Arrowheadlines: The Chiefs could win a road game on Mars

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Which NFL Teams Fare Best Playing on the Road? | The 33rd Team

Why Teams Win on the Road

The Best Teams Could Win on Mars

Which franchises were the most successful in the last decade? You can find them atop the road wins standings.

The Kansas City Chiefs, with two Super Bowl wins since 2013, led the way with 56 victories in 81 road games, a phenomenal .691 percentage – further proof the Andy Reid/Patrick Mahomes offense travels well and Kansas City’s often underrated defense does, too. The Chiefs were .500 or better on the road in nine of those 10 seasons.

Chiefs, Bengals lead pre-training camp version of AFC power rankings | Times Reporter

1. Kansas City Chiefs

Why this spot: If you have to ask, have you even been watching the NFL the last five years? Two Super Bowl championships, three AFC championships and five AFC Championship Game appearances in the last five years. A generational quarterback (Patrick Mahomes), a future Hall of Fame tight end (Travis Kelce), arguably the greatest offensive head coach in the history of the game (Andy Reid) and a defense that has gotten significantly better over that span. The Chiefs are the standard in the sport until someone can consistently dethrone them in the playoffs.

One underappreciated player on every AFC team for 2023 NFL season: Jets, Steelers safeties crack the list | CBS Sports

Kansas City Chiefs

Joe Thuney

Center Creed Humphrey rightfully gets lots of love, and new tackles Donovan Smith and Jawaan Taylor are well-paid. But Thuney has done nothing but live up to his own spendy free-agent deal since coming over from the Patriots. Even with the All-Pro nod as Patrick Mahomes’ most accomplished interior protector, he deserves more respect around the NFL.

NFL’s 11 best interior defensive linemen, from Vita Vea to Chris Jones | Touchdown Wire

1. Chris Jones, Kansas City Chiefs

Jones has been a force multiplier in Steve Spagnuolo’s defenses ever since, but the 2022 season saw him raise the bar to an even higher degree. Jones bagged his second Super Bowl ring in a season that saw him total 17 sacks, 17 quarterback hits, 63 quarterback hurries, and 35 stops. Nobody in the NFL who was throwing their weight at opposing blockers from the inside was better than Jones last year.

And while Jones was great from every gap, he was specifically amazing when aligned in a 3-tech role, to the guard’s outside shoulder. This is the “rock star” alignment for interior pass-rushers, and you need a combination of speed off the snap, explosiveness through gaps, and fearsome strength to re-direct blockers. Last season, Jones totaled 42 pressures from 3-tech alignments — Tennessee’s Jeffery Simmons ranked second with 30.

Around the NFL

Kevin Huber, longtime Bengals punter, retiring after 14 seasons | NFL.com

The Cincinnati native and longtime Bengals punter is calling it career after 14 NFL seasons, announcing his retirement Friday.

“April 26, 2009, I received a call that would forever change my life,” Huber wrote on Twitter. “From just a Cincinnati kid watching my Bengals at Riverfront Stadium to being drafted as their punter is something dreams are made of. The past 14 years have been beyond my imagination and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to have been a part of the Bengals organization.

“I may be signing off as No. 10, but you better believe I’ll be in the jungle chanting ‘Who Dey’ alongside you all.”

Firework NFL Trade Ideas That Would Transform the League in 2023 | Bleacher Report

New Orleans Saints Reunite Davante Adams and Derek Carr

Raiders Receive: 2024 first-round pick, 2025 third-round pick

Saints Receive: WR Davante Adams

Davante Adams went to the Las Vegas Raiders, in part, to reunite with college teammate Derek Carr. The duo was quite successful in Vegas, with Adams posting his second career 1,500-yard season.

Their Sin City tenure wasn’t long, though. The Raiders’ decision to part ways with Carr marks the dawn of a new era, and Jimmy Garoppolo is slated to take over under center.

There’s already reason to believe that things could be headed toward a divorce between Adams and the Raiders, though. He hasn’t been all that supportive of the team in the media.

“I’m going to have to buy into this and try to be as optimistic as possible,” he told Mirin Fader of The Ringer. “It’s not what I expected to happen, but it’s something that’s the reality now.”

Garoppolo’s injury status is another key factor. Vic Tafur of The Athletic reported the team was unaware Garoppolo needed foot surgery when he signed his contract. The Raiders have an out in his contract if he isn’t healthy and, “they are not 100 percent certain everything will work out.”

The Saints have shown they have no problem pushing cap problems into the future every offseason. They have $14.3 million cap space to fit Adams’ cap number in the budget this year.

Creating a wide receiver trio of Adams, Chris Olave and Michael Thomas would immediately make them one of the most intriguing offenses in the league and give Carr more than he has had to work with in his entire career.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs’ Drue Tranquill says he brings versatility to linebacker corps

“I poured my heart out there for four years in Los Angeles,” Tranquill admitted on NFL Network’s “NFL Total Access” on Thursday. “Unfortunately, things didn’t work out. But I was really honored by the way the Chiefs pursued me — all the way from the front office down to the coaching staff. Andy Reid literally texted me the morning [when] I was going to make my decision. He was like, ‘Think red. Think red. Think Super Bowls.’

“I just felt really valued [by the Chiefs]. I felt like they really had a role for me and really wanted me over there. So I’m excited to join up with those guys. I’m going to miss a lot of my teammates and coaches over there in Los Angeles, but excited for this next step.”

And even though Tranquill is now the linebacker room’s most experienced NFL player, he considers himself to be a guy who is still on a learning curve. Part of that is because he began his football career as a safety, so he’s continuing to learn the “ins-and-outs” of the position.

“It’s not something I’ve done since I was a kid,” he explained. “And so I’m learning from even those guys in the room — but I obviously bring some experience to the room, having the most years under my belt.

“But those guys have won world championships — and that’s what I’m after. So I’m excited to learn from those guys. We’ve got a lot of great guys in that room, obviously — starting with Nick Bolton and Willie Gay Jr., the draft pick last year, Leo Chenal, [plus] Jack Cochran and Cole Christensen. I mean, the room is just deep; there’s a lot of players.”

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