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1 Reason Each Potential NFL Playoff Team Can Win Super Bowl 59 | Bleacher Report

Kansas City Chiefs: The football gods favor them — They just keep finding ways to win, which on its own wouldn’t be reason enough if not for the fact they have found their way into four of the last five Super Bowls (winning three).

Ranking the 25 Greatest Sports Franchises of the Last Quarter Century | Bleacher Report

Regular-Season Record: 226-177 (.561)

Postseason Appearances: 13

Super Bowls: four appearances, three titles

For the most recent quarter of the past quarter century, the Kansas City Chiefs have been indisputably the most successful franchise.

In the six completed seasons since handing the reins to Patrick Mahomes, they’ve won three Super Bowls, played in a fourth and lost in overtime of the AFC Championship Game in the other two years.

While the NBA has produced six different champions, the Chiefs either won or almost won six titles in a row.

As such, there might be some head scratching over the fact that this recent juggernaut only landed at No. 7.

However, the pre-Andy Reid years from 1999 to 2012 still counted, and were decidedly not great.

Kansas City went a combined 98-126 during those 14 seasons, plus an 0-3 record in the postseason. In fact, before Reid led them to a win in the wild-card round in 2015, the Chiefs had lost eight consecutive postseason games, dating back to the 1993 AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills.

Browns need to limit Travis Kelce like they’ve limited TEs all year | Dawgs By Nature

That being said, Cleveland linebackers have been surprisingly good in coverage this season, especially last weekend when they obtained a 71.0 PFF coverage grade against the Steelers. Jordan Hicks, Mohamoud Diabate, and Devin Bush need to have another effective performance against the Chiefs if they want to slow down the Mahomes to Kelce connection in Week 15.

Jim Schwartz might choose to play more man-coverage in the secondary in order to make it “harder” for Kansas City’s pass-catchers this weekend.

Playing man coverage forces receivers and tight ends to physically beat the defender and find ways to get themselves open, whereas zone coverage puts more pressure on the quarterback to find the open man in pockets.

It’s easy to see why Schwartz would want to “man-up” Mohamoud Diabate who’s an imposing, lengthy defender (6’4”, 230 lbs.) on Kelce to limit his ability to be Mahomes’ safety valve on Sunday. Taking away the holes for Kelce to sit in at the 2nd level could be the most effective way to defend him for Cleveland.

It’s safe to say that if the Browns want to give themselves a better chance to beat the Chiefs, they need to find a way to effectively limit Travis Kelce’s production.

Betting for (by) dummies: Can the Chiefs keep getting away with this? Plus Army-Navy picks | The Athletic

I also want the under 43.5 Sunday in Cleveland, where the Chiefs look to continue their luck streak. I’m not sure how they block Myles Garrett, and I’m not sure how Jameis Winston avoids a couple crippling interceptions. So I’ll take my chances with the under given that both teams also have kicking issues and the Lake Erie winds can often be unforgiving.

PFF Grades and Data: Everything you need to know for every NFL Week 15 game | PFF

Kansas City Chiefs @ Cleveland Browns

Patrick Mahomes’ 90.1 passing grade on third down this season is the highest among all quarterbacks, and his 148 dropbacks without a turnover-worthy play are the most. The next-nearest quarterback without a turnover-worthy play on the money down is Spencer Rattler with 31.

On the other side, cornerback Denzel Ward has played disruptive coverage all season, with his 17 forced incompletions leading all players. That also marks a single-season high for the Browns’ seventh-year corner.

Where the 2024 Chiefs rank among worst 12-1 NFL teams ever | ESPN

5. 2020 Kansas City Chiefs

DVOA: 27.9% (led the NFL)

Point differential: +122

Here’s what I mean when I say that even the worst 12-1 teams are very good: The fifth-worst 12-1 team of all time was the best in the NFL that season. When the 2020 Chiefs were 12-1, they led the NFL in both DVOA and point differential. However, their schedule through 13 games was the fourth easiest based on the average DVOA of their opponents. Kansas City was 6-1 in one-possession games, as its only loss came to the Raiders in Week 5 by a 40-32 score.

What happened next: The Chiefs went on to win two more tight games by three points apiece over New Orleans and Atlanta, then sat their starters in Week 17 and lost to the Chargers. That gave them a 14-2 record to finish the regular season.

