Arrowheadlines: Damar Hamlin in critical condition following on-field collapse

Chiefs headlines for Tuesday, January 3

Around the NFL

Damar Hamlin in critical condition after suffering cardiac arrest; Bills-Bengals postponed | ESPN

Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin had his heartbeat restored on the field after suffering cardiac arrest during the team’s game Monday night against the Bengals, and he is currently in critical condition at a Cincinnati hospital, the Bills said in a statement early Tuesday morning.

The chilling scene midway through the opening quarter of the Monday night showdown between the two NFL powers led the league to postpone the game about 90 minutes after kickoff.

CPR was administered to Hamlin, 24, on the field for multiple minutes after he collapsed following his tackle of Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin received oxygen, according to the ESPN broadcast, as he was placed in the ambulance and taken off the field some 16 minutes after he collapsed and then was driven to nearby University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Art McNally, first NFL official enshrined in Pro Football Hall of Fame, dies at age 97 | NFL.com

Responsible for introducing instant replay to the NFL along with a formal program for training officials, McNally in 2022 became the first on-field official inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Leaving a monumental legacy, McNally passed away on Sunday at the age of 97, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced.

“Art McNally was a quiet, honest man of integrity. To see Art’s decades of service recognized with his enshrinement as part of the Class of 2022 was a special moment for the Hall,” Hall of Fame president Jim Porter said in a statement Monday. “His legacy as a strong leader who helped usher in the advanced training of officials and the technology necessary to keep up with a faster and more complicated game will be preserved forever in Canton.”

McNally’s days in the NFL began in 1959 as a field judge and ended in 2007 when he was an assistant supervisor to officials. In between, he helped to shape the league as it related to officiating and beyond.

Bryce Young Declares for 2023 NFL Draft; Alabama Star Tops B/R Scouting QB Rankings | Bleacher Report

Young announced his decision Monday after leading the Crimson Tide to a 45-20 victory over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

B/R’s NFL Scouting Department has Young ranked as the top quarterback and No. 8 overall player in the 2023 draft. Derrik Klassen called him the most accurate and most pro-ready signal-caller in the class.

Nick Bosa lauds Josh Jacobs after Raiders test 49ers defense: ‘Best running back I’ve played against’ | NFL.com

“That’s a really good team. Best running back I’ve played against in my career, no doubt about it,” Bosa said. “That dude’s a beast. And they have a lot of really talented players. Quarterback played good.

“The NFL will humble you 100 percent of the time.”

After the Raiders declined his fifth-year option before the season, Jacobs has been dominant. He leads the NFL with 1,608 yards entering Week 18, 179 more than second (Derrick Henry). With 95 scrimmage yards Sunday, Jacobs (2,003) became just the second Raiders player ever to gain 2,000-plus scrimmage yards in a season, joining Marcus Allen (2,314), who did so during his MVP campaign in 1985.

The latest

Overreactions and reality checks for NFL Week 17: Will Dolphins make playoffs? Will Eagles blow No. 1 seed? | CBS Sports

Patrick Mahomes has locked up the MVP award

Overreaction or reality: Reality

Jalen Hurts missing the last two games and the Eagles going 0-2 in his absence should have helped his case in the MVP race, in one sense, but Mahomes continuing to play outstanding football improved his MVP standing. Mahomes has had another 5,000-yard and 40 touchdown season — accomplishing it without Tyreek Hill on the roster.

Mahomes joined Tom Brady and Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks with multiple 5,000-plus passing yard seasons in NFL history and became the seventh quarterback in NFL history with multiple seasons of 40-plus passing touchdowns. He joined Brees as the only players to throw for 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns in a season twice (the last time Mahomes accomplished this he won MVP).

The Chiefs are 13-3 and are in contention to earn home-field advantage in the AFC again. Mahomes had an MVP-type year when his team needed it most.

‘It felt great’: Chiefs tight end Blake Bell scores Sunday after long layoff | 41 KSHB

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Blake Bell is back from an early season hip injury in a big way, scoring a regular season touchdown for the first time in his career in Sunday’s 27-24 win over the Denver Broncos.

