Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes will be leaning on new bunch of untested wide receivers
The Kansas City Chiefs allowed wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman to walk away in free agency, and in their place they signed a couple of relative unknowns while taking a gamble on an injury-prone talent and unproven draft pick.
Mahomes helps Chiefs rally past Titans 20-17 in overtime
Patrick Mahomes ran for the tying touchdown and 2-point conversion late in the fourth quarter, Harrison Butker atoned for two earlier misses by kicking the go-ahead field goal in overtime, and the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Tennessee Titans 20-17.
Bills rally to beat Chiefs 24-20 in playoff rematch
Josh Allen threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead toss to Dawson Knox with 1:04 left in the game, and the Buffalo Bills beat the Kansas City Chiefs 24-20 on Sunday to exact a small measure of revenge for their epic overtime loss in last year’s playoffs.
Mahomes leads Chiefs to 42-21 wild-card romp over Steelers
Patrick Mahomes threw for 404 yards and five touchdowns, Travis Kelce caught a TD pass and threw another one, and the Chiefs sent Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger into his expected retirement with a 42-21 win in the wild-card round of the playoffs Sunday night.
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Chiefs head into offseason with core intact, plenty of holes
Now, the Chiefs will have to take a much different tact if they want to make their third consecutive Super Bowl. While their core group is signed for the next several years, the Chiefs have a raft of important contributors that are due to hit free agency. Ad“Like all teams, we'll get busy here going down the road,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Monday. “Every year is different because of your cap situation and what you have and what you need,” Chiefs general manager Brett Veach said. WELCOME BACKThe Chiefs should get some help from guys that were injured or opted out of this past season.
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Chiefs, Bucs ride (mostly) COVID-clear season to Super Bowl
– The Kansas City Chiefs had a pretty good idea what kind of COVID-19 protocols they would have to wade through in defense of their Super Bowl championship the moment they finally gathered for in-person training camp. And it was Burkholder who helped the Chiefs navigate the season with few positive tests and just one postponement — the fault of the other team — as they closed in on a Super Bowl repeat. Those were things we just didn't know, and it was a process to figure out how to do this.”AdUltimately, the Chiefs and Buccaneers are in the Super Bowl in part because they figured it out as well as anybody. It's easy to follow the example of Tom Brady, with six Super Bowl rings behind him and the Hall of Fame in front of him, when he demands the Buccaneers mask up. The same with Patrick Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, when he tells the Chiefs to skip the family gatherings around the holidays.
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Chiefs coach Reid's patience in struggling players pays off
It was an enormous mistake in the opening minutes of the AFC championship game on Sunday, and Chiefs coach Andy Reid could have easily given his young wide receiver the cold shoulder. They're going to keep me up, keep me motivated — make sure I don't have my head down,” Hardman said. They have been without Sammy Watkins since Week 16 because of a calf injury, and the veteran wide receiver was a surprise scratch on Sunday, putting pressure on Hardman and fellow wide receiver Byron Pringle to continue to pick up the slack. “We are a group of guys that want to be perfect and strive for that perfection, no matter what we do. I think we're going to take that same mentality into the Super Bowl.”___More AP NFL: https://apnews.com/NFL and https://twitter.com/AP_NFL
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Bills fall short in breakout season with 38-24 loss to KC
Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) is sacked by Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark (55) during the second half of the AFC championship NFL football game, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)Josh Allen led the Buffalo Bills to their first AFC championship game in 27 years. The Bills were unable to solve the Chiefs twice this season. They were trampled in a 26-17 loss in Week 6 in a game rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire had 161 yards rushing. On the bright side, the Bills made tremendous strides over last season, which ended with Buffalo squandering a 16-0 third-quarter lead in a wild-card playoff loss at Houston.
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Reigning champion Chiefs dump Bills 38-24 in AFC title game
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes celebrates after the AFC championship NFL football game against the Buffalo Bills, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2021, in Kansas City, Mo. – It took the Kansas City Chiefs five frustrating decades to make their third Super Bowl appearance. That’s not how you’re supposed to play football.”It capped a bitter night for the Bills, who had reached their first AFC title game since beating Kansas City at home on Jan. 1, 1994. You don't beat Kansas City by kicking field goals from the 3-yard line, though. He’s fast.”Any hopes the Bills had of a comeback were dashed when Rashad Fenton picked off a tipped pass deep in Kansas City territory.
