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Arrowheadlines: Travis Kelce finishes first in fan voting for Pro Bowl

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NFL: Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs
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Chiefs headlines for Wednesday, January 1

The latest

Travis Kelce finishes first in fan voting for Pro Bowl | NBC Sports

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce closed out the Pro Bowl voting with the most fan votes of any player, with 252,200.

Coming in second was Lions running back Jahymr Gibbs, at 250,082. In third place was Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, at 242,352.

Two other quarterbacks rounded out the top five — Joe Burrow of the Bengals at 239,526 and Jared Goff of the Lions at 225,858.

Lions players got the most votes, followed by the Vikings, Commanders, Eagles, and Steelers.

NFL best stats and records: Lamar Jackson and Jayden Daniels make history as Travis Kelce breaks Kansas City Chiefs record | Sky Sports

Andy Reid celebrated with his third Christmas Day victory, making him the first head coach to win as many as three games on December 25.

Travis Kelce became the third tight end with 1,000 receptions after Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten, and caught his 77th receiving touchdown, setting a new Kansas City Chiefs record:

Travis Kelce 77

Tony Gonzalez 76

Which NFL team is the most inevitable come January? | SB Nation

Who is the most inevitable team lurking as the playoffs approach?

RJ:

First things first, I think we can all admit and acknowledge that the answer here is the Kansas City Chiefs. Until they are officially out then I think we are all going to lean in their direction given the massive benefit of the doubt that they have earned.

Understanding this, my non-Chiefs answer is going to be very chalk, but it is fair nonetheless.

I am so all of the way in on the Baltimore Ravens. They are peaking at the right time and doing so as quite literally one of the most robust teams in NFL history.

With their 31-2 win over Houston, the Ravens are now the No. 6 team

NFL playoffs lookahead: Predictions, sleeper wild-card teams | ESPN

The Chiefs and Lions, as the top seeds of their respective conferences, will both be one-and-done

This has happened before! In the 2010 playoffs, the top-seeded Falcons and Patriots both lost, and each fell to a No. 6 seed (at the time the worst seed of the playoffs). The Aaron Rodgers-led Packers trounced Atlanta 48-21 en route to an eventual Super Bowl victory, while the Rex Ryan defense of the Jets knocked league MVP Tom Brady and the outrageously good 14-2 Patriots out of the postseason, winning 28-21. (It also happened in 1979, but I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about those games.)

I don’t think the Chiefs and Lions are any stronger or weaker than usual top seeds. Of course, both are imperfect teams: We know the Chiefs struggle for explosive plays, and we know the Lions are very banged up on defense. But it’s not any particular weakness in either team. It’s just that the wild-card fields are extremely good this season.

How would ESPN BET set the line for a 6-seed Packers team in Detroit on divisional weekend? I’d guess Detroit would be only about a 3-point favorite, since that was the line when these two teams met in Detroit earlier this December, and the Lions are about as hurt now as they were then. What about the 5-seed Vikings? Detroit is less than a field goal favorite Sunday against the Vikings in their home barn.

Ranking the top 10 NFL games of 2024 season: Bengals, Ravens among most entertaining contenders of the year | CBS Sports

2. Chiefs 27, Ravens 20 (Week 1)

An oldie but a goodie, this was literally the first game of the year, and its late-game theatrics were top-tier. Lamar Jackson threatened to overcome both his own iffy line and the defending champions with an acrobatic last-second end-zone dart to Isaiah Likely, but Kansas City’s defense held just firm enough.

NFL Playoff Clinching Scenarios: What’s at Stake for Nine Teams in Week 18 | SI

Denver Broncos (9–7)

What’s at stake: Playoff berth

How to clinch: Broncos win/tie OR Dolphins loss/tie AND Bengals loss/tie

Week 18 matchup: vs. Chiefs

On the verge of clinching a postseason berth the last two weeks, the Broncos have dropped two tough ones to the Chargers and Bengals. But they still control their own destiny in Week 18. All the Broncos have to do is avoid the Chiefs’ late-game voodoo magic and beat backup quarterback Carson Wentz. Easy enough, right? … Right?

Around the NFL

Cowboys cut RB Ezekiel Elliott to give him chance at playoffs | ESPN

The team waived its No. 3 all-time rushing leader Tuesday, marking the second time the Cowboys have released Elliott in three years. He was released after the 2022 season for salary cap reasons and spent 2023 with the New England Patriots.

The Cowboys made the move now to give Elliott, 29, a chance to join a playoff contender if he clears waivers.

“Out of respect and appreciation for Zeke and wanting to provide him with an opportunity to pursue any potential playoff participation possible, we are releasing him from the Cowboys roster today,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said in a statement. “As I have said many times previously, Zeke’s impact as one of the greatest to ever play with the Star on their helmet will never change and is etched in our record books and history forever. We thank him, love him and wish him the absolute best.”

Elliott’s agent, Rocky Arceneaux, thanked Jones “for affording Zeke this unique opportunity in granting us our release.”

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Examining Chiefs’ success against man coverage, Trey Smith’s dominance

Against Pittsburgh: Trey Smith’s dominance

So far this season, I haven’t written about how well Trey Smith has played. I think there’s a case to be made that he’s become the league’s best guard.

A year ago, Smith was not playing at a high level — either as a run blocker or pass protector — and I thought this was one of the reasons the Chiefs’ offense was struggling. We were still seeing Smith have dominant reps on film, but he was losing more often in pass protection — and he was often overrunning himself as a run blocker, allowing opposing defenses to make splash plays. While Smith was terrific in the playoffs — he was a big part of the Chiefs’ winning the Super Bowl — he just wasn’t his normal self for much of the season.

If his down year was an offensive issue in 2023, his dominant play this season is one of the reasons the offense has improved. It feels like Smith has put it all together. We still see dominant reps where he moves a defensive tackle across multiple gaps, but the rest of his play is much cleaner.

In pass protection, he’s not lunging as much. Instead, he’s playing with more patience, trusting his strength (and his feet) in pass protection. He’s been more aware of stunts and different blitzing schemes, which might be because he’s playing alongside right tackle Jawaan Taylor for another year. And as a run blocker, he’s playing with more control.

We saw all of this against the Steelers, when I thought Smith was fantastic against a very good defensive line.

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