The Kansas City Chiefs are advancing to Super Bowl LVII following a 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship game on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
After suffering a high ankle sprain last week in the Chiefs’ Divisional Round win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, Patrick Mahomes led the team to a victory in a back-and-forth game.
Kansas City got out to a 6-0 lead after two field goals and before halftime, Mahomes found his favorite target – tight end Travis Kelce for a touchdown to take a 13-3 lead. Kelce was listed as questionable to play coming into the game due to a back injury.
Right before halftime, the Bengals drove down the field and kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 13-6.
On the Bengals’ first offensive possession of the second half, quarterback Joe Burrow found wide receiver Tee Higgins for a 27-yard touchdown to tie up the game at 13. However, a clearly hobbled Mahomes and the Chiefs responded with a laser touchdown throw to Marquez Valdes-Scantling to take the lead right back.
The Chiefs defensive unit shut down the high-powered Bengals offense until the first play of the fourth quarter.
On fourth down, Burrow heaved the ball down the field and found Ja’Marr Chase for a 35-yard strike to move Cincinnati deep into Kansas City territory. Two plays later, the Bengals scored on a 2-yard touchdown run by running back Samaje Perine to tie the game yet again.
The Chiefs sacked Burrow on third down to give them the ball back with less than a minute left and the score tied at 20. Chiefs returner Skyy Moore returned the Bengals punt 29 yards to set the offense up with good field position. On third down, Mahomes scrambled and as he went out of bounds, Bengals defensive end Joseph Ossai pushed him and was called for a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty which put the Chiefs in field goal range.
Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker knocked down the 45-yard field goal to send the Chiefs back to the Super Bowl for the third time in four seasons.
The finale on February 12 will mark the first time in history that both teams contesting the Super Bowl will start Black quarterbacks.
Mahomes, who became the third Black quarterback to win the Super Bowl in 2020, is aiming to become the first Black quarterback in history to win multiple Super Bowls, while Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts could become the fourth Black quarterback to win the Lombardi Trophy.
Earlier in the day, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the San Francisco 49ers, 31-7, at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, to advance to championship game for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
The Eagles scored on their first possession and didn’t look back in the rout of the 49ers.
The 49ers were momentarily left without rookie starting quarterback Brock Purdy after he suffered a right elbow injury in the first quarter, on a hit by Eagles linebacker Haason Reddick that forced a fumble. Josh Johnson, who is the fourth string quarterback for San Francisco, filled in for Purdy until the third quarter before being ruled out of the game with a concussion.
Playing on the injured elbow, Purdy re-entered the game but the 49ers offense struggled to tally any points.
Meanwhile, Eagles quarterback Hurts and the Philadelphia run-game, ran all over the 49ers defense, notching 148 rushing yards and scoring all four touchdowns on the ground. With his rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, Hurts (15) passed Cameron Newton (14) for most rushing touchdown’s in a single season by a QB in NFL history, including playoffs, according to NFL Research.
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars 27-20 on Saturday to advance to the AFC championship game but there is now concern over the fitness of Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs’ star quarterback was brought down by Jaguars’ Arden Key and Corey Peters in the first quarter and replays showed Mahomes’ ankle getting caught awkwardly under Key as both men fell to the ground.
Mahomes instantly reached for his right ankle and was seen limping to the sidelines to speak to his team’s coaches before hobbling back onto the field.
“Obviously, I have a lot of adrenaline going right now, so we’ll see how it feels,” Mahomes told reporters.
“But I’ll hop right in the treatment tonight and try to do whatever I can to be as close to 100 percent by next week.
“Luckily for us, we played the early game on Saturday, so we get an extra almost half a day that I can let that ankle rest.”
Despite his injury, the 27-year-old stayed in the game for the rest of the first quarter but he was in obvious discomfort.
In the second quarter, with his ankle taped up, Mahomes appeared to get into a heated discussion with head coach Andy Reid and threw his jacket down as he headed to the locker room for evaluation.
Chad Henne took over at quarterback and went on to lead the Chiefs to a touchdown to take a 17-7 lead.
Despite the team listing him as questionable to return, Mahomes came back in the second half and led the team to the victory, ending the night with 195 yards passing and two touchdowns.
“I didn’t want to go get the X-Rays or whatever it was. I just wanted to continue to play,” Mahomes added, explaining his argument with Reid.
