Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 12/8

Chiefs Fall to the Cardinals 17-14 from The Associated Press via The Mothership

With starting tailback Andre Ellington out for the season, the Arizona Cardinals turned to a guy who had been called up two days earlier from the practice squad.

Kerwynn Williams delivered, rushing for 100 yards as the Cardinals rallied to beat Kansas City 17-14 on Sunday in a matchup of teams that had lost two in a row.

Chiefs vs. Cardinals: 10 Observations from The Mothership

2. Momentum changer on Fasano interference call to Smith interception

The biggest momentum shift in the game happened in the third quarter when tight end Anthony Fasano was flagged for offensive pass interference on a 19-yard touchdown reception on third-and-10.

Fasano made a little contact with the defender as he came across the field in his route, and the defender fell straight to the ground. He broke off his route and found himself wide open in the end zone for the touchdown until the flag came out and the play was brought back.

On the very next play, Smith threw an interception to linebacker Alex Okafor on third-and-20.

Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Postgame Facts and Stats from The Mothership

SMITH AND AVANT CONNECT ON SEASON-LONG COMPLETION: Smith completed a season-long pass on a 41-yard completion to WR Jason Avant. Avant finished the day with five receptions for 64 yards (12.8 avg.).

Smith completed 26 of 39 passes for 293 yards with one TD for an 86.8 QB rating in today's contest. He has attempted 389 passes in 2014, ranking as the fourth-most pass attempts he's made in a single season in his career. In his first year with the Chiefs in 2013, he attempted 508 passes, the most of any single season in his career.

Cardinals Show Support for Eric Berry from The Mothership

Before the game on Sunday against the Chiefs, a number of Cardinals players and coaches wore the "Be Bold. Be Brave. Be Berry." T-shirt in support of Chiefs safety Eric Berry, who was put on the non-football illness list after what doctors believe is a "leading consideration" of lymphoma.

Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians also wore the shirt in support of the Chiefs safety, which is no doubt a classy move by the Cardinals organization.

KCChiefs.com Podcast: Chiefs Download 12/8

KCChiefs.com Photo Gallery: Chiefs vs. Cardinals

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Game Highlights

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Andy Reid Postgame Reaction

KCChiefs.com Video: Chiefs vs. Cardinals: Alex Smith Postgame Reaction

Controversial penalties contribute to Chiefs' 17-14 loss to Cardinals from Chiefs Digest

A sports cliché states to never leave a game in the officials' hands.

But that is arguably what happened Sunday between the Kansas City Chiefs and Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium.

Two second-half controversial calls against the Chiefs impacted a 17-14 loss and cast a dark cloud over Kansas City's playoff hopes after a third straight loss dropped the team to 7-6.

Chiefs got hosed by refs -- and can't seem to stop hosing themselves from FS Kansas City

At any rate, let's be clear on three points:

1. Someone from that officiating crew is gettin' a fruit basket from Cards coach Bruce Arians this Christmas.

2. A lousy, stinking, awful, absurd, obscenity, OBSCENITY, LOUDER OBSCENITY call by the refs isn't absolved because the Cards took little advantage of the gift, doinking another field-goal attempt and thus keeping the score right where it was. (Sometimes, the football gods are actually just.)

3. Nor does it recuse the fact that the Chiefs got the ball back with 69 seconds left at their own 24, then proceeded to mill and circle about like a bunch of Ford Fiestas at a mall parking lot on a December Saturday. It took the Andy Gang 47 seconds to go 12 whopping yards, moving Checkdown Alex Smith from an untenable situation to a practically impossible one.

Jamaal Charles: Two calls against Chiefs 'just crazy' from ESPN

Charles said the calls that took a touchdown from Fasano in the third quarter and a long catch from Kelce in the fourth were "just crazy."

It sure didn't look like Charles was wrong. Fasano's 19-yard touchdown catch was wiped out when the defender, linebacker Larry Foote, went down with what looked like contact that was minimal or none.

Kelce lost a fumble after he appeared down on the ground and in field-goal range at the Arizona 23.

Calls, game go Cardinals' way against Kansas City from AZCentral

The significance of the call was magnified one play later, when Smith's pass was intercepted by the Cardinals' Alex Okafor. Five plays later quarterback Drew Stanton hit Jaron Brown with a 26-yard touchdown pass and what might have been a 12-point lead for the Chiefs had become - with the two-point conversion tagged on - a 17-14 lead for Arizona.

"The OPI (offensive pass interference) was obvious," Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said. "He shoved him and everyone in the stadium I think saw it. Thank God they saw it."

Rapid Reaction: Kansas City Chiefs from ESPN

More dropped interceptions: Josh Mauga, Phillip Gaines and Sean Smith each dropped a pass that should have gone for an interception. The Chiefs might lead the league this season in dropped interceptions. They've certainly dropped more than they've caught. The Chiefs got no interceptions against Arizona's Drew Stanton and have just four this season, fewest in the league.

