Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 9/14

Chiefs vs. Texans: 10 Stats to Know from Chiefs.com

2. New faces making plays for the Texans

The offense that takes the field for the Texans on Sunday won't look at all familiar to the one the Chiefs saw twice last year.

The Texans starting quarterback is now Brock Osweiler, who came over this past offseason after spending the first few years of his career with the Denver Broncos, running back Lamar Miller signed as a free agent from the Miami Dolphins and speedy rookie receiver Will Fuller was playing for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame last year.

Last week against the Bears, Osweiler completed 22 of 35 passes for 231 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception, while Miller ran the ball 28 times for 106 yards, and Fuller caught 5 passes for a team-high 107 yards and a touchdown.

They raised some eyebrows with their debuts last weekend.

Alex Smith Up For Castrol Edge Clutch Performer of the Week from Chiefs.com

Smith's game-winning play earned him a nomination for Castrol Edge's Clutch Performer of the Week, and you can vote for him by clicking here.

Chiefs Color Rush Jerseys Announced from Chiefs.com

This morning, the Kansas City Chiefs released their Color Rush jerseys, which they will wear for the Week 14 matchup against the Oakland Raiders on Thursday night, December 8.

NFL Power Rankings: Are Chiefs Still a Top 10 Team After Sunday's Comeback Win? from Chiefs.com

The Kansas City Chiefs pulled off the greatest comeback in franchise history Sunday, defeating the San Diego Chargers, 33-27, after being down by as many as 21 points.

As a result, they dipped one rank to No. 9 in the latest NFL.com Power Rankings.

Here's what NFL media analyst Elliot Harrison had to say:

Chiefs' Spencer Ware on receiving end of monster game from The Kansas City Star

There were many standouts in the Chiefs' improbable triumph. Ware stood tall among them.

"The guy was such a spark for us," Smith said. "The energy that he brings to his play, the way he runs, the guy does it all. Even on the sidelines as well. Incredibly positive."

Ware finished the game with 70 rushing yards in 11 attempts, an average of 6.4 yards per carry. He had a team-best seven receptions for 129 yards, the fifth-most receiving yards in a game by a Chiefs' running back.

The receiving production speaks to Ware's off-season work ethic. A year ago, he had six receptions for five yards — for the season. Against the Chargers, Ware's instincts especially impressed Reid.

With numbers like these, Chiefs have no choice but to play Spencer Ware from ESPN

The numbers won't be like this all the time, but these are so dramatic they would seem to leave the Chiefs little choice but to play Ware more on Sunday against the Texans in Houston.

Ware played more than twice as much (38 snaps) as West (18) in last year's playoff game against the Texans. The Chiefs were also more effective with Ware in the lineup, whether he got the ball or not. They averaged 5.5 yards per play and 4.5 yards per rush, compared to 5.3 yards per play and 3.8 yards per rush when West was in the game.

Chiefs' Dee Ford passes first test as a starter in 2016 from The Kansas City Star

Outside linebacker Dee Ford wore a huge grin in the locker room following the Chiefs' 33-27 come-from-behind win over San Diego on Sunday.

And with good reason. Teammates noted this offseason that pressure is mounting on Ford, a former first-round pick, to deliver as a full-time starter. On Sunday, Ford had a sack and made four tackles.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Ford adequately set the edge as a run defender.

Mellinger Minutes: Royals in critical condition, Chiefs' two sides, and Spencer F. Ware from The Kansas City Star

One of the perceived limitations on this team has been the ability to come from behind, and at least outside of the building, Alex Smith's limitations are seen to be a big part of that.

Both of those thoughts were destroyed the other day, at least temporarily, and in a sport that is so dependent on teamwork and sacrifice and a hundred quiet things during the week that nobody sees, it's only logical that there might be some long-term gains made from one magical afternoon.

Now, there's an important disclaimer here. The Chiefs were rotten for 2  1/2 quarters, at home, in a game they were heavily favored to win. There's a lot to clean up...

Chiefs safety Eric Berry ahead of last year's playing-time pace from ESPN

Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry was on the field for every one of San Diego's 73 offensive plays on Sunday. He was one of two Chiefs defensive players to go the whole way, with linebacker Derrick Johnson being the other.

That puts Berry, who didn't participate in training camp or play in the preseason, ahead of where he was last season. Even though he was a consistent participant at camp last year and played in the preseason, Berry didn't start the 2015 regular-season opener against Houston -- he was a backup, in the lineup for about half of the Texans' offensive plays.