“I told them I’d do it at halftime but the coach, in the best interest of me, made me go back there and get that X-Ray before coming back into the game.
“For a while, I thought I could play through it but he said he would not put me back in ‘so might as well go get that X-Ray and if it’s negative or whatever I’ll put you back in.’
“I ran back there, got the X-Ray and was able to play and finish the game.”
The Chiefs have now reached the AFC Championship game for the fifth consecutive year but there are now doubts about Mahomes’ ability to play on January 29.
Their opponent will be either the Cincinnati Bengals or the Buffalo Bills, with both teams set to play later on Sunday.
“He’s a tough kid. He wanted to be in there,” Reid told reporters when asked about Mahomes, not committing to him playing next Sunday.
“He wanted to be competing and that’s a tribute to him and his competitiveness.
“However, you got to make sure he’s okay, physically okay, where he can protect himself and if he can’t then he can’t play.
“You have to go to the next guy. He’s a tough nut and, when I tell you he is competitive, he’s very very competitive.”
Elsewhere, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants 38-7 to advance to the team’s eighth NFC championship game in franchise history and the first since 2018.
The Eagles came out of the gates strong and finished even stronger.
Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for 154 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing touchdown as well. Eagles running backs Miles Sanders and Kenneth Gainwell combined to rush for 202 yards.
The Eagles will face either the Dallas Cowboys or the San Francisco 49ers on January 29 for a place in the Super Bowl final on February 12.
The Chiefs will host the Jaguars on Saturday afternoon to kick off the NFL divisional round, the league announced Sunday along with the rest of the round’s schedule. Here’s what you need to know:
Full schedule and how to watch
Saturday, Jan. 21
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs, 4:30 p.m. ET (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles, 8:15 p.m. ET (Fox, Fox Deportes)
Sunday, Jan. 22
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills, 3 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
Dallas/Tampa Bay at San Francisco 49ers, 6:30 p.m. (Fox, Fox Deportes)
Conference championship game schedule
The NFL also released its schedule for the conference championship games.
Sunday, Jan. 29
NFC Championship Game, 3 p.m. ET (Fox, Fox Deportes)
AFC Championship Game, 6:30 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
The NFL has announced Atlanta as the host city for the AFC Championship game should the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs meet in the conference title game.
Previously, the NFL owners approved the unprecedented post-season plan to host a game at a neutral site following the cancellation of the Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals on January 2.
The game was initially suspended and then postponed after Damar Hamlin collapsed, suffering a cardiac arrest.
The post-season scenario was put in place due to the Bills having played one less game than the Chiefs and not having a fair opportunity to secure the No. 1 seed in the AFC.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will host the game should the two teams meet.
“We are heartened by the continued improvement and progress of Damar Hamlin in his recovery, and Damar and his family remain top of mind for the entire NFL community,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell stated Thursday.
“We are also grateful to Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons for agreeing to host the AFC Championship Game in Atlanta should the Bills and Chiefs advance. We thank both of those clubs for their assistance in the planning process.”
The NFL said Thursday that the league had designated Atlanta as a possible host site for displaced postseason games prior to the start of the season.
The NFL noted that Atlanta “is almost equidistant from both potential participating teams’ cities.”
The notorious Serby Crystal Ball that before this wild and wacky NFL season foresaw a Bills-49ers Super Bowl matchup has been dusted off just in time for the playoffs.
Much has changed for both teams, of course: Trey Lance (ankle) was lost Week 2 and Jimmy Garoppolo (foot) was lost Week 13 and the football world was introduced to Mr. Irrelevant, Brock Purdy.
The Bills endured the emotional roller coaster of a near-tragedy to the uplifting, inspirational, heartwarming story of Damar Hamlin, who was remarkably released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Monday, one week after suffering cardiac arrest making a tackle against the Bengals’ Tee Higgins.
Can the Bills be a Team of Destiny and win their first Super Bowl in five tries? Can Purdy be America’s Mr. Relevant? Can Tom Brady capture his eighth ring? Can Patrick Mahomes win his second? Will Joe Burrow be smoking postgame cigars?
The Serby Crystal Ball has it all in clear focus:
Super Wild Card Weekend
Saturday
Seahawks at 49ers
Geno Smith, meet Nick Bosa. Kenneth Walker III, meet Fred Warner. America, meet young Mr. Purdy, who won’t melt under the searing hot playoff lights. In two losses to the Niners, the Seahawks scored one offensive touchdown. And the Niners rushed for 189 (without Christian McCaffrey) and 170 yards.