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Big offenses, overlooked defenses in AFC title game
The Kansas City Chiefs won their first NFL title since 1970 when they beat San Francisco in last year's Super Bowl. What we get Sunday is a matchup of dynamic offenses and overlooked defenses, the top two teams in the conference. Kansas City (15-2) has the confidence of a reigning champion and a charisma few NFL teams can match. That could provide an edge over Bills rookie Tyler Bass — except that Bass has been very reliable all season. Buffalo punter Corey Bojorquez and Kansas City rookie Johnny Townsend were two of the most dependable in the AFC.
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Mahomes' theatrics highlight Chiefs' 32-29 win over Saints
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) passes in the first half of an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. The victory kept the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs (13-1) in pole position to capture the AFC's lone playoff bye as a No. Mahomes' second TD toss looked more like a basketball assist, a chest-pass to tight end Travis Kelce cutting behind blockers for a 1-yard score. With two timeouts remaining, the Saints kicked deep, but could not prevent Mahomes and Co. from running out the clock. Saints: Receiver Tre'Quan Smith and safety Marcus Williams each left with ankle injuries in the second half.
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Mahomes, Chiefs clinch AFC West with 33-27 win over Dolphins
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs overcame a 30-yard sack, four turnovers and a 10-point deficit Sunday to clinch their fifth consecutive AFC West title by beating Miami 33-27 on Sunday. Xavien Howard made an interception for the fifth game in a row, and Mahomes’ interception total for the season rose to five. It was the Chiefs’ second consecutive comeback at Hard Rock Stadium, where they won the Super Bowl in February. He threw an interception, bobbled a snap and took the big sack to set up the Dolphins’ first touchdown. Dolphins: They play host Sunday to the New England Patriots, who won when the teams met in the season opener.
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Mahomes throws 5 TD passes as Chiefs romp past Jets, 35-9
– Patrick Mahomes did just about everything for the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. On the second, Mahomes claimed to see Hill “a little banged up” and decided to carry him — horse-and-jockey style — back to the Kansas City sideline. While the Jets answered with the first of three first-half field goals, the Chiefs kept scoring touchdowns. Mahomes hit Robinson from 26 yards out for his fourth TD pass, giving Kansas City a 28-9 lead late in the third quarter. Mahomes capped his big day with his second touchdown throw to Hill early in the fourth.
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Chiefs down several offensive pieces with Buffalo on deck
– The Kansas City Chiefs will be without offensive lineman Kelechi Osemele and wide receiver Sammy Watkins when they visit the Buffalo Bills on Monday night for a game that was pushed back because of COVID-19 protocols. “I did it last year when Tyreek (Hill) went down and Sammy went down one time, too. The Bills had their game against Tennessee pushed to this past Tuesday night, forcing the league to scrap any Thursday night game by moving their matchup with Kansas City to late afternoon Monday. It will be the third time already this season that the Chiefs will play on Monday night. The Chiefs opened the season on Thursday night, which means they've played just two Sunday games this season.
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Chiefs lean on D to beat Pats 26-10 in COVID-19-delayed game
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark (55) celebrates after sacking New England Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer (2) during the first half of an NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, in Kansas City. – It's hard enough to slow down Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs under the best of circumstances. It wasn't until Tyrann Mathieu took an interception back for a touchdown in the fourth that Kansas City clinched its 26-10 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. Later on Saturday, it came out that Chiefs practice squad QB Jordan Ta'amu also had tested positive, forcing the NFL to postpone the game. Chiefs: Defensive tackle Chris Jones was out with a groin injury that sidelined him in practice last week.
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Mahomes outplays Jackson to lead Chiefs past Ravens 34-20
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) jumps to pass the ball during the first half of an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, in Baltimore. The common thread was that just about everything he did worked for the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs, who rolled past the Baltimore Ravens 34-20 on Monday night. He stepped up big," Kansas City coach Andy Reid said. Kansas City followed with a three-and-out, but Baltimore simply could not contain Mahomes for long. A 49-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes to Mecole Hardman put the Chiefs up by 17 at halftime.
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Chiefs wide receivers showcase speed during indoor race
The two Chiefs wide receivers have traded barbs about their speed ever since Hardman was chosen in the second round of last year's draft. I'm just lucky to have both of them, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said during a break from training camp meetings and workouts this week. I'd rather them just run down the sidelines scoring touchdowns during the game week.All of the Chiefs' wide receivers did plenty of that last year. And the ability of Hardman and Hill in particular to stop on a dime, change directions and immediately accelerate to full speed is uncanny. It's the way I got to the Kansas City Chiefs.It's a big reason why Hardman made it to the Chiefs.