In the playoffs, Kansas City narrowly beat Cleveland after backup quarterback Chad Henne had to come in for an injured Mahomes. They had a convincing 38-24 victory over the Bills in the AFC Championship Game but lost starting left tackle Eric Fisher to a torn Achilles tendon. That compounded earlier injuries from the regular season, and with the offensive line in shambles, the Buccaneers crushed the Chiefs 31-9 to win Super Bowl LV.

Around the NFL

Niners looking for best way to part with De’Vondre Campbell | ESPN

Campbell’s decision to not play in Thursday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams angered Shanahan and many of his teammates. After the game, Shanahan and multiple players made it clear that Campbell’s actions were unacceptable, with cornerback Charvarius Ward going so far as to say Campbell is “probably going to get cut soon.”

As of Friday morning, the Niners had not determined exactly how they will part ways with Campbell, but Shanahan said he didn’t expect Campbell to be on the team in Week 16 and beyond.

“We’re working through the semantics of exactly how to deal with it,” Shanahan said. “But I mean you guys heard from me last night, you guys heard from our players, his actions from the game, it’s not something you can do to your team or your teammates and still get to be a part of our team. We’re working through exactly the semantics of it right now, but we’ll handle the situation appropriately.”

Pro Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss announces cancer diagnosis, six-hour surgery | NFL.com

Pro Football Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss said Friday he is being treated for cancer and is recovering from major surgery.

In an appearance on Instagram Live, Moss, aided by a cane, introduced himself as a cancer survivor and thanked his “prayer warriors” for their support.

Moss said a cancerous mass was found in his bile duct, between his pancreas and liver. He said he had surgery to put a stent in his liver on Thanksgiving and then underwent a six-hour procedure about a week ago to remove the cancer. He said he was hospitalized for six days and released on Friday.

The surgery was a Whipple procedure, Moss said. The operation involves removing the head of the pancreas, part of the small intestine, the gallbladder and the bile duct, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“I didn’t think I would ever be in a position like this, as healthy as I thought I was,” Moss said.

NFL Week 15 predictions: Which players and teams will turn heads? | USA Today

The late afternoon window will be this season’s most entertaining timeslot of the 2024 season

If Sunday requires you to divide your attention, make sure any tasks are completed and events are attended by the time 4:25 p.m. ET rolls around. Simultaneously, the Detroit Lions will host the Buffalo Bills while the Philadelphia Eagles welcome the Pittsburgh Steelers. If neither of those matchups do it for you, the Indianapolis Colts will try to keep their postseason chances alive on the road against the Denver Broncos. (Sidenote: That the NFL handicapped itself with future Christmas-week scheduling so that none of these games could be flexed into the place of Falcons vs. Vikings on “Monday Night Football” is a significant error.)

Bills-Lions will feature a ton of points; Steelers-Eagles could turn into a defensive battle. And I’m not sleeping on the other matchups. Patriots vs. Cardinals and Buccaneers vs. Chargers could all very well come down to the wire. I expect the Colts-Broncos contest to contain an air of desperation, considering any chance of the Colts making the playoffs begins with a victory, while Denver hangs onto the perilous No. 7 seed in the AFC.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Chiefs Roster: Coaches stressing ‘eye discipline’ to defensive backs

Still, the team is 6-1 since then. And Sunday’s 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers was one of the secondary’s strongest performances in weeks — even though one-off weaknesses in coverage nearly overshadowed holding Los Angeles to only 194 passing yards.

Just as he has for the past month, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo acknowledges that eliminating explosive passing plays is a primary goal.

“Last week, we played a really good first half,” he noted on Thursday. “Then the two drives in the second half, they scored.

“One was on a defensive pass interference, which Justin Reid would tell you he can play better. [Then] we had a play on a second-and-16 that I thought Chamarri Conner defended pretty well; he just didn’t make the play on the tight end. Otherwise, it’s third-and-16; maybe we get off the field [and] they kick a field goal.

“It’s that close,” he concluded.

Spagnuolo then detailed what he’s emphasizing with his defensive backfield.

“I began yesterday’s meeting with eye discipline,” he told reporters. “Back-end guys get their eyes tested. Play-action passes are supposed to test the eyes — they want you to think they’re running the football. We’ve been harping on details and discipline… When you play back there at linebacker or defensive back, it is all about the eyes. It begins there.”

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