49ers 31, Seahawks 17
The full bracket for the 2023 NFL playoffs.NY Post illustrationBrock Purdy won’t wilt in the bright lights of the NFL playoffs.USA TODAY Sports
Chargers at Jaguars
A matchup of Golden Boys at quarterback, Justin Herbert vs. Trevor Lawrence. Brandon Staley opted to go more Tom Coughlin than Brian Daboll in the regular-season finale and might have dodged a bullet because WR Mike Williams (back) should be good to go. Herbert has had Williams (ankle) and Keenan Allen (hamstring) together for only four games start-to-finish. If Joey Bosa (groin) is OK to team with Khalil Mack, the Bolts will enjoy an experience pass-rush edge over The Other Josh Allen and rookie Travon Walker. Forever Trevor will need Travis Etienne to go off against the 28th-ranked run defense.
Chargers 27, Jaguars 24
Sunday
Dolphins at Bills
The Tua Tagovailoa Dolphins stood toe-to-toe and snow-to-snow with the Bills in their last-second, 32-29 loss on Dec. 17. That was before Tua’s latest concussion woes. Will Tua be cleared? If not, expect Teddy Bridgewater (pinky) instead of rookie Skylar Thompson. The long-range forecast is sunny and balmy (28 degrees) with 8 mph winds, so Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle can eat. But Josh Allen threw for 4 TDs and ran for 77 yards last time.
Win one for Damar.
Bills 33, Dolphins 17
Giants at Vikings
Daniel Jones will be armed with confidence facing the league’s 31st-ranked passing defense. Saquon Barkley is rested and ready for the 20th-ranked rush defense. Brian Daboll and Wink Martindale are dangerous the second time they see an opponent (see Commanders). Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams will contain Dalvin Cook, and Wink won’t let Justin Jefferson (12-133-1 TD) and T.J. Hockenson (13-109-2 TDs) wreck the game this time. Xavier McKinney is back (Adoree’ Jackson too?). This time, Graham Gano, not Greg Joseph, walks it off.
Giants 27, Vikings 24
Ravens at Bengals
Ja’Marr Chase and the Bengals air game are in for a cage match with the Ravens.Getty Images
Their mantra Play Like A Raven is much easier when Lamar Jackson is the quarterback. He hasn’t practiced in five weeks (PCL). Burrow didn’t have Higgins in the early-season loss to Baltimore; he has him now alongside Ja’Marr Chase. The defending AFC champs have an eight-game win streak. The Ravens passing game never recovered from the trade of Hollywood Brown. The red zone has been a dead zone for them. If it’s Tyler Huntley or Anthony Brown at quarterback, everybody sing “Who Dey?” Let’s guess on a rusty Lamar return and a maniacal defense led by MLB Roquan Smith neutralizing Joe Mixon, and Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters limiting Chase and Higgins, and J.K. Dobbins and Mark Andrews doing enough in a vicious, chippy steel cage match.
Ravens 24, Bengals 21
Monday
Cowboys at Buccaneers
Brady (with his seven rings) is 7-0 against the Cowboys. Dak Prescott has a seven-game interception streak. Ezekiel Elliott hasn’t been eating much lately. Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence will be problems, but Brady will get the ball out quickly to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin against rookie corner DaRon Bland. Playoff Lenny Fournette can have success against 22nd-ranked rush defense, and if center Ryan Jensen (knee) can return, that would be a huge lift. Brady versus Dan Quinn … Falcons HC in Super Bowl 51 who blew that 28-3 lead to the GOAT, FWIW.
Bucs 24, Cowboys 21
Micah Parson and the Cowboys will be too much for Tom Brady & Co. to handle.USA TODAY Sports
Divisional Round
AFC
Ravens at Chiefs
Lamar ran for 107 yards and 2 TDs in a 36-35 win early in 2021 in Baltimore to beat Mahomes for the first time in four tries. Steve Spagnuolo and Chris Jones won’t let that happen again. Magic Mahomes no longer has Tyreek Hill and it doesn’t matter. Jerick McKinnon and Isaiah Pacheco give Andy Reid more balance, and while rookie safety Kyle Hamilton owns size and range, Travis Kelce will be too savvy for him. Kadarius Toney: 1 TD, 1 tweaked hamstring.