Chiefs offensive snap-count observations: Spencer Ware, Charcandrick West are in a timeshare from The Kansas City Star

Analysis: The Chiefs leaned heavily on their "11" or three-wide personnel, as they called that an astounding 67 percent of the time. Some of that had to do with their large second-half deficit; the Chiefs ran all 24 of their fourth-quarter plays from the shotgun in "11" personnel. Conley is the clear No. 2, Wilson spent most of his time in the slot while Hill was the No. 4. Hill even received some snaps in the slot in "11" personnel ahead of Wilson. That's worth monitoring going forward. Rookie Demarcus Robinson did not log any offensive snaps but he did play 23 special-teams snaps, including several as gunner. That probably had something to do with the reason De'Anthony Thomas, who is strictly a returner on special teams, was inactive. Reid explained the decision further here. Conley has also graduated from special teams, it appears; he played a lot as a gunner last year but Hill mainly served in that role Sunday.

Week 2 NFL Power Rankings: Packers, Patriots move up from ESPN

11. Kansas City Chiefs

2016 record: 1-0
Week 1 ranking: No. 9

Alex Smith did more than just manage the game in the Chiefs' Week 1 comeback win against the Chargers, passing for 363 yards, his second-most passing yards in a game. Smith's reward is a Week 2 date at Houston with J.J. Watt.

Chiefs' color rush is really no rush at all from ESPN

Nike has unveiled the so-called color rush uniforms that many NFL teams will wear for their Thursday night games this season. The look for the Kansas City Chiefs is the same as what they've worn for some of their prime-time games in recent seasons.

The Chiefs will wear the red on red color scheme they used for night games at Arrowhead Stadium in 2013 and 2015 against the Denver Broncos and in 2014 against the New England Patriots.

Uni Watch: A colorful rush to judgment from ESPN

Dec. 8, Raiders at Chiefs: This won't be a bad-looking game -- both uniforms are OK. But when Oakland and Kansas City face each other while wearing their normal uniforms, it's always one of the best-looking games of the year (or, rather, two of the best-looking games, because they're in the same division). Why would you mess with that? And if you had to mess with it, wouldn't it be better to the Raiders live up to their renegade image by wearing solid black? Grade: Could be worse, but could also be so, so much better.

ESPN Audio: Chiefs @ Texans Week 2 Preview

Texans looking for redemption against the Kansas City Chiefs from Yahoo! Sports

To beat the Chiefs the Texans are going to have to excel at all three areas of the game. Special teams play must be solid, the offense is going to have to make big plays, and their defense will have to play at the level they did in the latter part of last year. They have all of the tools, but they will have to bring them all together to win.

During their last matchup, the Texans had 5 turnovers. This was largely due to Brian Hoyer forgetting what team he was playing for but that being said, the Chiefs are ball hawks. They finished 2nd in the league in turnover differential so the Texans must protect the ball if they want to stay in this game.

Texans release unofficial depth chart vs. Chiefs from HoustonTexans.com

The Texans won their 100th game as a franchise (regular season and postseason combined) and their fourth consecutive regular season contest last week against the Chicago Bears by a 23-14 margin. It also marked the team's sixth win in the last seven season openers.

You can see the full depth chart below.

The Houston Texans' case as a top-10 team from ESPN

Looking ahead

The Texans play the Kansas City Chiefs in what should be one of the best matchups in the NFL in Week 2. ESPN's Football Power Index gives the Texans a 55 percent chance to win at home, the second-closest projected matchup of the weekend.

Houston has lost the past three meetings between the teams, including a 30-0 loss in last year's wild-card round.

Chiefs' Laurent Duvernay-Tardif was the most underappreciated player in football this week from For The Win

Arguably Week 1's biggest surprise was the performance of Kansas City Chiefs running back Spencer Ware, who totaled 70 yards on the ground and added 129 more through the air in place of the injured Jamaal Charles. QB Alex Smith also had a terrific game including the game-winning overtime run into the end zone in a 33-27 victory over the Chargers.

You can attribute much of that success to the offense line, particularly right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.

Take a look at a what he did on Sunday:

FORMER TROJAN TYREEK HILL HAULS IN TOUCHDOWN PASS IN NFL OPENER from The Douglas Enterprise

Hill's touchdown grab was his only catch, but he also returned three punts for 33 total yards, his longest being a 14-yard return.

Hill starred at Coffee High on the football field and on the track and was regarded as one of the top sprinters in the United States. He is now one of the fastest, if not the fastest, player in the NFL.

Former Oklahoma State running back Tyreek Hill scored a TD for the Chiefs from The Oklahoman

"It was just a group of players making a play," Hill said in an interview with the Kansas City Star. "Instincts took over. I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end."

