chiefs: Trayvon Mullen, CB, Clemson
It’s clear the Chiefs need to find some talent at cornerback this offseason. That will be tough considering where they’ll be picking. Mullen is a little raw, but at 6’1 he has good length to play on the outside.
Broadcaster Al Michaels discusses how Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid kept Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles from retiring.
Around the league
D.J. Swearinger waived by Washington Redskins | NFL
latest postgame criticism. After Saturday’s loss to the Blaine Gabbert-led Tennessee Titans, the 27-year-old safety went off on the coaching staff, specifically defensive coordinator Greg Manusky.
The Steelers played their best game of the season but a confluence of events — some their own doing (a Stevan Ridley fumble and a fake punt from midfield on fourth-and-5 come to mind) and some completely out of their control. Which brings us to the Saints’ second drive of the game.
Seahawks sign Pete Carroll to extension through 2021 | NFL
The Seattle Seahawks signed the head coach to a multi-year extension through 2021 on Monday afternoon. Carroll will earn more than $11 million per year, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league, a source told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.
Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster takes blame for loss vs. Saints | ESPN
“It’s tough to go out like that,” Smith-Schuster said after the game. “I got tackled, I fumbled, game over. I was just trying to get down. They made a good play.”
Rams could sit Todd Gurley (knee) again in Week 17 | NFL
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday on “Good Morning Football” that the Ramsmay keep Gurley on the sideline again this week, noting that “nothing is more important than the playoffs.”
Tom Brady ‘not getting into specifics’ on knee injury | NFL
The other issue for New England is Brady’s knee. The quarterback clearly doesn’t look right as he deals with a left knee injury.
Despite evidence to the contrary, Brady insisted Monday he feels “great.” He wouldn’t discuss the knee injury when asked specifically if he’s dealing with an MCL sprain.
In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride
Andy Reid Monday roundup: A reminder for fans, Patrick Mahomes and Charvarius Ward
“Those happen to all quarterbacks—young or old. Some of it, I could put him in a better position to make plays, give him better calls there. He’ll take care of the rest of that. He knows. It’s no want-to of not starting fast and all that. I think it’s just kind of the way it’s laid there. I can help him with some of those things.”
Chiefs playoff picture: final edition
The Chiefs have a 76 percent chance to win the one seed, a 5 percent chance to win the two seed — therefore an 81 percent chance for a first-round bye — a 5 percent chance to win the three seed, and a 13 percent chance to win the five seed.
Here’s Andy Reid’s explanation for the Week 16 benching of Orlando Scandrick and Ron Parker
Safety Ron Parker and cornerback Orlando Scandrick are not All-Pros. Neither player has played well enough this year to merit unquestioned playing time, so it should not have been a complete shock to anyone that both players were benched for Sunday Night Football against the Seattle Seahawks.
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Kansas City Chiefs
What we learned about the Chiefs this week – Arrowhead Pride
Kansas City Chiefs
Who will be RB2 in Kansas City Chiefs offense in 2020? – KC Kingdom