Chiefs 34, Ravens 17
Chargers at Bills
The long-range forecast is calling for light snow on Jan. 21 and snow Jan. 22. Austin Ekeler will need to be a passing-game weapon against the fifth-ranked rushing defense (104.6 yards). Allen, Devin Singletary and James Cook will lead a 150-yard rushing assault. Win one more for Damar.
Bills 33, Chargers 21
Devin Singletary and the Bills will rush their way through the Chargers.Getty Images
NFC
Giants at Eagles
It’s not easy beating a division rival three times in one season.
Davis Webb lobbies to start this one, citing his chemistry with Kenny Golladay, and Daboll tells the media that he will sit down with GM Joe Schoen and discuss everything on Friday night (eye roll). Anyway, a healthy Jalen Hurts and the top-ranked pass defense proves too much for Jones without a true No. 1 receiver, even though Barkley catches eight passes and totals 130 yards.
Eagles 27, Giants 17
Bucs at 49ers:
Brady versus his boyhood team. Brady versus Purdy. Brady’s last game as a Buc before leaving for Raiders? Brady’s last game before leaving for Fox? Purdy has George Kittle. Brady doesn’t have Gronk. Purdy has Kyle Shanahan. Brady does not. Demeco Ryans boasts the second-ranked (77.7 yards) rushing defense.
49ers 31, Bucs 17
NFC Championship
49ers at Eagles
Garoppolo beat the Eagles 17-11 at the Linc early in 2021. Will Purdy blink? Remember, cornerbacks Darius Slay and James Bradberry are no slouches. But if there is a team built to win physical battles on the road, it is these 49ers. Hurts will have some success against the Niner secondary targeting A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert, but Warner, Dre Greenlaw and Arik Armstead will stifle Miles Sanders and make Nick Sirianni one-dimensional.
49ers 27, Eagles 24
AFC Championship
Bills vs. Chiefs
The next Allen-Mahomes dream showdown. An eerie environment at a neutral site — the halfway point between Buffalo and Kansas City is Indianapolis FYI. Gabe Davis won’t catch 4 TD passes against the Chiefs this time, but Stefon Diggs will haul in a couple against a group of young, inexperienced cornerbacks, including No. 1 draft pick Trent McDuffie. Last one with the ball wins. Allen is the last one with the ball.
Win another for Damar.
Bills 33, Chiefs 30
Josh Allen and the Bills will get over the hump this time and give Buffalo it’s long-awaited title.Getty Images
Super Bowl 2023
49ers-Bills
During the two weeks between the NFC Championship game and the Super Bowl, Shanahan ponders the same question that Bill Belichick pondered prior to Super Bowl 36: Brady or Drew Bledsoe? For Shanny, it’s Purdy or Garoppolo, whose foot has finally healed enough. And like Belichick, he stays with the hot hand.
But when Purdy suddenly develops the yips, Garoppolo is summoned off the bench and brings the Niners back from a first-half hole. McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel begin imposing their will on the night, and Marv Levy and Jim Kelly are sweating bullets in the owners’ box. But Allen, in his huddle at the start of a late fourth-quarter drive, looks up in the stands and says: “Hey look, it’s Will Smith and Chris Rock!” It eases the tension, and Allen engineers a 98-yard drive that culminates in him leaping over the end zone third-and-goal from the 3.
The NFL said Thursday it will not resume the Bills-Bengals game that was suspended Monday night after Buffalo safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and went into cardiac arrest on the field.
The league said some of the factors in coming to its decision included that “not playing the Buffalo-Cincinnati game to its conclusion will have no effect on which clubs qualify for the postseason. No club would qualify for the postseason and no club will be eliminated based on the outcome of this game.”
Also, the NFL said playing the game between the Bills and Bengals would have required postponing the start of the playoffs by a week, and affecting all 14 teams that qualified for the postseason.
The NFL said its decision creates “potential competitive inequities in certain playoff scenarios.” The league said clubs on Friday, in a special league meeting, would consider a resolution recommended by the commissioner and approved today by the competition committee.
Hamlin has shown what physicians treating him are calling “remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” the team announced Thursday, three days after the 24-year-old player had to be resuscitated on the field.