Hill, who was dismissed from Oklahoma State after he was arrested on complaints that he assaulted his 20-year-old pregnant girlfriend, was drafted by Kansas City in the fifth-round after playing a season at West Alabama. Hill plead guilty to the charge and was sentenced to three years probation in August of 2015.

KMBC Video: Chiefs quarterbacks visit KC fire station

HK's Golf Tournament Raises $125,000 For Fetal Heart Monitors from LakeExpo.com

Brothers Dustin Colquitt, Kansas City Chiefs punter, and Britton Colquitt, punter for the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, served as honorary co-chairs.

More than 350 people attended the Pairings Party on Saturday evening, which featured live and silent auctions.

On Sunday, 190 golfers played The Cove Golf Course — the Lodge's signature course designed by the legendary Robert Trent Jones Sr.

"Thanks to the community for their tremendous support again this year," Brown said. "We could not be successful without our generous sponsors, donors, golfers and volunteers. We also are grateful to the Colquitts, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs Ambassadors, who are always major contributors to the tournament."

Chiefs' financial officer will be Nachitgal Lecturer Sept. 29 from The Hillsboro Free Press

Tabor College will kick off the Nachtigall Lecture Series on Entrepreneurship with Dan Crumb chief financial officer for the Kansas City Chiefs at 7 p.m. Sept. 29 in the Tabor Chapel.

Crumb begin his tenure with the Chiefs in 2010 and has been instrumental in strengthening the club's business operations by instituting changes that have improved the team's business efficiency, including implementation of new payroll and accounting systems, strengthening business continuity and disaster recovery plans and enhancing the ticket distribution process for games and special events.

Many opening-week revelations to consider from USA Today

QB Alex Smith, Kansas City Chiefs: Smith comes off an impressive 363-yard, three-TD effort in a comeback win against the San Diego Chargers. But that doesn't change what the Chiefs ask him to do on a weekly basis. That was the fifth 300-yard game of his 11-year career and his best yardage game ever. Chances of a repeat are exceedingly low.

Parking problems overshadow excitement of Chiefs season opener for fans at Arrowhead Stadium from FOX4KC

She says she paid hundreds more to upgrade her parking to the gold level, and even arrived to the stadium two-and-a-half hours early, but when she tired to get into that lot: "We were stopped and told that the lot was full," said Trish.

Her son took cellphone video of the encounter showing her frustration when parking attendants had no further explanation.

"We paid for it. Obviously there should have been a spot," said Trish.

She now wonders if the stadium oversold the spots. Trish says this is the second time she's had the same problem at Arrowhead. The first occurred during a preseason game.

Apparently, Kaepernick's decision struck a nerve from The Miami Herald

Sunday, members of the Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs all staged protests of their own. This was in addition to earlier protests by soccer star Megan Rapinoe and members of the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks. There have even been reports of the phenomenon spreading to high school and college games.

All of this in support of Kaepernick, who said, "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." Apparently, he's struck a nerve.

Jerry Jones not pleased over anthem protests by NFL players from Yahoo! Sports

"We respect that so much. That's the real business. The forum of the NFL and the forum on television is a very significant thing. I'm for it being used in every way we can to support the great, great contributors in our society, and that's people that have supported America, the flag, and there's no reason not to go all out right there. And for anybody to use parts of that visibility to do otherwise is really disappointing..."

...Since the Week 3 preseason game against the Packers, other NFL players have joined Kaepernick's cause, including teammate Eric Reid, Denver Broncos linebacker Brandon Marshall, Seattle Seahawks players, Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters, Los Angeles Rams players Robert Quinn and Kenny Britt, and four members of the Miami Dolphins, including running back Arian Foster.

Texas American Legion Post bans NFL games over national anthem protest from The Niagara Gazette

Veterans and friends gathering to watch football has long been a tradition at American Legion Post 50 in Cleburne, Texas.

However, some will need to look elsewhere to watch their favorite teams.

The post recently made the decision not to televise games involving the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams...

...The teams in question will be removed from the list, Hill said, once the players in question begin standing for the anthem or the team ownership addresses the proper etiquette for players to display during the national anthem.

Eagles sign former Kansas City Chiefs QB Aaron Murray to practice squad from Philly.com

Murray, 25, was a 2014 fourth-round pick who played with the Chiefs for the past two seasons when Doug Pederson was their offensive coordinator. He rejoins Pederson and No. 2 quarterback Chase Daniel in Philadelphia, where Murray already knows the offense from his time with Pederson.