Chiefs headlines for Tuesday, January 21
The latest
The Winners and Losers of the Divisional Round | The Ringer
The Chiefs have dominated the league for the better part of five years. The team’s list of off-the-field incidents is long and noteworthy. And the referees have given them some key calls in high-profile moments. Even the most ardent Kansas City fans must understand how exhausting it is for the rest of us to watch this.
Saturday’s game was a good illustration of why their act has gotten so tiring for the neutral observers who used to love watching this team play. The Chiefs’ product, from an entertainment standpoint, has gotten worse. The win over Houston was in many ways a rough watch. The teams played an even game from a statistical standpoint. Both offenses had good moments, but neither was able to find much rhythm. Houston’s disastrous special teams, field position, and penalties ultimately decided the outcome—not the spectacular play of Kansas City. If the Chiefs and their fans don’t want to hear the rest of us complain about the refs, they should give us something else to talk about.
Sunday night’s thrilling 27-25 win over Baltimore punched the Bills’ ticket to K.C. to face the back-to-back Super Bowl champs in the AFC Championship Game.
“We know what they are. They’re the perennial of what you want to be in the NFL,” Josh Allen said of the Chiefs, via The Associated Press. “You’ve got to beat them to get past them. So, you know, we’re going to enjoy this one tonight.”
Travis Kelce can still flip the switch
MAHOMES TD TO KELCE AS HE FALLS DOWN
: #HOUvsKC on ESPN/ABC
: Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/ytEUsoGyin— NFL (@NFL) January 18, 2025
At 35 years old, Travis Kelce is closer to the end of his career than he is the beginning. With that in mind, there’s always the question surrounding the legendary tight end of whether or not he can still be a game-wrecking force when the situation calls for it. Over the last few years, Kelce has picked his spots throughout the regular season. Last season, he was able to flip the switch once the lights got bright and helped Kansas City to another Super Bowl title. As we stepped into these playoffs, those same questions — wondering if he could flip the switch — were looming, and he answered them with flying colors.
In Kanas City’s win over the Texans, the tight end registered a season-high 117 yards on seven catches to go along with a touchdown. That’s his ninth career playoff game with 100 or more receiving yards, which surpassed Jerry Rice for the most all time.
Every Team’s Most Likely Cap Casualties Ahead of 2025 NFL Offseason | Bleacher Report
Top Potential Cap Casualties
1. G Joe Thuney – $26.9 million
The Chiefs have enjoyed the benefits of having one of the most dominant interior trios on the offensive line over the last few seasons. Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey and Joe Thuney are among the highest-regarded players at their positions. But it’s hard to envision the team retaining all three of them after this offseason. The team already handed Humphrey a lucrative extension, Smith is set to hit free agency and Thuney carries the fourth-highest cap hit on the team right now.
One possible solution is to part ways with Thuney to clear up the cap space they’ll need to sign Smith. Thuney has just one year left on his deal, and they can create $16 million in 2025 cap space with a $10.9 million dead-cap charge by releasing him before June 1. That would allow them to keep the duo of Smith and Humphrey together for a long time.
NFL divisional round playoffs: Overreactions, big questions | ESPN
The lingering question: Can Kelce do this two more times?
While it might feel like Kelce always does this in January, Saturday’s performance was perhaps his best postseason leveling up we’ve ever seen. Kelce had 62 yards after the catch (his most YAC in a game this season), making seven receptions for 117 yards and a touchdown. He had 30 YAC over expectation, the most in any game of his past two seasons, per NFL Next Gen Stats. The 35-year-old looked spry and fresh, like the clock was turned back a few years. (In reality, it might have been the two weeks off from playing football that put some pep back into Kelce’s step.)
Kelce ended the day with a whopping 66% of Mahomes’ 177 passing yards on a cool 32% target rate. The passing offense ran through him as the Chiefs avoided the elite cornerback duo of Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, instead picking on slot cornerback Myles Bryant and linebackers Henry To’oTo’o and Azeez Al-Shaair. It was a great game plan, and it was conditional on having an elite pass-catching tight end.
Chiefs-Texans Divisional Round Clash Shattered Viewership Records for ESPN | SI
The Kansas City Chiefs continue to be must-watch television as they look to become the first team in NFL history to win three consecutive Super Bowls. Their divisional round victory against the Houston Texans on Saturday was broadcast on ESPN, and it set some impressive viewership records for the network.
According to ESPN PR, the divisional round game was ESPN’s most watched NFL game in history––dating back to 1987––amassing a total of 32.7 million viewers. That figure could rise and surpass 33 million once Nielsen reports the final audience, accounting for viewers on ESPN, ABC and ESPN+.
Around the NFL
Colts hiring Lou Anarumo as new DC, sources say | ESPN
The Colts fired veteran coordinator Gus Bradley earlier this month in their effort to improve on defense after a disappointing season that saw them fall to 29th in yards allowed per game (361.2).
Anarumo’s unit struggled in 2024, but he has deployed impressive defenses in the past. Among his achievements was the Bengals’ defensive performance in Super Bowl LVI, where his game plans were seen as a key factor in the team’s success, though the Rams won 23-20. He famously concocted the plan that stymied the Kansas City Chiefs and quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship Game that season.
The Chicago Bears are hiring Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, their long-reported top candidate, to be their next head coach, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones reports.
The Lions’ Johnson-led attacks averaged 29.0 points per game since he became Detroit’s OC in 2022, the most in the NFL in that time. The 33.2 points per game they produced in 2024 led the league and was the most in a season in franchise history. Detroit’s offense was No. 1 in the NFL in numerous key metrics during his Lions tenure while working with quarterback Jared Goff.
Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs led the NFL in scrimmage touchdowns (20) in 2024, and wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown earned consecutive first team All-Pro selections in 2023 and 2024 after becoming the first player in Lions history with 100 or more catches, 1,000 or more receiving yards and 10 or more receiving touchdowns in consecutive seasons.
Coach Dan Campbell says Lions will ‘come back stronger’ | ESPN
The defeat, after earning the No. 1 seed for the first time in team history, continued to disturb both of them.
“I know the guys, [the loss] eats away at [them],” Campbell said Monday. “I know the right guys — they’re our guys for a reason and that’s what will always give me hope and let me know we’re only going to be better.
“We’re going to come back stronger, we’re going to learn from this, and it’s just more fuel on the fire, is what it is.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs Roster: Defensive backs shined in Divisional win over Texans
In the Kansas City Chiefs’ 23-14 Divisional round victory over the Houston Texans on Saturday, the Kansas City defense recorded eight sacks of Houston quarterback C.J. Stroud.
That began with excellent coverage by cornerbacks Trent McDuffie and Jaylen Watson, who played together for the first time since Watson was injured in Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers. Per Pro Football Focus, they turned in grades of 74.1 and 72.1 respectively to lead the team. Between them, they collected four passes defensed — and no Texans receiver caught a touchdown pass against any defender.
“We had way tighter coverage,” noted safety Bryan Cooks after the game, “giving our front line a chance to get to the quarterback. Playing off each other like that really worked for us.”
Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive strategy was clear: forcing Stroud into uncomfortable situations by combining sticky man coverage in the secondary with relentless pressure from the front line.
“Spags really trusts us,” noted Watson, who held Stroud to a passer rating of just 60.2 when targeted. “We played tight, sticky coverage so the D-line could get time to get sacks. We did a good job of that today.”
Social media to make you think
7 seasons as a starter
7 AFC Championship game appearances
@PatrickMahomes pic.twitter.com/OVIuly3HuL
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) January 19, 2025
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