“It felt great,” Bell said in an exclusive postgame interview with KSHB 41. “It really just felt great to get back out here with my boys. Pat (Mahomes) did a great job of finding me and, you know, celebrate a little bit, but glad I got in there.”

Top Non-QB MVP Candidates: Justin Jefferson, Nick Bosa and more | PFF

TE TRAVIS KELCE, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS (PFF GRADE: 91.2)

Kelce deserves to be in contention for the Offensive Player of the Year award, and while his costly fumble against the Cincinnati Bengals might have eliminated him from that race, he has been back to his old self in recent weeks. The Chiefs tight end caught all 16 of his catchable targets against the Texans and the Seahawks in Weeks 15 and 16, surpassing 100 receiving yards in both games and earning 80.0-plus PFF grades. Kelce’s career could also reach new heights (pun intended) in the postseason, as his career-high 93.6 PFF grade from 2020 is not out of reach.

NFL All-Pro team 2022: Best players at every position | ESPN

Defensive tackle

Chris Jones, Chiefs

Quinnen Williams, Jets

Second team: Aaron Donald, Rams; Jeffery Simmons, Titans

The stories about Jones taking plays off or washing out against the run have mostly faded; what’s left is a player who consistently pushes the pocket and blows up plays from the interior. His 21% pass rush win rate is the best for any player with more than 15 pass rushes per game from the interior, and nobody else is particularly close. Jones has even looked better when the Chiefs have lined him up on the edge this season after struggling there a year ago.

10 Quick Facts Following Sunday’s Week 17 Victory Over Denver | Upon Further Review | The Mothership

6. Defensive lineman Chris Jones continued his monster season.

Jones made perhaps the defensive play of the game on Sunday when he sacked Broncos’ quarterback Russell Wilson on fourth down in the contest’s closing minutes. A conversion in that moment would have inched Denver in sight of kicker Brandon McManus’ range for a potential game-tying field goal, but Jones ensured that such an outcome didn’t occur.

It was Jones’ 13th sack on the season – which ranks fifth in the NFL – and his 11th sack in his last 11 games.

2023 NFL Mock Draft: C.J. Stroud makes his case as QB1, Raiders land Will Levis at No. 7 | CBS Sports

Darnell Washington TE

GEORGIA

Kansas City

Arik Gilbert was the Georgia tight end to watch coming into the season but it’s been Darnell Washington who has gotten scouts’ attention. He’s listed at 6-7, 265 pounds (he actually plays bigger than that), and while he’s growing into his role as a receiver, he’s essentially another offensive tackle when he’s inline. Basically, he’d serve two roles in Kansas City: receiver in a high-powered offense and an extra blocker.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Patrick Mahomes ‘lost mechanics in second half’ — clouding over record-setting day

“I feel like my feet got bad there in the second half,” Mahomes admitted to reporters. “Then I missed the deep throws whenever they were there, and so when you’re playing a defense like this, whenever they give you opportunities you have to execute on them, and I didn’t today.”

The self-critical quarterback started the game on a hot streak, missing only one of his first 13 attempts. The last of those initial throws resulted in a flick of the wrist to tight end Travis Kelce, earning a first down in the red zone and chants of “MVP” from the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium. It put the Chiefs in a position to take a two-score lead.

On the next three snaps, Mahomes fired to the end zone each time — failing to complete one. The last attempt was intercepted by Denver safety Justin Simmons, undercutting a throw to the sideline.

Mahomes would still throw three touchdowns, avoiding any other turnovers for the remainder of the day — but the missed scoring opportunity will be stuck in the quarterback’s mind as he hones his craft for the postseason.

“It was a bad throw just in general,” Mahomes told reporters. “I mean I left it really far inside. I don’t even know if (wide receiver) (Justin) Watson would’ve been able to catch it because I threw it so far inside.”

A tweet to make you think

Follow Arrowhead Pride on Social Media

• Facebook Page: Click here to like our page
• AP Instagram: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP Twitter: Follow @ArrowheadPride
• AP Staff on Twitter: see complete list
• 610 Sports Twitter: Follow @610SportsKC