Arrowheadlines: Patrick Mahomes voted the face of the NFL

The latest

Votes are in: Which NFL player gets our vote as the face of the league? | USA Today

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes

I vote for Patrick Mahomes. His talent is singular and he’s the most indispensable player in the league. By all accounts, he’s a great teammate who elevates those around him and shares credit with others. His innovative and improvisational style of play will undoubtedly influence a generation of young passers to follow.

But let’s also take a look off the field, where he has been nothing but an exemplary ambassador. He’s active in his community and used his platform and resources to push for increased voter turnout during the 2020 election. He was also one of the many to say “Black Lives Matter” in a video released by a coalition of players. He’s a minority owner of the Kansas City Royals and a part owner of the MLS’ Sporting Kansas City. Mahomes is a model of what players can do on and off the field. — Lorenzo Reyes

NFL week 10: Predictions, analysis, key matchups and stats for every game | Fox Sports

Facing the Chiefs will be a good measuring stick for the Jaguars, who saw Trevor Lawrence get back on track and running back Travis Etienne continue to ascend against the Raiders. The victory snapped Jacksonville’s five-game skid.

Matchup to watch: Jaguars RB Travis Etienne vs. Chiefs LB Nick Bolton

Since becoming the Jaguars’ full-time starting running back in Week 6, Etienne paces the NFL with 465 rushing yards, ranks second with 515 scrimmage yards and is tied for third with four rushing touchdowns. He’s becoming a star, with a unique combination of speed and power. If Kansas City can stop him, that puts pressure on Jacksonville’s passing game and Lawrence, who’s been inconsistent this season. The Chiefs have been solid defending the run in 2022, ranking third in the NFL.

Prisco’s NFL Week 10 picks: Bills rebound and cool off Vikings, Bucs win in Germany, Steelers upset Saints | CBS Sports

Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs (-9.5)

The Chiefs barely beat the Titans in overtime Sunday night, while the Jaguars are coming off a comeback victory over the Raiders. The Jaguars have played a lot of close games, and this one will be no different. The Chiefs will win it, but Jacksonville keeps it close with their running attack.

Pick: Chiefs 27, Jaguars 20

Week 10 NFL game picks: Cowboys hand Packers sixth straight loss; 49ers roll over Chargers | NFL.com

Kansas City Chiefs 30-20 Jacksonville Jaguars

Trevor Lawrence is coming off his best game as a pro, and this week provides a compelling litmus test. The Chiefs’ defensive personnel isn’t great, but Steve Spagnuolo’s unit will test the second-year signal-caller’s ability to throw against man coverage and get the ball out quickly against blitzes. Like most weeks, he’ll probably have enough good and bad to finish average. That won’t be enough to keep up with Patrick Mahomes.

NFL Week 10 picks, schedule, odds, injuries, stats, fantasy tips | ESPN

Bold prediction: Patrick Mahomes will top 350 yards passing. The Jaguars are rotating rookie Montaric Brown and veteran Tre Herndon at the corner spot opposite Tyson Campbell, so expect the Chiefs to target that spot often Sunday. This is the same defense that gave up 146 yards and two TDs receiving to Davante Adams in the first half last week, and while Tyreek Hill is gone, the Chiefs are still explosive offensively (JuJu Smith-Schuster has 17 catches the past two games and Travis Kelce is sixth in the NFL with 57 catches). — Mike DiRocco

Stat to know: Travis Etienne Jr. has run for 100 yards and one touchdown in three straight games, and his 435 rushing yards before first contact is ranked third most in the NFL. The Chiefs have a 25.8% run stop win rate this season, the worst in the NFL, per ESPN metrics and NFL Next Gen Stats. They have allowed 5.3 yards per rush in the past four games.

The Ringer Staff’s 2022 NFL Midseason Playoff Predictions | The Ringer

Danny Kelly: The Chiefs traded away Tyreek Hill over the offseason and their offense has somehow … gotten way better? At this point last year, Kansas City was averaging 24.6 points per game, which ranked 15th. They’re averaging 30.4 points per game this season, tops in the NFL. They’re averaging more points per drive (where they also rank first), more expected points added per play (also first), and have doubled their offensive DVOA compared to this time last year. Mahomes is some sort of sorcerer. I’m just gonna roll with that guy.

Around the NFL

Bills not rushing decision on Josh Allen, list QB as questionable | ESPN

Allen was a limited participant in practice Friday, his first participation this week after suffering a right elbow injury Sunday against the New York Jets. He was seen at the end of the session wearing a practice jersey for the first time this week. Allen did not have on the sleeve he had been wearing on his right arm.

Sources told ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on Monday that Allen was dealing with an injury to the ulnar collateral ligament and related nerves.

Bills coach Sean McDermott said Friday before practice that the team was taking a measured approach with its star quarterback.

“We are literally in an hour-to-hour situation here,” McDermott said, “just looking at how he’s going to progress through the day and as he goes through his different tests medically, making sure that he’s able to check the boxes and the progression to where we can see if we can proceed through the course of the day here.”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs-Jaguars: 5 things to watch in an intriguing coaching battle

2. Trent McDuffie

First-round rookie cornerback Trent McDuffie is garnering a lot of hype. He hasn’t allowed a catch in his 81 NFL snaps, denying completions on the two plays in which he was targeted in Week 9.

However, it’s important to understand that in his second career start, he faced a rookie quarterback — one that threw to wide receivers only five times. In Week 1, the Arizona Cardinals (+3)

were without star wideout DeAndre Hopkins; since then, that offense has proven largely ineffective either way.

Jacksonville doesn’t have any star receivers — but they will push the ball downfield with deeper pass patterns, using play-action or maximum protections to give passing routes time to open and giving Lawrence windows to deeper throws.

This should be the biggest test McDuffie has yet faced as an NFL player. Look to see how he responds.

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