Arrowheadlines: Chiefs a touchdown favorite against the Eagles

Chiefs headlines for Thursday, September 30

The latest

Prisco’s NFL Week 4 odds, picks: Rams win but Cardinals cover in thriller, Tom Brady reigns over Patriots | CBS Sports

Kansas City Chiefs (-7) at Philadelphia Eagles

Latest Odds:

Kansas City Chiefs -7

The Eagles looked awful in losing to the Cowboys Monday night, while the Chiefs are coming off a turnover-plagued loss to the Chargers. The Eagles tried to get into a shootout with the Cowboys, and it backfired. They can’t do that here, but they will have no choice when they are forced into it. Patrick Mahomes will get back on track to lead the Chiefs to a big victory.

Pick: Chiefs 34, Eagles 21

NFL QB Index, Week 4: Dak Prescott and Derek Carr fly up rankings, while rookies continue to struggle | NFL.com

6 – Patrick Mahomes

Kansas City Chiefs · Year 5

2021 stats: 3 games | 70.3 pct | 940 pass yds | 8.5 ypa | 9 pass TD | 3 INT | 66 rush yds | 1 rush TD | 0 fumbles

Brandon Staley’s Chargers defense limited Mahomes to 260 yards on 44 throws by allowing the underneath stuff. As great as the raw numbers above look, Mahomes has hurt the Chiefs with impatient interceptions late in the fourth quarter of back-to-back losses. The mix of those mistakes, a lack of Mahomes’ usual Big-Time Throws and some long, slow Chiefs scoring marches has made Kansas City’s offense look briefly defensible. This usually doesn’t last.

Week 4 NFL QB Power Rankings: Derek Carr approaches top 10, Aaron Rodgers overtakes Patrick Mahomes at No. 1 | CBS Sports

2 – Patrick Mahomes

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS QB

His dynamism far outweighs the risk that comes with his backyard style, but he’s made some really dumb decisions the last few weeks, trying to be acrobatic when he doesn’t need to be. (-1)

Ranking the NFL’s Top Additions from 2021 Offseason Entering October | Bleacher Report

9. Mike Hughes, CB, Kansas City Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs’ trade for cornerback Mike Hughes didn’t generate headlines like the Jones deal did. However, it was still a smart move—and a much less expensive one.

Kansas City sent a 2022 sixth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for Hughes and a 2022 seventh-round pick.

In return, the Chiefs have gotten a tremendous depth player. Hughes has played 52 percent of the defensive snaps, has notched two passes defended, an interception and has allowed an opposing passer rating of just 88.7 in coverage.

The caveat here is that Kansas City’s defense is still very, very bad. The Chiefs rank 23rd in pass defense, 30th in total defense and 31st in points allowed. They’d be even worse, though, if not for the move to acquire Hughes.

Joe Montana says Chiefs remain ‘team to beat’ in the AFC | FanSided

Despite a rough 1-2 start, former Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Joe Montana thinks the two-time defending AFC champions are the class of their respective conference.

“… They lost last week, but I still see them being the team to beat getting back to the Super Bowl,” said Montana to FanSided‘s Mark Carman on the Stacking the Box podcast.

Imagining the NFL’s Shohei Ohtani: The best potential two-way players for all 32 teams, including Chase Young, Myles Garrett, Jalen Ramsey playing offense | ESPN

Kansas City Chiefs

Two-way candidate: TE Travis Kelce

The Chiefs’ star pass-catcher played quarterback at Cleveland Heights (Ohio) High School and began his collegiate career as a signal-caller before moving to tight end. He was also reportedly recruited by colleges to play defensive end. At 6-foot-5, 260 pounds, Kelce might not have classic pass-rush skills, but he is enough of an athlete to pull it off. He is a quick study and understands the game. Who’s to say he couldn’t make for a serviceable rush end? — Adam Teicher

The biggest boom or bust players for every NFL team in 2021 | YardBarker

Kansas City Chiefs: Mecole Hardman, WR

Hardman has flashed great speed but overall been a disappointment for the Chiefs in his first two seasons. Now just a complementary piece behind Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, Hardman has created some buzz during the offseason with a hope of a breakout year ahead after the Chiefs moved on from Sammy Watkins.

Proposed Trade Sends Chiefs’ 5-Year Starter to Bears | Heavy.com

“The rearrangement of Kansas City’s offensive line left Laurent Duvernay-Tardif on the second level of the depth chart. Since the Chiefs are committed to their revamped unit, they could look to get something for the 30-year-old on the trade market. Duvernay-Tardif spent all of his career as an offensive guard, so he would not be a direct solution to Chicago’s struggles at left tackle. If he is one of the best offensive linemen available, it could rework its offensive line to fit him in and give its quarterback more protection. … Chicago may only need a third-day draft pick to acquire Duvernay-Tardif in an attempt to bolster its interior protection.”

Around the NFL

Richard Sherman signs one-year deal with Tampa Bay Buccaneers | NFL.com

“I finally had enough conversations and came to a decision that I’m going to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Woo!” Sherman said. “All the craziness and then all the hate and all the tweets, and then everybody’s mad because I didn’t go to their team. I’m sorry.”

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Sherman signed a one-year contract worth $2.25 million. The Bucs later announced Sherman’s signing and placed wide receiver Scotty Miller (turf toe) on injured reserve to make room for Sherman on the 53-man roster.

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick says Tom Brady’s achievements are ‘unbelievably impressive’ | ESPN

“What’s going on? Got any stories this week?” he asked upon arrival, flashing a big smile.

Belichick then showered praise on the 44-year-old Brady, with whom he paired to win six Super Bowls.

“Nothing Tom does surprises me,” Belichick said. “He’s a great player, works hard, takes care of himself. He’s talked about playing until 50. If anybody can do it, he probably can.

“Tom’s had an unbelievable career. There’s not enough superlatives and adjectives to compliment him on everything that he’s achieved and continues to achieve. It’s unbelievably impressive.”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Andy Reid on hospital visit: ‘I’m feeling great’

On Wednesday, Reid addressed the media for the first time since Sunday’s 30-24 loss.

“I appreciate everything you (the media members) did — respecting the situation,” said Reid. “I’m feeling great, first of all, and it’s good to be back and getting on with business as usual here. But all is good, and I do respect you for what you did, and I also respect the people that attended to me at that time. They were top-notch.”

While there was uncertainty on Sunday evening, Patrick Mahomes put his quarterback role aside and played that of the messenger for the team.

“(Vice president of sports medicine and performance) Rick Burkholder and those guys — they kept us informed,” said Mahomes in his first presser since the incident. “They kept the leaders in the team, and we kept everybody informed. And everything looked good, and he’s back and seems totally normal now.”

Mahomes’ initial concern quickly gave way to calmness.

“You obviously are worried just in general when stuff like that happens,” started Mahomes. “But they told me the scenario. They told me what was going on. They kept me at ease knowing that it wasn’t a real crazy situation. It was something that they had under control, that they had handled. So whenever you get a sense like that from the people you trust, your emotions can settle a little bit.”

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