Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 12/16

Andy Reid Says WR Dwayne Bowe is an All-Time Favorite from The Mothership

After his three-catch, 69-yard performance on Sunday, Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe surpassed the 7,000-yard career receiving mark, becoming just the third player in franchise history to accomplish that feat (Otis Taylor, Tony Gonzalez).

"Dwayne [Bowe] is one of my favorite guys that I've had a chance to coach," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said on Monday. "He keeps it real out there every day and brings energy every day. You don't have big ups and downs and personality or anything else. He enjoys doing what he does."

The feeling is mutual.

Andy Reid Press Conference 12/15 from The Mothership

Q: Do you think you have a nice set of three-receivers there with Bowe, Jason Avant and Albert Wilson? What do you think of that trio?

REID: "As a coach, you try hard to play to the player's strength and then let him work on the things that they need to work on; that is one of the things that you try to do. We've tried to do that with all of the guys. When they have an opportunity to get in and play, the neat part is we've got a lot of them that can play right now that have strengths and enjoy playing the game. The three you mentioned got the majority of the time yesterday but you saw Frankie (Hammond Jr.) get a big catch yesterday for us on third down. It's nice to see Albert continue to improve. Some of that we saw in training camp and then he had the high ankle (sprain) and then he came back and got himself healthy again and now he's showing the same things he kind of showed during camp. Jason has been doing it for a lot of years - very good short to intermediate receiver there; he does a nice job with all of that."

Chiefs vs. Raiders Snap Counts: Dee Ford Sees Most Extensive Action of Season from The Mothership

Rookie first-round pick Dee Ford played 38 of the 80 snaps (48 percent) against the Raiders on Sunday, which is by far the most action he's seen this season.

Cornerback Jamell Fleming saw 78 snaps of a possible 80 on defense for the Chiefs, which was the most for any player.

Alex Smith is One of Eight Finalists for Inaugural NFL Sportsmanship Award from The Mothership

Each NFL team nominated one of its players for the award earlier this season, which will recognize annually NFL players who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship on the field. A panel of former players from the NFL Legends Community selected from the 32 nominees eight finalists. The panel is comprised of WARRICK DUNN, CURTIS MARTIN, KARL MECKLENBURG and LEONARD WHEELER.

The winner of the NFL Sportsmanship Award will be determined by a vote of current NFL players. The eight finalists will be listed on the Pro Bowl ballot under the NFL Sportsmanship Award when the players vote on December 19. From the eight finalists, each team's players will submit a consensus vote of its choice for the winner. As in Pro Bowl voting, a team cannot vote for its own player.

KCChiefs.com Podcast: Chiefs Download 12/16

KCChiefs.com Video: Arrowhead Update 12/15: Big Plays Offensively

KCChiefs.com Video: Arrowhead Update 12/15: Murray Struggles

Chiefs' Andy Reid on RB Jamaal Charles: ‘He felt pretty good today' from Chiefs Digest

Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles came out of the Sunday's game no worse than how he entered.

Charles, who has been dealing with ankle and knee injuries, was present at the team's training facility Monday and checked out fine.

"They did some stuff with him after the game that he was able to take home with him to keep the swelling down in his knee and ankle," coach Andy Reid told reporters during Monday's media session. "He felt pretty good today."

With Chiefs' Charles banged up, Davis steps up from The Associated Press via FS Kansas City

Jamaal Charles sprained his ankle against Denver. He had it twisted at a gruesome angle against Arizona. His knee has repeatedly swollen up after games. He took such a blow Sunday against Oakland that he was administered a concussion test on the sideline.

Heck, the star running back even hurt himself tripping over a curb while moving out of the dorms when the Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up training camp so many months ago.

In other words, Knile Davis picked a nice time to show up over the weekend.

The backup running back had largely disappeared since early in the season, when he had back-to-back 100-yard rushing games with Charles nursing his ankle. But he was crucial in a 31-13 win over the Raiders...

3 in the Kee: Jamaal Charles has Santa-like December productivity from FS Kansas City

His head hurts, his ankle's bothering him and he's a walking pincushion every time he steps onto the field. But the only dude more effective in red in December than Jamaal Charles lives at the North Pole.

