Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 12/24

Chiefs Lear From Loss. "Will Get Better" from The Mothership

"First off, hats off to the Colts," Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson said. "They came in, had a game plan and they executed. They beat us, no excuses. If we're going to go all the way, which we plan to, we can't ever play like this. There is no excuse; we have to get a lot better."

Kansas City was off to a great start, beginning on defense, forcing the Colts into a quick three-and-out, but as the game progressed, penalties and mistakes came back to haunt them, according to CB Sean Smith.

"We started off pretty good, and as the game went on, it got turned up to a different notch, we definitely didn't match their intensity," Smith said. "As far as fundamental things and technical things, we have to go back to the film, see what we did wrong and correct our mistakes."

Andy Reid's Monday Presser Transcript from The Mothership

Q: Can you take pride in knowing that what your team showed isn't the identity that your team has shown all year?

REID: "Listen, it's a good character football team. They got us yesterday. They were the better team yesterday, all the way around. I thought they coached better, I thought they played better. That happens in this league, I get it. It's important that we figure out how we can coach better and how we can play better. Whether we play them or somebody else, we need to make sure we do that. That's what we'll do, whoever we play this week, it's the Chargers, we know them; they got us last time. We respect them. We're going to go in and study them like crazy and go out there and play good football."

KCChiefs.com Video: Eric Berry Makes A Delivery

CBS Sports Video: Should Reid Rest Starters?

Kansas City Chiefs Defenders: Colts Kicked Our Butts from NFL.com

The Chiefs already had an AFC playoff spot and, in reality, Sunday's game probably wouldn't have changed their seeding, win or lose. The way they lost, however, brings into question whether the Chiefs are legitimate contenders, or if they just beat up on bad teams early in the season.

We'll find out in January.

Rest 'Em, Andy! The Kansas City Chiefs Don't Need To Be At Full-Strength In San Diego from FS Kansas City

What would be the bloody the point? Sportsmanship? Credibility? Honor? Please. Bill Belichick laughs at your honor. On Planet Goodell, it's win now and wrestle with your conscience later.

So as to the question of whether the Kansas City Chiefs should rest some or all of their starters in a meaningless (but warm) contest in San Diego this weekend, well -- it's not really much of a question, is it?

The Chiefs haven't won in San Diego since September 2007.

They haven't won a postseason game anywhere since January 1994.

Priorities, people.

Monday Notebook: Reid Aware Of Need To Keep Charles Involved from Chiefs Spin

A week after a record-setting performance of five total touchdowns, Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles pulled a virtual disappearing act after a first-quarter touchdown.

It proved odd to observe, especially on a day when nothing appeared to work against the Indianapolis Colts with the exception of Charles.

At one point in the third quarter, the Chiefs had 150 total yards offense on the game; Charles accounted for 105 of those yards.

Nevertheless, Charles became an afterthought during the second half, leading to coach Andy Reid shouldering the blame during Monday's media session.

With Undefeated Start Firmly In Rearview Mirror, Chiefs Face More Questions Than Answers from Sports Illustrated

The last time the Chiefs beat a team worthy of playoff contention was on Sept. 26, when they took the Philadelphia Eagles 26-16. But that was when the Eagles were getting used to Chip Kelly, Michael Vick was the starting quarterback instead of Nick Foles and the Chiefs were still sacking quarterbacks. Kansas City has the San Diego Chargers in its regular-season finale, and if it can't take that one, the questions will persist - even when the playoff opportunity is still valid.

Three Painful Questions From Sunday's Chiefs Letdown (None Of Which Bring Holiday Cheer) from FS Kansas City

Did you notice how many times Andrew Luck either rolled the pocket away from a Bob Sutton blitz or did just enough dancing to make time to find a hot read?

