Chiefs All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce tried to chump Ravens kicker Justin Tucker and make him move so Patrick Mahomes can warm up
We’re a little over an hour away from the Ravens and Chiefs kicking off the AFC title game, and star tight end Travis Kelce just added some drama to the contest.
Baltimore’s All-Pro kicker, Justin Tucker was down in the Chiefs end of the field warming up with quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Kelce and the Kansas City offense took the field for some early pregame warmups of their own.
Travis Kelce told Justin Tucker he needed to move because their QB Patrick Mahomes had to warm up. So Kelce kicked his ball away and threw his helmet. 😂 pic.twitter.com/pFF0DC1yA7
After watching Mahomes take a couple of dropbacks with Tucker still stretching, and his helmet in the Chiefs way, Kelce took upon himself to tell the kicker to move, while tossing his helmet.
Social media reacts to everything, and this altercation was no different.
Ravens vs. Chiefs inactives: Baltimore to employ 9 defensive backs against Kansas City
We’re a little over an hour away from the Ravens and Chiefs battling for the AFC Championship game, and Baltimore has 9 defensive backs active aganst the Kansas City offense.
Mark Andrews and Marlon Humphrey are officially active.
We’re looking at five reasons why the Baltimore Ravens will defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game
The time has come, and we’re a little over 3 hours from one of the biggest AFC Championship tilts in NFL history when the Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium.
Since becoming Kansas City’s head coach in 2013, Andy Reid has been 4-1 through the regular season against the Ravens, while quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been 3-1.
Last Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in Buffalo 27-24 to advance to the AFC’s final game, while Baltimore is riding high after a 34-10 win over Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
With pregame warmups already underway, we’re looking at five reasons the Ravens will win the AFC Championship.
We’re looking at the NFL expert picks for the AFC Championship game and the Ravens are projected to defeat the Chiefs
We’re a little over 32 hours from one of the biggest AFC Championship tilts in NFL history when the Baltimore Ravens host the Kansas City Chiefs at M&T Bank Stadium.
Since becoming Kansas City’s head coach in 2013, Andy Reid has been 4-1 through the regular season against the Ravens, while quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been 3-1.
Last Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in Buffalo 27-24 to advance to the AFC’s final game, while Baltimore is riding high after a 34-10 win over Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
With preparation for the matchup set to begin, we’re looking at one thing to watch at each offensive position group.
The Ravens are listing Marlon Humphrey, Rock Ya-Sin and Tylan Wallace as questionable for the AFC Championship game, while Mark Andrews will play
The Ravens released their final injury report, and the team is listing Marlon Humphrey, Rock Ya-Sin and Tylan Wallace as questionable for the AFC Championship game, while Mark Andrews will play after missing six games.
Head Coach John Harbaugh said he is “confident” that Humphrey will play on Sunday, which is a big boost to the secondary. Ronald Darby has played well with Humphrey sidelined, and it could give Baltimore’s secondary even more versatility.
Andrews enters the game with no injury designation.
Since becoming Kansas City’s head coach in 2013, Andy Reid has been 4-1 through the regular season against the Ravens, while quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been 3-1.
Last Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in Buffalo 27-24 to advance to the AFC’s final game, while Baltimore is riding high after a 34-10 win over Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
With preparation for the matchup set to begin, here are three burning questions to answer.
Sunday will mark the Chiefs sixth-consecutive AFC title game appearance, it’s first of the stretch that will be played on the road.
Last Sunday, the Chiefs defeated the Bills in Buffalo 27-24 to advance to the AFC’s final game, while Baltimore is riding high after a 34-10 win over Houston and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud.
The last time these two teams met was in 2021 in Week 2.
Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson had two fourth-quarter rushing Touchdowns to defeat the Chiefs 36-35.
Since becoming Kansas City’s head coach in 2013, Andy Reid has been 4-1 through the regular season against the Ravens, while quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been 3-1.
With preparation for the matchup set to begin, here are seven storylines to watch.
Kansas City #Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo spoke about Kansas City’s Pro Bowl snubs and Chris Jones needing ten sacks.
This Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Los Angeles Chargers does not affect the Kansas City Chiefs’ postseason plans. Due to the exhibition feel of the game, many full-time starters are expected to be limited or out as they prepare for the following week’s Wild Card round.
Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo took to the podium on Thursday to speak with reporters and address bus thoughts on the many Pro Bowl snubs amongst his defensive unit.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed. You know how I feel about those guys? It is what it is,” said Spagnuolo, “I mean, again, because I know those guys they’re more concerned with the bigger picture. But yeah, disappointed is a pretty good word.”
Cornerbacks L’Jarius Sneed, Trent McDuffie, and team sacks leader George Karlaftis were the most notable names from a unit that remained atop the AFC in many defensive ratings. The only defensive player selected from Kansas City was Chris Jones, who is entering Week 18 half a sack away from ten for the season, which would lead to special contract incentives.
“I would love for Chris (Jones) to get that,” Spagnuolo explained. “I think that’s always good. We don’t let that get in the way of what we’re trying to do, that being [to] prevent points and win football games, but I hope all those guys get that. I want guys to get Pro Bowls; all that I do. I mean, I would love that if that happens.”
There is still no official word as to whether Jones will play on Sunday, but he did say he’d be interested in the opportunity to get that tenth sack.