The Bills-Bengals game had major playoff implications for the AFC. Buffalo (12-3) entered Monday night needing a win to maintain the AFC’s No. 1 seed. The Kansas City Chiefs (13-3) now hold that spot. The Bengals (11-4) had a chance to earn that top seed with two more wins and a loss by the Chiefs.
The scenarios approved by the competition committee include a potential neutral site for the AFC championship game. The league is considering several sites, including indoor and outdoor stadiums.
The resolution being presented to clubs for a vote on Friday follows:
The AFC Championship Game will be played at a neutral site if the participating teams played an unequal number of games and both could have been the No. 1 seed and hosted the game had all AFC clubs played a full 17-game regular season.
Those circumstances involve Buffalo or Cincinnati qualifying for the game as a road team. If Buffalo and Kansas City both win or tie this weekend, a Bills-Chiefs AFC title game would be at a neutral site.
If Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Baltimore wins or ties, a Bills-Chiefs AFC title game would be at a neutral site.
If Buffalo and Kansas City both lose and Cincinnati wins, Bills or Bengals against Kansas City in the AFC title game would be at a neutral site.
Also, if Baltimore defeats Cincinnati in Week 18, the Ravens would have two wins over the Bengals, a divisional opponent, but will not be able to host a playoff game because Cincinnati will have a higher winning percentage for a 16-game schedule than Baltimore will for a 17-game schedule.
Therefore, if Baltimore defeats Cincinnati and if those two clubs are schedule to play a wild-card game against each another, the site for that game would be determined by a coin toss.
However, if the Bengals win this weekend or if Baltimore and Cincinnati are not scheduled to play each other in the wild-card round, the game sites would be determined by the regular scheduling procedures.
“As we considered the football schedule, our principles have been to limit disruption across the league and minimize competitive inequities,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said. “I recognize that there is no perfect solution. The proposal we are asking the ownership to consider, however, addresses the most significant potential equitable issues created by the difficult, but necessary, decision not to play the game under these extraordinary circumstances.”
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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report.
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Follow Rob Maaddi on Twitter at https://twitter.com/robmaaddi
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
The Giants are already moving on from Kadarius Toney. Despite choosing the shifty wide receiver in the 2021 first round, the Giants are trading him to the Chiefs, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz tweets.
Kansas City is sending a compensatory third-round choice and a sixth-rounder to New York for Toney, who has again battled injuries this season. While Toney has shown promise when available, injuries have largely prevented him from playing as a pro. The Giants will receive the third-round pick the Chiefs obtained for the Bears’ Ryan Poles GM hire, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer (on Twitter). Both the third- and sixth-round picks going to the Giants will be 2023 choices, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets.
Toney trade rumors emerged briefly this offseason, but the Giants shut them down. At the time, Big Blue’s new regime was keen on seeing how Toney looked in an offense that also housed Saquon Barkley. While Barkley has returned to top form, Toney has tumbled out of the starting blocks. Injuries to both hamstrings have plagued Toney this season — one featuring just 35 offensive snaps — and a Joe Schoen–Brian Daboll regime that did not draft him will cut bait.
Quadriceps and oblique injuries sidelined the Florida alum for seven combined games last season — one that did include a Toney game at Arrowhead Stadium — and an ankle malady forced him out of another game. Toney missed much of last year’s training camp with a hamstring injury and underwent a knee scope this offseason. The Chiefs are taking a gamble here, but the 6-foot wideout has flashed high-end athleticism during his brief cameo as a healthy receiver.
Toney caught 39 passes for 420 yards last year, showing rapid-fire run-after-catch ability. He made a big impact in the Giants’ upset win over the Saints — a six-catch, 89-yard performance — and dizzied the Cowboys for 10 receptions and 189 yards the following week. Illustrating Toney’s boom-or-bust career thus far, that game also included Toney throwing a punch at then-Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee. Toney was also tossed from a Giants practice for throwing a punch last year.
At Florida, Toney zoomed onto the first-round radar with a 70-catch, 984-yard, 10-touchdown senior season alongside Kyle Pitts. Prior to that season, however, the 2021 Giants investment did not surpass 300 yards in a college campaign. The Chiefs do not have much of a sample size to go on here, but they have turned to a Giants first-rounder in the recent past. The Giants cut 2019 Round 1 cornerback Deandre Baker, after an offseason arrest, and the Chiefs ended up adding him. The Chiefs are obviously aiming higher with Toney, as Baker did not make a big impact during his time in Missouri.