Every fall, we worry about the production and relative health of the Kansas City Chiefs' tailback, and every fall that he has remained active, No. 25 has picked up steam over the final quarter of the regular season. For his career, December has actually been Charles' best month, averaging a personal-best 14.1 attempts and 6.02 yards per carry over 23 career games at the end of the calendar.

Chiefs provided more rest for Dontari Poe from ESPN

The Chiefs rested Poe, and some of their other starters, later in the game because they had a comfortable lead. But Poe was also out of the game on occasion when the outcome was still in doubt.

The Chiefs also provided more relief for linebacker Tamba Hali, who is bothered by soreness in his knee. Hali played 58 snaps and was out of the lineup on occasion before the Chiefs had moved to their big lead.

Having fun helped Chiefs fix run defense ahead of facing Steelers from Chiefs Digest

Kansas City rebounded by holding the Oakland Raiders to 79 yards rushing on 17 attempts during a 31-13 victory. Oakland's production comes just three weeks after the Raiders, anchored by Latavius Murray's 112-yard effort, gashed the Chiefs for 179 yards and two touchdowns in Week 12.

But the Raiders' ground attack ran into an adjustment.

"This time around we took a different approach to the game," inside linebacker Joe Mays said Sunday. "Being in the profession we're in, we kind of lose sight of just going out there and having fun. That's one of the things we did. We went out there and had fun, doing what we're supposed to do. Whenever we play the way we played, we get a win. This is something that we have to carry on throughout the rest of the season."

Rookie Ford says if Chiefs had a problem with him, they would 'make that known' from FS Kansas City

Dee Ford knows what you've been saying about him on Twitter.

"I heard," the Kansas City Chiefs' rookie outside linebacker said with a knowing -- almost too knowing -- chuckle. "Because (of) my mom -- I have to keep her off. She tells me about it, you know what I mean? They (family) come back and tell me. I know how it is."

And as for Mom, well ...

"She didn't like it. I'm like, 'Mom, it's cool, half these people don't even know what's going on. They just look at that one thing that was funny, and it's entertainment.'"

This is not the time for Chiefs to have kicking problems from ESPN

Perhaps he was trying to deflect some heat from Santos, a rookie. But coach Andy Reid on Monday talked about a glitch in the process that contributed to the problems.

We've got to get that snap-hold-kick thing working a little smoother than it is right now,'' Reid said.

"We were off just a tad and we've got to get that back on track. That was yesterday. That's not necessarily the way it's been every kick.''

Chiefs taking wait-and-see approach with Jeff Linkenbach from Chiefs Digest

While Linkenbach had a holding penalty, the early returns are good with coach Andy Reid complimenting Linkenbach's performance during Monday's media session.

The head coach, however, stopped short of committing to Linkenbach as the starter for the remaining two regular-season games.

Return of the deep ball: Chiefs seize opportunity for big plays from FS Kansas City

There it was, about midway through the second quarter, something Chiefs fans likely couldn't identify at first.

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith dropped back to pass and then, to the surprise of everyone, suddenly threw the ball seemingly as far as he could throw it.

Chiefs fans had seen this type of offensive play only while watching NFL highlights of other teams.

But here it was. A long pass. A bomb.

Chiefs' defense was key to getting even with Raiders from Lindy's Sports

When the Chiefs scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, it put the Raiders in catchup mode and they went away from the run. Still, it was a step forward for a Kansas City defense that had given up an average of 184.5 rushing yards in the previous four games.

Oakland running back Latavius Murray gashed them for a 90-yard touchdown run in the first game. Murray got away on a 25-yard run in the first half, but after that the Raiders found little room to move on the ground. They had 53 yards on the 16 other carries.

All this was very important for the Chiefs defense because they know what's coming: a Pittsburgh Steelers running game that ranks among the top 10 in the league behind feature back Le'Veon Bell.

Coach Sparano Breaks Down Loss to Chiefs from Raiders.com

Q: Any new thoughts after watching the film from yesterday's game?