We did. Least Shocking Stat of the Week: Before ace pass rusher Justin Houston went down with that (expletive deleted) elbow injury, the Chiefs gave up more than 17 points in a game once. From the Nov. 24 Chargers tilt on, they've surrendered 23 or more in four out of their last five. We'd love to stop pointing out this trend. Honest, we would. But it just keeps ... trending.

On Second Thought, Chiefs Need Momentum from ESPN

I'm having second thoughts on that now, and I wonder whether it wouldn't serve the Chiefs better to try to win, or at least build some momentum for the playoffs in San Diego. Two factors changed my mind.

The first was that I took a close look at what the Chiefs have accomplished and not accomplished over the past six weeks. They have four losses, three at home, against teams that are either in the playoffs (Denver twice and Indianapolis) or could get to the postseason (San Diego).

Can Knile Davis Produce - And Hold Onto The Ball - In A Full-Time Role? Sunday May Tell from FS Kansas City

"Do I feel he can step into that role? Yes," Reid said. "You have to feel that way. That's the way we've built that position -- if Jamaal ever went down, (Davis) would step in."

When reminded that he does have other options at running back, namely Cyrus Gray, Reid simply smiled.

"The option we've been using is 34 (Davis)," he said.

Of course, there is one area of Davis' game that Reid isn't too thrilled about, especially following Sunday's game against the Colts.

Charles Is One Guy Who Deserves A Seat from ESPN

If running back Jamaal Charles needs a break after carrying the workload for the Kansas City Chiefs for almost a full season, he isn't showing it. Charles has been even more productive over the last five games than he was for the first 10.

Charles will probably take a seat for Sunday's final regular season game against the Chargers in San Diego. The Chiefs can't help their playoff standing by winning or hurt it by losing. They are locked into the AFC's fifth seed.

K.C. Playing Catch-Up In Open AFC from ESPN

If there is any solace for the 11-4 Chiefs, they are not the only AFC playoff team that will have to ask itself such questions in the coming weeks. This postseason will be filled with contenders battling their own unique challenges, with none being immune to the types of frustrating afternoons Kansas City just endured. It's a reality of life in the NFL these days. It's not about what you've done. It's about what you've been through during the first four months of the season...

...The good news for Kansas City is that nobody saw the Ravens coming at this time last year, or the Giants and Packers before them. Those eventual champions surprised everybody because few could believe that their weaknesses could be forged into strengths so quickly. What they also revealed -- as the Chiefs must prove -- is that everybody has problems by this time of the year. The only thing that ultimately separates contenders from pretenders is how you adapt to them.

NFL Christmas-Tree Power Rankings from The Wall Street Journal

The Kansas City Chiefs are playoff-bound, but no matter how the team performs in that arena, its fans can rest assured of one thing: Someone in the front office has an excellent eye for team-appropriate Christmas-tree ornamentation.

With the holiday season upon us-and the playoffs right round the corner-The Wall Street Journal contacted all 32 of the NFL's teams and asked them to send photos of the Christmas trees located at their facilities. All but three teams submitted entries. And since this is the NFL, there has to be a winner: Hence, our first-annual NFL Christmas-tree power rankings.

Bill Belichick, Cam Newton  Among Stars Of Thrilling Week 16 from NFL.com

I thought the Colts' 23-7 away win over Kansas City was stunning. The Chiefs seemed to be peaking at the right time, while Indy hadn't been itself since Reggie Wayne was hurt. But the Colts prevailed --and actually ran the ball. Indy has a star quarterback in Andrew Luck and is well-coached under Chuck Pagano.

Still, I'd be stunned to see the Colts pull off the same trick against the Chiefs in the first round of the playoffs.

Nine Former Kansas City Chiefs Players Join NFL Brain Injury Lawsuit from NY Daily News

Hall of Famers Albert Lewis and Art Still are among nine former Kansas City Chiefs players who have joined a lawsuit that contends the team hid the risks of permanent brain injuries from repeated concussions.

The concussions happened between late 1987 and early 1993 when there was no NFL collective bargaining agreement in place.