Toney, 23, is signed through the 2024 season and can be kept on his rookie deal through 2025 via the fifth-year option, though we are obviously a long way away from Toney being option-worthy. The Giants will save $1.2MM against the cap by making this move, which comes after the Chiefs created a bit of cap space by restructuring Travis Kelce‘s contract for the second time in 2022. Kansas City still has a third-rounder in next year’s draft, along with two fourths. Over the long haul, however, the Giants will avoid $5MM-plus in Toney salary payments.
Toney, who has not played since Week 2, will have a bit more time to acclimate in Andy Reid‘s offense. The Chiefs are in their bye week. Kansas City traded Tyreek Hill this offseason, leading to an overhaul of its receiving corps. Free agency additions JuJu Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling lead the Chiefs’ attack, and each is coming off 100-yard games in San Francisco. The Chiefs also roster Mecole Hardman, who is in a contract year, and drafted Skyy Moore in this year’s second round. Moore has struggled early in his rookie campaign, and the Chiefs have been linked to both Odell Beckham Jr. and Brandin Cooks ahead of the deadline. This Toney trade could take K.C. out of the OBJ sweepstakes, as it profiles somewhere between a flier and a blockbuster move due to the compensation involved.
The Giants, who had hoped to draft DeVonta Smith instead of Toney in 2021, entered the offseason with a crowded receiver room. But that group has not played together much. Massive free agency disappointment Kenny Golladay is still out with an MCL sprain. Giants hopes at trading the ex-Lions Pro Bowler have run into expected contractually based obstacles. The team also lost its longest-tenured wideout, Sterling Shepard, for the season.
Moving forward, Big Blue has Darius Slayton and Wan’Dale Robinson in place as its top targets. Slayton rising to such a perch is interesting, given his recent place on the trade block after an offseason that saw his stock drop to the point he accepted a pay cut. But this trade figures to make the contract-year wideout a more important piece while making wide receiver a major Giants need in 2023.
Another game in the NFL, another questionable roughing-the-passer penalty call by an officiating crew.
Just a day after referees in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 21-15 win over the Atlanta Falcons were criticized for penalizing Grady Jarrett’s sack on Tom Brady, similar questions were being asked after Monday Night Football and the Kansas City Chiefs’ dramatic 30-29 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
Late in the first half, Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones sacked Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, tackling Carr and landing on him while also stripping the ball from him.
Despite it looking like a clean strip-sack, lead referee Carl Cheffers threw his flag, penalizing Jones for roughing-the-passer to the bemusement of the fans in Arrowhead Stadium and everyone watching at home.
“The quarterback is in the pocket and he’s in a passing posture,” Cheffers explained in the postgame pool report. “He gets full protection of all the aspects of what we give the quarterback in a passing posture. So, when he was tackled, my ruling was the defender landed on him with full body weight. The quarterback is protected from being tackled with full body weight. My ruling was roughing the passer for that reason.”
When he was asked if the ball coming loose from Carr’s hands changes the penalty, Cheffers said: “No, because he still gets passing protection until he can defend himself.
“So with him being in a passing posture and actually attempting to make a pass, he’s going to get full protection until the time when he actually can protect himself. The fact that the ball came out and was subsequently recovered by the defense is not relevant as far as the protection the quarterback gets.”
Jones said after the game that he believes these penalties should be able to be reviewed.
“It happened so fast,” Jones said. “You know, it kind of looked like that initially, but when you actually look at it through the video and slow it down, you see I kind of braced.
“And the ref might’ve seen just a big 300-pound man land on him [Carr] and I get it. I’m not saying the ref is wrong, but I’m just saying those situations can affect the game tremendously, especially, in the playoffs, a critical situation like that, a game-changing play, it can affect the whole game. Excuse my language, but we just have to take initiative as a league and see what we can do better.”
The penalty allowed the Raiders to continue their drive, ending in a Daniel Carlsen field goal as they stretched their lead to 20-7 before half time.
The evening didn’t end well for Las Vegas though, as they blew a lead which ballooned to as much as 17 to their division rivals as they suffered their fourth defeat of the season.
After what was a frustrating evening for the Raiders, star wide receiver Davante Adams pushed over a cameraman as he left the field, something he later apologized for.