Coach Sparano: "My assessment after watching the film and going through it thoroughly, several times, is that obviously Kansas City played, I think Kansas City played a lot more physical than we did yesterday. I didn't love the way our fronts played yesterday, particularly on the offensive side of the football and I again thought that with the score being 10-6 at one point there and 10-6 isn't good enough on the road. We needed a touchdown in that drive after the turnover, and we've been a very good red zone team the entire season. On the first down play there, unfortunately we had an error there. We had an error in a route that was out there, it's irrelevant to who and what and why, but we had a little bit of a miscommunication there, which I think I said last night after the game. So, Derek [Carr] was kind of waiting on that. All that being said, we gave up a sack in that situation. That was one play where I thought there was enough time.

Steelers notebook: Win over Kansas City would put Steelers in playoffs from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

For the Steelers, it is as simple as win and they are in the postseason for the first time since 2011.

According to Elias, if the Steelers defeat Kansas City at Heinz Field on Sunday, they will clinch a playoff spot regardless of what the other teams still alive in the AFC do.

Remembering Ryan Succop's missed kick from Behind The Steel Curtain

Succop's folly was a tremendous disappointment.  Steelers fans were quick to enact their rage towards the kicker on social media, peppering the Pro Bowler with some less-than-creative plays on his last name.  The malice was maligned, however, as the playoff hopes of a team in a city 850 miles away were hardly a concern of Succop's.  The Steelers, a .500 team, were lucky to even have a shot of making it to the postseason.

That doesn't mean a little revenge wouldn't be nice.

Injury-thinned Steelers linebackers corps stands tall in win over Falcons from The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Jones, who missed nine games with a right-wrist injury, played mostly on special teams. He twice broke up the Falcons' wedge on kickoff returns to free up safety Shamarko Thomas to wrestle down feared return specialist Devin Hester inside the 15-yard line.

The Steelers, though, may need Jones to split duty with Arthur Moats in the final two regular-season games, beginning with Sunday's encounter with the Kansas City Chiefs (8-6), who will arrive at Heinz Field trying to keep alive their AFC playoff chances.

Calculators burn up over Bills' playoff scenarios from The Buffalo News

They could be essentially eliminated from the playoffs before they take the field against the Raiders.

Here's how: San Diego wins at San Francisco on Saturday night; Baltimore wins in Houston and Kansas City wins at Pittsburgh in the early games Sunday. (A tie in a game between contenders would be Buffalo's only hope.) It seems unlikely that all three contenders would win on the road, but it would be a death knell for the Bills' playoff chances if it happened.

The Ravens would have 10 wins, which would put them ahead of the Bills in the event of tiebreakers. The Chargers and Chiefs would each have nine wins. They play in the final week. That means one of them would be assured 10 wins (assuming there are no ties). They both have the tiebreaker edge over the Bills.

Week 15 Travel Blog from Raiders.com

You can't go to Kansas City without the obligatory barbecue which results in the inevitable food coma. Pick your style, your flavor, cuts of meat...if you like barbecue and can't find something here to satisfy your palette, there's something wrong. From formal dining at Jack Stack, to the lunch counter approach of Gates, Kansas City offers a wonderful culinary experience for which the area has become famous. There are simply too many spots to get great barbecue to list them all.

Five Lessons from the Broncos Game from Chargers.com

Right now, beating the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs to get to 10 wins is all the Chargers can control.  Even if they win out, there is no guarantee they will make the playoffs.  Still, there are a number of reasonable scenarios that suggest the Bolts have a good chance of reaching the postseason if they control what they have in front of them, which is winning the next two games.

2014 NFL Power Rankings - Week 16: Patriots reclaim top spot after Packers' loss from The Washington Post

13. Kansas City Chiefs (8-6) | Last Week's Rank: 20

They're not done yet, ending a three-game losing streak with Sunday's victory over the Raiders. The Chiefs face a difficult road game this Sunday at Pittsburgh, then close the regular season at home against the Chargers. If the Chiefs miss the playoffs, they'll have their losses to the Titans in the opener and to the Raiders in November to blame.