Kansas City Sports Today

KC Sports News Continuously Updated

Arrowheadlines: The lateral is underused

by

NFL: Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs
Denny Medley-Imagn Images

Chiefs headlines for Friday, December 6

The latest

Chiefs offense benefitting from Travis Kelce’s new signature move: The lateral | The Athletic

Not counting end-of-game desperation, Kelce has lateraled the ball to a teammate five times since the start of the 2019 season, according to TruMedia. Other than the Kansas City Chiefs, only six teams have had more offensive lateral plays than Kelce himself in that span. And just four teams have more in the first half than Kelce’s four.

“It’s the most underused rule in the game,” Kelce said of the lateral on his podcast. “I think I heard (NFL Network broadcaster) Rich Eisen mention that early on in my career. I was like, ‘Damn, he ain’t lying, man, that s— would be sweet if we were out here just f—— flipping it around every single play.’ That’s what football used to be.”

NFL Week 14 Power Rankings: How much longer can the San Francisco 49ers hold on? | PFF

1. Kansas City Chiefs
Strength of schedule to date: 19
Strength of schedule remaining: 9
Projected win total: 14.4
% chance of making the playoffs: 100.0
% chance of winning the division: 96.8
% chance of winning the conference: 35.8
% chance of winning the Super Bowl: 19.1

Tom Brady’s Power Rankings: Who made the GOAT’s Top 5 teams entering Week 14? | FOX Sports

2. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1) (Last week: 2)
Week 13 result: Defeated Las Vegas Raiders, 19-17

Brady’s thoughts: ”All they do is find unique ways to win nail-biters each and every week. It was great to see Isiah Pacheco back in the lineup. That dude runs hard. And [Steve Spagnuolo’s] defense, they continue to impress me. It’s really a complete football team.

“They have a huge matchup against Jim Harbaugh’s Chargers in prime time this week.”

B/R’s Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Picks for Every NFL Week 14 Fantasy Matchup | Bleacher Report

Sleeper

Xavier Worthy, WR, Kansas City Chiefs [DraftKings DFS Value: $4,900]: Most of the offensive plays in this contest are dart-throws. But sooner or later, Worthy and Patrick Mahomes are going to hook up on a long touchdown in which the rookie receiver keeps his feet in bounds.

Stat to Know

187. The number of total yards the Chargers had last week in a dismal offensive performance against the Falcons. The loss of Dobbins was a massive blow to the L.A. offense, which isn’t going to have an easy go of it Sunday night against the NFL’s eighth-ranked defense.

PFT’s Week 14 2024 NFL picks, Florio vs. Simms | NBC Sports

Chargers at Chiefs (-4)

The Chargers lack the offensive firepower, for now, to outscore the Chiefs in K.C. Chris disagrees.

Florio: Chiefs, 17-16.
Simms: Chargers, 24-20.

Around the NFL

Lions retain control of NFC North with late victory over Packers | ESPN

The Detroit Lions firmly positioned themselves to repeat as back-to-back champions of the NFC North with a gutsy 34-31 win over the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field on Thursday night.

The Lions have now won 11 consecutive games, which is the longest streak in franchise history, despite falling behind 28-24 in the fourth quarter and overcoming a plethora of defensive injuries.

The Lions haven’t lost to Green Bay since Nov. 23, 2023, which was 378 days ago, and their lone loss this season came against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 15.

Zack Martin will have season-ending ankle surgery | NBC Sports

Head coach Mike McCarthy announced on Thursday that Martin will have surgery on the ankle injury that sidelined him in the team’s last two games. Martin will now miss the team’s five remaining games of this season and move into an uncertain football future.

Martin is in the final year of his contract and he said in June that retirement was in the realm of possibilities after the 2024 season. The work needed to recover from season-ending ankle surgery will likely factor into any decision on that front.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs News: Trent McDuffie says secondary needs to regain confidence

It continues a negative trajectory for the Chiefs’ pass defense since the loss of cornerback Jaylen Watson to injury in Week 7. The players can feel the differences, and cornerback Trent McDuffie discussed the issues during a press conference on Wednesday.

“I think the big thing for us moving forward is just making plays on the ball,” McDuffie pointed out to reporters. “A lot of times, we’re in the right position and something little happens where the other team happens to make the play.”

“Going into this week and moving forward, I think the defensive back room has to just get that confidence back. Trust each other, go out there and play like we always play.”

Last season, the Chiefs allowed the fourth-fewest passing yards per game in the NFL. This season, the Chiefs have allowed the tenth-most passing yards on average. Opposing offenses are completing passes at a higher clip than the team is used to, and defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has identified aspects of the game to work on.

Social media to make you think

Follow Arrowhead Pride on Social Media