After the game, Adams – who joined the Raiders in the offseason having been traded from the Packers – addressed the incident when he spoke to the media.
“Before I say anything, I want to apologize to the guy running off the field and he ran and jumped in front of me,” Adams said.
“I’m coming off the field and I bumped into him and pushed him. I think he ended up on the ground, so I want to say sorry to him because that was just frustration mixed with him running in front of me and I shouldn’t have responded that way and that’s how I initially responded. I want to apologize to him for that.”
Adams himself had another excellent evening on the field, finishing with 124 receiving yards, two touchdowns and multiple pass interference calls against Kansas City as he tormented the defensive backs.
But, despite leading 17-0 in the second quarter, when facing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, no lead is safe.
Mahomes threw four touchdowns – all to tight end Travis Kelce – as Kansas City produced a remarkable comeback and showed their potential Super Bowl credentials.
Kelce finished with an extraordinary stat line, with seven catches, 25 receiving yards and 24 points with the four touchdowns – a career high for touchdowns for the 33-year-old.
“I just worked my tail off for these guys and ran tonight,” Kelce told ESPN’s Lisa Salters after the game. “That’s all I did for [Chiefs] Kingdom. They showed up, showed out on a Monday night, knowing everybody’s got work tomorrow and they were in here loud and proud.”
Paul Chryst’s ouster from Wisconsin Sunday was a surprise. But Karl Dorrell? Not at all.
Colorado is 0-5 and 4-13 in the past two seasons. The roster is dreadful by Power 5 standards. This is going to be a really tough job. It doesn’t have a great recruiting base, and it’s got a pretty shaky positioning regarding conference stability. Colorado also hasn’t had back-to-back winning seasons in almost 20 years, dating back to 2004-05. There’s been just one Top 25 season in the past 20 years, a No. 17 finish in 2016 under Mike MacIntyre.
How can Colorado fix this? Who wants to try? The latter is just as important a question.
We think Colorado will try and keep the search focused on candidates with head coaching experience, but there are a couple of men without that experience we think the Buffaloes may consider.
Candidates with head coaching experience
Bronco Mendenhall: Former BYU and Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall is available. He’s a defensive-minded coach who had a solid run at Virginia after going 99-43 at BYU. He knows this region well and would feel like a pretty safe hire. Would he fire up the fan base? Probably not, but could he develop the Buffaloes into a bowl team? Probably.
Kalani Sitake: The guy who followed Mendenhall at BYU, Sitake would also make some sense. His teams are always very physical and play hard.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker will not play in Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers because of an ankle injury.
The Chargers, meanwhile, will be without starting wide receiver Keenan Allen, who suffered a hamstring injury in Los Angeles’ Week 1 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chiefs listed Butker as out — as did the Chargers with Allen and tight end Donald Parham Jr. (hamstring) — for the game on their final injury report of the week.
The Chiefs this week signed former New York Jets kicker Matt Ammendola to their practice squad, and he could be elevated to their active roster in time for Thursday night’s game. Ammedola, who kicked for the Chiefs during their only practice session of the week on Tuesday, made 13 of 19 field goals for the Jets last season.
Butker injured his left ankle on a kickoff during Sunday’s win against the Cardinals in Arizona. Coach Andy Reid blamed the injuries to Butker and cornerback Trent McDuffie on what he said was loose turf on the recently re-sodded field in Arizona.
McDuffie was placed on injured reserve this because of a hamstring injury.
After his injury, Butker made three PATs and a 54-yard field goal. Safety Justin Reid handled kickoffs and went 1-of-2 on PATs.
Chargers coach Brandon Staley had said Tuesday that it wasn’t “looking great” that Allen, who has been selected to five Pro Bowls in his career, would be able to play on Thursday night. Allen had four catches for 66 yards before departing in the first half on Sunday because of his injury.
With Allen out, expect receivers Joshua Palmer, DeAndre Carter and Jalen Guyton to see increased opportunity.
Also, Chargers cornerback J.C. Jackson was limited Wednesday and is officially questionable. He has a “50-50” chance of playing, Staley said earlier this week.
“He’s improving,” Staley said Tuesday. “He’s headed in the right direction, but I think there is still a lot to be decided before game time on Thursday night.”
Jackson underwent ankle surgery on Aug. 23 and was given a two-to-four week timetable to return. He was inactive against the Raiders.
