Alex Smith has reinvented his play and his legacy with the Chiefs | LA Times
“One of the fans said to me early on in the game, `Gosh, I’m sure sorry for you guys having to come here. This is just a really hard place to play,’” he said. “Then, by the time there’s five minutes left in the game, they’re all gone. They’re not even there.
“There’s nothing more satisfying than people who are telling you how sorry they feel for you at the start of the game, and by the time the game’s over it’s, ‘Sorry you guys had to go home.’”
Kansas City Chiefs can look to Travis Kelce to grow their offense | ESPN
The Chiefs put Kelce’s versatility to good use last season. Of those 85 catches, 26 happened when he was lined up as a wide receiver and 40 as a slot receiver. Kelce had just 19 receptions when he was lined up as a tight end.
Preparation for AFC West games started long ago for Kansas City Chiefs | ESPN
"You play them twice," quarterback Alex Smith said. “I think it is really helpful, especially when there’s turnover, and this year we’ve had turnover, especially at the coordinator positions within the division. New schemes, getting familiar with potentially what the new scheme might be, where the coordinator came from. Getting some of that early and getting it in your brain, I think it’s only a good thing."
James Winchester Proves He’s Not an Ordinary Long Snapper | Chiefs.com.
It was the first forced fumble of Winchester’s career.
“To get a tackle and a forced fumble - that was pretty special,” Winchester said. “I was really excited and had some adrenaline pumping, but I had to calm it down because we were in the red zone and I’d probably have to snap an extra point or field goal pretty soon.”
It was Winchester’s hustle that made the play.
“I try to be an athlete on every play and run down,” Winchester said. “You just have to give it everything you’ve got and give 100 percent effort on each play. When you go hard, sometimes you make plays because you’re there.”
Chiefs' Justin Houston misses practice with illness | The Kansas City Star
Outside linebacker Justin Houston missed practice on Thursday with an illness, the Chiefs announced.
Surging Chiefs take on tough-luck Chargers in Los Angeles | AP
It was a 33-27 defeat, the first of nine by seven points or fewer for the Chargers last season.
“We were going about as good as you can go there for three quarters,” Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers recalled this week. “That was about as good a half, really three quarters, and we still left a few plays out there. We were up 17 at their place with 10 minutes to play. That was pretty positive.”
The Chargers didn’t finish the job, though.
KCTV fight with AT&T could block Chiefs game on DirecTV, U-verse | The Kansas City Star
The local station and the cable TV providers, owned by AT&T, are nearing a deadline on a new contract. If they don’t reach a deal, DirecTV and AT&T’s U-verse will drop KCTV-5 from their offerings on Friday.
That puts the Chiefs game, and everything else people watch on Meredith Corp.-owned KCTV-5, in jeopardy.
Chiefs are OK with teams testing Terrance Mitchell | The Kansas City Star
According to Pro Football Focus, Mitchell has been targeted a team-high 19 times this season and yielded just nine completions.
And though his 166 yards allowed is the third-most among all NFL corners, quarterbacks have a rating of 78.0 when throwing at him, compared to 101.6 for Peters (6 for 8 for 71 yards) and 117.6 for Gaines (6 for 11 for 105 yards and a touchdown).
Why Philip Rivers Remains Confident | Los Angeles Chargers
“I know there are all the stats out there of how many percentages of teams start out 0-2 make (the playoffs),” he said. “I know all those things. But we have 14 games left. I just know the years we’ve been on runs, we were 3-1 one year and went to 3-2, and then won 11 in a row. Shoot, the year we were 13-3 we were 2-3 I think, and then won 11 in a row. And then we were 5-5 the year we went to the Championship Game, and then won six in a row.”
KC Chiefs star Kelce needs teammates' help | The Kansas City Star
“I’m just going to leave it where it is right now,” he said.
If you are inclined to believe Kelce is an unrepentant child, you can read the lack of public regret — he avoided all questions about it on Sunday, too — as a sign he’s not about to change.
But if you are inclined to believe Kelce is a genuinely good-natured man who loves his teammates and team, you can read the lack of public defense and reference to staying low-key as a sign he is about to change.