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Tamba Hali has surgery for broken thumb suffered in Ravens game | The Kansas City Star
"He came in after the game with a little bit of swelling," said Chiefs head trainer Rick Burkholder. "We got him back here on Monday. He had a fracture that was displaced."
Hali, who was named to the Pro Bowl on Tuesday, has three small screws in his thumb and is wearing a splint. Hali told the Chiefs he doesn't know when he suffered the injury. He played 57 of the team's 68 defensive snaps.
Hali hasn't been ruled out for Sunday's game against the Browns at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chiefs vs. Browns: 10 Stats to Know | KCChiefs.com
Quarterback Alex Smith is 2-0 in his career against the Cleveland Browns, while head coach Andy Reid is 5-0. Smith completed 65 percent of his passes with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions in those games, which came back in 2011 (with San Francisco) and 2013 (first year in Kansas City). With a win on Sunday, Reid would tie legendary Browns head coach Paul Brown for 16th on the NFL’s all-time wins list.
Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine on the Kansas City Chiefs | WKYC
"Kansas City's offense, very efficient," Pettine said. "I think it starts with the quarterback, that he's not turning the ball over, that he's more likely to take a sack than he is to force a throw, but he does a really good job for them, knowing where it needs to go and getting the ball there. "Their run game, I think what they do schematically, a lot of the zone-read stuff, so it still falls back to Seattle. There's some parallels there. Travis Kelce, just named to the Pro Bowl and that's well deserved. He's playing at an extremely high level and he's their go-to guy."
Pro Bowl selection another checkpoint for Chiefs' Eric Berry | The Kansas City Star
Returning to a standard that earned him Pro Bowl recognition three times and All-Pro once at safety before the diagnosis seemed like a Disney movie script.
Instead, it's reality, evidenced by his weekly solid performances and confirmed earlier this week when Berry was selected to the Pro Bowl, one of five Chiefs named.
"The thing that will probably stand out more to me is just the process to get to this point," Berry said. "I feel like that was a big deal, and I had a lot people help me get to that."
The Kansas City Chiefs have won eight games in a row, making themselves the first team in NFL history to win as many after starting 1-5. Their final regular-season games are both at home, too, against the Browns on Sunday and Raiders on Jan. 3.
This week, The Star's Sam Mellinger (@mellinger), Vahe Gregorian (@vgregorian), Blair Kerkhoff (@BlairKerkhoff) and Terez A. Paylor (@TerezPaylor) convened in our studio for a special Chiefs holiday edition of SportsBeat KC.
Bausby, Lutman back in NFL | Joplin Globe
Christmas came a little early for former Pittsburg State football stars DeVante Bausby and Gavin Lutman. Just months after both players had their NFL careers put on hiatus after suffering preseason injuries, it was announced Tuesday that the duo will get another crack at their dreams as the Chicago Bears announced on Twitter that they have signed Bausby to the team's practice squad, while Lutman has joined the Tennessee Titans practice squad per a release on the team's web site. Bausby, a 6-foot-1, 177 pound cornerback, joins the Bears after being signed by the Kansas City Chiefs as an undrafted free agent on May 2. The Chiefs later waived Bausby with an injury settlement on June 18 after he suffered a broken collarbone.
Eric Berry's cancer doctor is 'truly awed' he made the Pro Bowl | FOX Sports
"I was truly awed by the incredible achievement," Flowers told FOX Sports. "I reached out to him today to congratulate him, and Eric is really, truly a testament to the great will and spirit of an individual in overcoming this cancer. He's been a fighter through all of his therapy so far and has really had the best outcome that we could have possibly hoped for him at this point."
Browns ready for ‘another difficult challenge’ in Kansas City | ClevelandBrowns.com
Part of Kansas City’s pitch will be hot-handed quarterback Alex Smith, who currently leads NFL starting quarterbacks with only four interceptions thrown this season. Pettine admitted Smith is largely responsible for the Chiefs’ winning ways as of late, while maintaining that quarterback play is largely a product of those that surround the position. "When you look at why they have won eight in a row, I think that’s the easy answer when you look at it," Pettine said of Smith. "He’s playing at a very high level."
Chiefs rookie Peters tries to put past behind him | Associated Press
To put that into perspective, three teams have managed fewer interceptions than Peters, and two more are tied with him. He’s had more touchdown returns than all but six defenses in the league. Those nine takeaways? It’s the same number Dallas has produced.
The Chiefs might be able to beat the Browns without throwing a pass. The Chiefs are eighth in the league in rushing yards per game (122.8) and fifth in yards per carry (4.6). Meanwhile, the Browns are 31st in rushing yards allowed (134.9) and 29th in yards allowed per carry (4.6). The Chiefs will have their choice of the versatile Charcandrick West or the powerful Spencer Ware as their featured back this week. Ware didn't play last week because of sore ribs. Chiefs 30, Browns 13.