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Chiefs Misery Has Met Its Match: Patrick Mahomes | Sports Illustrated
From that ’15 season until this year, they managed a 1-3 mark in the postseason, adding to their distressed history, and in the worst way, as a top team that faded once the playoffs started. They needed that one final piece, which they obtained in the draft two years ago, trading up to select a young quarterback who didn’t become the starter until this season.
“Patrick,” veteran linebacker Justin Houston says.
Per Accuweather, temperatures that were hurtling towards negative degrees with the wind chill might now “just” be in the 20’s.
Can the Patriots Put Up Enough Offense to Beat the Chiefs in Kansas City? | Sports Illustrated
The hope is the blitzers can collapse that pocket just enough to make Mahomes throw into the short coverage areas that the New England defense often crowds by dropping a would-be pass rusher.
Even if this plan works, the Patriots still must score at least 30 points to have a chance. Last week Kansas City’s much-maligned defense, through steadily changing coverages, held the high-powered Colts to 21 yards on 12 plays over the game’s first 28 minutes. That built a 24–7 lead that the Chiefs’ pass rush protected in the second half.
Dee Ford could be the secret weapon that gets the Chiefs to the Super Bowl | SB Nation
Ford, who was selected 23rd overall in the 2014 draft, has had an up-and-down career thus far. However, with free agency on the horizon this offseason, he had the best season of his career this year with 13 sacks and a ton of pressures. His get-off and speed rush are weapons that opposing offenses have to account for every week. He will no doubt get paid an exorbitant amount of money from either the Chiefs or another team to rush the passer this spring, and that price tag will surelycontinue to go up if he keeps playing out of his mind like he did on Saturday.
Taysom Hill’s All-Pro Votes Were Mistakenly Credited to Tyreek Hill | Sports Illustrated
The Associated Press confirmed to PFT on Tuesday that the wide receiver was wrongly credited with votes originally given to New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill, whose special teams play surfaced to the spotlight after he blocked a punt in the team’s Week 14 comeback win over the Buccaneers. Taysom more recently converted a fake punt for a first down that helped the Saints defeat the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC’s divisional round.
Mitchell Schwartz, the PFF Matthews Award winner for best offensive lineman | Pro Football Focus
Kansas City Chiefs‘ right tackle Mitchell Schwartz was the league’s top offensive lineman in 2018, as he was consistently dominant against some of the best pass rushers in the NFL. The fact that he plays right tackle and not left just means he gets to face better pass-rushers like Von Miller more. By season’s end, Schwartz was one of only three tackles with a top-10 pass-blocking grade and a top-10 run blocking grade (Joe Staley and Andrew Whitworth were the others).
“We cannot overpromote,” Steinberg said. “The point is not to saturate so people become tired of Patrick. There’s a timing with how much shows up on television or social media and the rest of it.”
Through limiting his commercial exposure and valuing relationships over transactions, Mahomes’ agents are setting him up for even greater success in the not-too-distant future.
2019 NFL Draft: 1 Surprise Prospect Every Team Could Target | Bleacher Report
Kansas City Chiefs: WR Marquise Brown, Oklahoma
With guys like Tyreek Hill and Sammy Watkins on the roster, receiver isn’t exactly the team’s biggest need.
However, the Chiefs almost certainly want to keep their offensive juggernaut rolling in 2019. With wideout Chris Conley set to hit the open market, drafting a guy like Brown may be the safest way to ensure that happens.
Around the league
C.J. Anderson: ‘I’m the freshest running back’ in NFL | NFL
“I think it helps a lot,” Anderson said. “I’ve played over 1,000 snaps, 600-700 snaps in this league and when you get to this point of the season, you start to wave back and I’m out there flying around on practice, just being a kid, having fun. I look faster than everyone else, part of it because I’m fresh.”
During the regular season, the Saints converted 13 of 16 fourth-down attempts – the second-best percentage (81.3) in the league, and the third-most conversions, but on just the 17th-most attempts.
Seahawks sign Paxton Lynch as backup option | ESPN
The Seattle Seahawks have signed quarterback Paxton Lynch to a futures deal, giving the former first-round pick an opportunity to compete to be Russell Wilson’s backup.
The 24-year-old Lynch was drafted 26th overall by the Denver Broncos in 2016, but he started only four games over two disappointing seasons with the team and was waived before the start of the 2018 season.
Texans DE J.J. Watt underwent minor knee procedure | NFL
Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt underwent a minor knee cleanup following the regular season, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported, via a source informed of the situation.
Rapoport adds Watt is “fine now” and the procedure served as maintenance on an injury that bothered Watt during the 2018 season.
The concern over Murray’s height feels unnecessary. I realize there is a reason the NFL hasn’t been overrun with sub-six-foot quarterbacks, but his combination of arm strength and mobility should negate any concerns about his height as he decides whether to play professional football or baseball. The “HE CAN’T SEE OVER THE LINE” crowd hasn’t paid much attention to how football actually works.
Marrone: DeFilippo hire had ‘zero’ to do with Nick Foles | NFL
Perhaps the Jags didn’t hire DeFilippo directly because of his relationship with Foles, but it certainly shouldn’t hurt, epically if they end up chasing the veteran quarterback. Marrone noted DeFilippo’s vast array of QB projects had more to do with the hire than any one player.
In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride
Five things to watch in the Chiefs-Patriots AFC Championship Game
Either by accident or design, the Chiefs have come up with an effective way to get sacks withoutbeing penalized: strip the ball from the quarterback. Over the season, the Chiefs forced a fumble on 29 percent of their league-leading 52 quarterback sacks. That’s tops in the league, with the Buffalo Bills a close second. Stripping the ball from the quarterback is better not only because you have a chance at a turnover, but also because there is usually only a very small risk of a penalty. In a playoff game, this could be a huge factor.
Safety Eric Berry was listed as a “full participant” for the second straight day on Thursday. Berry has missed the Chiefs’ last two games (Week 17 and last week against the Colts) due to his lingering heel injury. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid on Berry Thursday: “He’s looked good out there. I see him out there looking like Eric Berry.”
The Patriots believing they’re “underdogs” have Chiefs nearly laughing
The fact a team that has been to the AFC title game eight seasons in a row needs to get behind the idea of being underdogs seems a bit silly. Just imagine if the Golden State Warriors of the NBA decided to jump on such an idea—because that is the equivalent.
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