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The quarterbacks outside the top five
Let’s run through some of the honorable mentions on the outside looking in before we get to the top five. In no particular order, here’s who didn’t make it to the top five (including the guy I chose as MVP after the first four weeks of the season):
Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes’ struggles have been overstated — and his receivers haven’t helped out the future Hall of Famer — but with his turnover issues, there’s no realistic case for him as MVP. Since Week 5, Mahomes ranks 27th in QBR and has as many touchdown passes as interceptions (six). The only quarterbacks with a worse completion percentage over expectation (CPOE) than Mahomes’ minus-7.1% over that time frame are Jameis Winston and Sam Darnold. Mahomes also fumbled in four consecutive games after not fumbling once during the first quarter of the season. The only reason he came away without an interception in Sunday’s 13-7 victory over the Packers is because Kevin King dropped a gift.
1 - Creed Humphrey
Humphrey was sensational against the Packers. He does such a good job of dropping anchor and mitigating pressure on Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs had no problem getting to Love early and often. The Packers quarterback was pressured on 48.7 percent of drop-backs according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), and the video below shows just how little time Love had to make some of his throws.
Jordan Love was under pressure constantly yesterday.
— Tyler Brooke (@TylerDBrooke) November 8, 2021
Tons of blitzes, some rough OL play, and a couple bad snaps.
Here's just some of what he dealt with in his first career NFL start. #Packers pic.twitter.com/orkCA38k9l
It’s hard to evaluate a quarterback when he is constantly throwing under duress. That gets even harder when the center and quarterback are struggling to get clean snaps off.
George Karlaftis DE
Kansas City
Karlaftis, who reminds us of A.J. Epenesa, has flashed this season for Purdue. And while injuries and the pandemic saw him play limited snaps in ‘20, he was nearly impossible to stop in ‘19 when he recorded 17 TFLs and had 7.5 sacks.
NFL announces Fan of the Year nominees, Lee’s Summit fan represents Chiefs | 41 KSHB
Lopez has been a die-hard fan of Kansas City football since then, according to his NFL Fan of the Year profile.
“Once we had a family we had started a tradition to come see the Chiefs play once a season,” Lopez said in his profile about his wife and children.
But, that just wasn’t enough.
“Finally, I convinced my wife to move to Missouri and make one of my dreams come true, being a season ticket member,” Lopez said. “We are huge fans, even naming our son Thomas after my favorite Chief, Derrick Thomas. We are excited to now be in Chiefs Kingdom cheering them on as a family.”
Lopez is one of 32 fans nominated to represent the 32 different football teams in the NFL, according to a release from the organization.
Around the NFL
Browns RBs Nick Chubb, Demetric Felton test positive for COVID-19 | NFL.com
The Cleveland Browns backfield will be questionable for Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots.
Browns running backs Nick Chubb and Demetric Felton tested positive for COVID-19, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported Tuesday.
Both backs are vaccinated, so they aren’t immediately ruled out for Week 10. Each player would need two negative tests 24 hours apart to play.
The NFL’s review of the Green Bay Packers’ COVID-19 protocols was completed Tuesday, and a league source said the team was fined $300,000, while quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver Allen Lazard were each fined $14,650.
They were fined for violations of the protocols that were jointly agreed upon by the NFL and the NFL Players Association.
Browns guard Wyatt Teller signs four-year, $56.8M contract extension through 2025 | NFL.com
Teller’s deal is worth $56.8 million over the next four years with $29 million guaranteed, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported. The $14.2 million per year average in new money makes Teller the third-highest paid guard in the league, behind Washington’s Brandon Scherff and Kansas City’s Joe Thuney.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
4 fundamental things the Chiefs can improve upon right now
Ball security
If you look at the box score, you’ll see zero turnovers for the Chiefs and believe the ball security improved; it was the first game without a turnover since Week 1.
However, it was still an issue. Wide receiver Mecole Hardman had two near fumbles, both being too close of a call for comfort. He also muffed a punt that he recovered.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes also put the ball in harm’s way a few times; one was a dropped interception while the other was a bad interception even with the free play in mind.
Keeping the ball safe and secure is still an issue for this team.
Penalties
Head coach Andy Reid was hard on his team for the penalties. In total, there were six penalties; four of them were on the offense.
The first false start happened on 4th-and-goal inside the one-yard line. A pre-snap motion for Hardman seemed to be off timing based on Mahomes’ post-play reaction. They were forced to settle for a field goal.
Later, a false start turned a second-and-long into a second-and-17 — then on the final drive, a false start on backup right tackle Andrew Wylie turned a third-and-5 into third-and-10. Center Creed Humphrey was also credited with a holding penalty that took away a positive run in the second half.
A tweet to make you think
All on AMERICA'S GAME OF THE WEEK.
— FOX Sports PR (@FOXSportsPR) November 9, 2021
This week, Packers-Chiefs delivered the best NFL Sunday afternoon telecast on any network this season. pic.twitter.com/C5gU82rvPF
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