#Chiefs DL George Karlaftis played with his hair on fire against the #Bengals in Week 17.
The Kansas City Chiefs defense has been among the NFL’s best this season, and with just one game remaining on their schedule, the team’s defense seems primed to make something special happen in the playoffs.
Second-year defensive end George Karlaftis has been among the unit’s leaders through 16 games, and put together arguably his best performance of the season against the Bengals in Week 17, tallying 1.5 sacks, six pressures, and a pass rush win rate of 26.7 percent, according to Pro Football Focus.
Numbers like these are no coincidence for Karlaftis, who has steadily developed into Kansas City’s leading sack leader heading into their final matchup of the season against the Los Angeles Chargers.
His presence on the Chiefs’ front four has more than warranted his selection in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft. With another exceptional showing in Week 18, he could cement himself as Kansas City’s preeminent sack-master ahead of the playoffs later this month.
The 2023 Chiefs will go exactly as far as their defense will take them. The good news is that Steve Spagnuolo is dialing up some evil stuff.
We all know that the Kansas City Chiefs’ offense, for whatever reason, is an unmitigated disaster at this point. Yes, Patrick Mahomes is still capable of making amazing plays from time to time, but the structure of the passing game has fallen apart, Mahomes is leaving too many throws on the field, and the chemistry is certainly a problem.
Sure, the pass was behind him… While Mahomes was getting clobbered.
And it was still wildly catchable. Like, high school catchable.
Reminder; Mahomes tried to take the blame publicly for MVS dropping a potential game winner vs the Eagles. https://t.co/g1hdVlll5u
In the Chiefs’ 25-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Mahomes completed 21 of 29 passes for 245 yards, one touchdown, and a passer rating of 119.8. Not bad for the way this season has gone, but Mahomes also had just two passes of 20 or more air yards in this game for 108 of those total passing yards.
It’s abundantly clear that the 2023 Chiefs will go exactly as far as their defense can take them, and at least there’s some good news there. Under defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Kansas City ranks 10th in Defensive DVOA, and against the Bengals, it was Spags’ guys who put the nail in the coffin.
Harrison Butker kicked his sixth field goal of the day with 3:03 left in the game, and the Bengals started their corresponding drive with 2:59 remaining on their own 25-yard line. After two short passes that took the ball to the Cincinnati 45, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning saw his world unravel as the Chiefs sacked him four times in five plays — in 50 clock minutes from 2:14 to 1:24.
Spagnuolo alternated between Cover-2 and 2-Man on those four sacks, which was smart. Coming into this game, per Sports Info Solutions, Browning had completed 27 of 41 passes against those two coverages for 363 yards, 171 air yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, four sacks, and a passer rating of 71.5. And since the Chiefs had played the NFL’s sixth-highest rate of Cover-2 (17.3%, tied with the Buffalo Bills), and the highest rate of 2-Man (7.3%), everybody knew what to do on the back end.
The first two sacks were by safety Justin Reid, who blitzed from two different gaps. With 2:14 left in the game, Reid jumped from the box to the B-gap late in the pre-snap process, and went right into the pocket. Running back Joe Mixon tried to pick Reid up, to no avail.
Reid’s second sack came on the next play, with 2:00 remaining. This time, No. 20 rushed off the left defensive edge, and there was no concern about running back Trayveon Williams picking Reid up in pass protection, because Reid threw Williams out of the way on the way to Browning.
“It was a big moment,” Reid said after the game of those two sacks. “All of it just came down to execution. We were executing really all game and in the biggest moments, your biggest players in every situation… your players have to make plays. Coach Spags dialed it up for me to get home, we practiced it all during the week, everyone played their role to give me enough time to get home and we were able to make things happen.”
Browning then hit receiver Tyler Boyd on a 23-yard play that took the ball from the Cincinnati 32 to the Kansas City 45, at which point the Chiefs started beating up on Browning again. With 1:30 left in the game, edge-rusher George Karlaftis got through on a straight four-man rush where he beat left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. around the back of the pocket. That has been Brown’s Kryptonite throughout his career, and as Brown used to play for the Chiefs, we’re pretty sure everybody involved understood that.
That took the ball back to the Cincinnati 49, and now, it was time for uber-disruptor Chris Jones to do his thing. Jones is the Chiefs’ best defensive player, and given the way the offense has played this season, he might be the best player on the team. With 1:24 left in the game, the Chiefs brought a six-man pressure pressure look on second-and-16 with Reid and linebacker Nick Bolton then dropping into short/spy coverage, and Jones made it third-and-27 in a big hurry. Left guard Cordell Volson had no shot against Jones’ cross-body rip move.
Browning threw two more desperation passes incomplete, and game over.
“I think in that situation we’re hanging on, we’re behind the sticks and you’re hanging on for some longer developing routes because you have to,” Browning said of those four sacks. “I don’t know what exactly happened. My eyes were downfield trying to throw the ball to somebody to convert. That’s that.”
Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie summed up the importance of that effort quite nicely.
“D-line, linebackers, safeties – I feel like last year with the same kind of guys we were really building and building and building. This year, I don’t know what to tell you, everyone is doing their job correctly, everyone is playing fast, and I think the trust is just there. That brings so much more confidence to everybody.”
Especially when your offense inspires little confidence from anybody.
In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get more into Spagnuolo’s defense, and how it’s saving the Chiefs’ season at this point.
You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:
You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…