What Chiefs needed was better officiating and better quarterbacking, period from FS Kansas City

This is, without a doubt, the one that got away, and the one that could very well prevent the Chiefs from a postseason appearance.

And for a team that plays it so close to the vest, a team that would rather punt than force a throw, it was two critical turnovers in the second half on passing plays that ultimately doomed the Chiefs and perhaps their playoff hopes after a disheartening 17-14 loss to Arizona.

The Chiefs dropped to 7-6, behind the 8-5 Steelers and Ravens, behind the 8-4 Chargers and tied with four other 7-6 teams in the race for a wild-card playoff spot.

Not good.

Chiefs' offensive line issues among lows from Sunday's loss from Chiefs Digest

It wasn't long ago Kansas City appeared in the driver's seat for a playoff berth after Week 11's win against the Super Bowl defending champion Seattle Seahawks.

But Sunday's loss cast doubt over the team's postseason chances with three games to go.

The gravity of the situation strikes home after the Chiefs were one of the hottest teams in the league from Weeks 3-11, a span when Kansas City won seven of eight games.

Controversial Kelce fumble reversal helped spur Cardinals to win from Yahoo! Sports

There was a big call late in the Arizona Cardinals' 10th victory of the season that was highly debated: fumble or not?

As the old baseball commercials used to say, you make the call.

Out of nowhere: Kerwynn Williams stars in Arizona Cardinals' win over Kansas City from Arizona Sports

Bet you didn't have Kerwynn Williams in your Fantasy Football lineup Sunday.

Why would you?

The 23-year-old was simulating Kansas City's Jamaal Charles in practice last week on the Arizona Cardinals' scout team.

Friday, he was elevated from the practice squad to the active roster.

Arizona keeps West lead, Chiefs drop 3rd straight from The Associated Press via The Merced Sun-Star

On Friday, Williams practiced with the scout team, pretending to be Jamaal Charles. Afterward, coach Bruce Arians told him he was being elevated to the regular roster.

Williams responded by rushing for 100 yards, nine more than Charles got.

The Play: Travis Kelce's fumble looms large in Arizona Cardinals' win from Arizona Sports

"Mike Disner is up in our box with our coaches and does the pictures, and he was the first one to see the ball come loose. At this point in time, that timeout isn't worth a damn thing," Arians said. "If we lose this challenge, we're losing a timeout. That challenge was huge and it was the correct call."

Those wearing the red and yellow of the Chiefs would beg to differ.

"From my vision, I thought he regained possession of the ball, but I'm not making that call," Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said. "You've got to keep the ball high and tight in that area, and we have to make sure...I can't. Go on to something besides the officials. I don't have anything good to say."

The Ker-wich and Chiefs aftermath from AZCardinals.com

No one is going to confuse the Chiefs' run defense with the Seahawks or even the Rams. But the Cards hadn't been running the ball a lick for three weeks. Sunday they did. Jonathan Cooper got his first start at left guard and left tackle Jared Veldheer was battling a sore ankle but the lanes were there much of the game and the offensive line was at the heart of it all. And it was spearheaded by Williams, and the Cards came out with a win.

Cardinals bounce back, improve to 10-3 with win vs. Chiefs from ProFootballTalk

The Chiefs would have one more chance to tie or win after Cardinals kickerChandler Catanzaro missed a 34-yard field goal with about a minute remaining, but the Arizona defense held firm. When Alex Smith threw incomplete under duress on a 4th-and-15 blitz, the Cardinals were home free.

In victory, the Cardinals sacked Smith five times, with defensive lineman Frostee Rucker notching a pair of takedowns.

NFL Playoff Picture through Week 14 from Sports Illustrated

All four AFC North teams technically remain alive in the division race, but the Bengals and Steelers are in the driver's seat. If either team wins out (they face each other in Pittsburgh in Week 17), it wins the North. Few teams have been more up-and-down than Pittsburgh, but the team's next two games are very winnable: at Atlanta, vs. Kansas City. Cincy faces a tougher road: at Cleveland (which demolished Cincy 24-3 in Week 10), vs. Denver.

Baltimore may have the inside track on the second AFC wild-card spot by virtue of its schedule (Jacksonville, at Houston, Cleveland) but don't sleep on the potential AFC West runners-up: San Diego or Kansas City.

Rapid Reaction: Oakland Raiders from ESPN

What's next: The Raiders head to Kansas City to try to once again throw a wrench into the Chiefs' playoff hopes. They already have a blueprint on how to do it, having beaten their division rival only a few weeks ago. Before losing to the Chiefs on the road last season, the Raiders had won six consecutive games at Arrowhead Stadium. Oakland can't rely on Murray to have another big day like he did against Kansas City in Week 12, when he scored two touchdowns and rushed for 112 yards on only four carries. But he is a much better option than anyone else the Raiders have used to run the ball this season.