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The Chiefs Wire staff reacts to the Week 12 victory over the Denver Broncos.
Grab a cup of coffee and join us as we start off the day after our eleventh victory of the season, Chiefs Kingdom!
Every morning following a Chiefs win or loss, a few of our writers here at Chiefs Wire will provide their post-game thoughts and quips. It’ll let you know how we’re all feeling about the Chiefs after covering them on gameday. Gather around and be sure to share your thoughts on the Chiefs with us on Facebook and Twitter.
Lightning-fast analysis of the Kansas City Chiefs’ Week 12 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
As always, it’s never a dull moment watching the Kansas City Chiefs play. They dominated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the majority of this game, yet Tom Brady and his team were in it down until the very end. It took some gutsy play calling from Andy Reid and great execution from Patrick Mahomes, but they ultimately came away with a 27-24 win over the Bucs.
Alabama will take on Auburn at home today for the 2020 Iron Bowl. The ESPN College GameDay crew makes their picks for the contest.
The ESPN’s College GameDay crew are stationed in Tuscaloosa, Alabama this morning as they highlight games, coaches and players from across the country, as well as making their picks for the most anticipated contests of the week.
The game of the week, to the crew, is the Iron Bowl, Alabama vs. Auburn, the rivalry that divides the state.
The guest picker for today is former Alabama quarterback Joe Namath.
The crew and Broadway Joe unanimously picks the Crimson Tide to win the Iron Bowl, and some even predicted the game to not end in close fashion.
Lee Corso ended the predictions by playing ‘Sweet Home Alabama’ and wearing the ‘Big Al’ mascot head.
Florida ended a three-game losing streak to the Georgia Bulldogs, earning a 44-28 victory for their first win in the series since 2016.
Florida ended a three-game losing streak to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday, earning a 44-28 victory for their first win in the series since 2016.
Another gem of a performance from quarterback Kyle Trask fueled a dominant offensive outing from Florida, and the hapless Bulldogs had no answer for it.
The Gators are now in the driver’s seat in the division and sitting pretty at 4-1 heading into the back half of the season.
Here are five takeaways from this year’s Florida-Georgia game.
Mahomes can scamper with the best of them and it helped the Chiefs win against the Chargers.
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The Kansas City Chiefs won in Week 2 with the help of their best players’ legs. I’m not just talking about Harrison Butker and his booming 58-yard field goals either. One of the first things that Andy Reid brought up after the game was Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes’ performance on the ground.
“Patrick (Mahomes) made some nice plays with his legs,” Reid said in his opening statement.
Mahomes led the Chiefs in rushing on the night with six attempts for 54 yards. The show of skill was highlighted on third-and-20, late in the fourth quarter, when Mahomes scrambled for 21 yards to pick up the first down. It provided Kansas City an opportunity to score and win the game within regulation.
“The run, third-and-20, at that time when I took off running I was more worried about trying to get into field goal range to get Butker to be able to tie the game,” Mahomes told reporters. “I was able to get the first down, and then we were almost able to put a touchdown in there before regulation ended.”
This isn’t the first time that Mahomes has found himself using his legs to change his team’s fortunes of a game. Many will point back to his rumbling touchdown run against the Tennessee Titans in last year’s AFC championship game. Reid pointed to a run he had against the Detroit Lions in Week 4 of 2019.
“That’s the thing, he did the same thing in Detroit last year,” Reid said. “Things weren’t going very well and he pops off a couple of big runs — same type of deal. He’s a great player. He loves the game and loves it when the game is on the line. He wants the ball. Other guys, I think, shy away from that. He wants it, and he’s got guys around him who want it, and who are willing to reach down deep in a situation like that.”
These runs against the Chargers didn’t just come at any old time either, they came at the most crucial moments in the game. Five of the six runs came on third down and Mahomes converted four of them, setting up a fourth-and-1 on the lone non-conversion.
Mahomes 3rd down conversions as a runner vs LAC
3rd & 7 -> 15 yards
3rd & 5 -> 10 yards
3rd and 20 -> 21 yards
3rd and 3 -> 4 yards— Daniel Jeremiah (@MoveTheSticks) September 21, 2020
So what allowed Mahomes to thrive on the ground against the Chargers?
“They were playing coverage,” Mahomes said following the game. “They were getting depth and our offensive line was giving me time, but they were getting so much depth that we couldn’t find ways to get open. The thing about them playing coverage and being so deep is that they don’t have a guy for me. So, I was able to run and get some yards downfield. It’s just about trying to find whatever way to win, I think that’s the biggest thing. If teams are going to stay back and guard our receivers, I’m going to have to find ways with my feet to make stuff happen.”
If the defense is intent on stopping Mahomes through the air, he’ll beat them with his legs. If they leave an extra player to spy Mahomes or only rush three, he’ll have the time to find an open player downfield. It’s a no-win scenario for defenses and another reason why the Chiefs remain such a tough team to beat.
Ideally, you probably don’t want your half-billion-dollar quarterback scrambling all the time. However, when the game is on the line, Mahomes has shown the willingness and prowess to break off a big run.
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Coach Pete Carroll believes the Seattle Seahawks’ winning performance Week 1 was a statement of the offseason work the players put in.
The Seattle Seahawks were in firm control of the majority of the game Sunday in Atlanta, handing the Falcons their first loss of the season. Quarterback Russell Wilson was up on his game, getting his chance to “cook” and putting up impressive numbers in the passing game.
Wilson nailed 31 of 35 passes attempted for an 88.6% completion percentage and threw for four touchdowns and 332 yards.
“Russ has been extraordinary all camp,” coach Pete Carroll said after the win. “He had a great summer throwing the ball to everybody and he had perhaps his best throwing day, numbers-wise, just about as you could have. He was in great command of the game.”
Seattle’s offense was able to rally together and put up big numbers on the board. Wilson found three different receivers for touchdowns and Carlos Hyde was able to score the Seahawks’ sole rushing TD. The defense held its own, holding Atlanta to just 12 points through three quarters of play. Carroll believes it’s a testament to how hard everyone worked this summer.
“This whole Zoom season, our guys did a marvelous job,” Carroll explained. “Russ was extremely involved, integrally involved with all of that, and it just showed. It showed. We were together and tight and functioning well. I don’t know what we did on third down, I don’t know if it was any good, but we just were able to move the ball, even when we were backed up with penalty situations or sacks, we came back and converted. That’s confidence and belief. These guys, first game, they have earned their way right here.
“They have earned their way to play like that by the way they practiced.”
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Trailing by 10 at the half with little going right, Dwayne Haskins gave a speech at halftime that sparked the massive comeback in Washington.
Coach Ron Rivera said that while he was getting an IV, he understands that Dwayne Haskins stood up in the locker room and gave the speech to fire up the team at halftime.
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) September 13, 2020
Ron Rivera said that the speech that Dwayne Haskins gave was a "ruckus" of a speech. Ruckus is of course being used positively
— Rhiannon Walker (@InstantRHIplay) September 13, 2020
Fabian Moreau on Haskins' halftime speech: "He just basically got everybody riled up and put everyone on his back. Like a leader, he stepped up and gave a speech and everyone felt it, it was strong and it helped us."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) September 13, 2020
With the Washington Football Team down 17-7 at the half, and not many things going in their direction, quarterback Dwayne Haskins stepped up in front of his teammates in the locker room and reportedly gave an impassioned speech that sparked some emotions and got the team ready to get back on the field.
It apparently worked, as Washington came out of the half and completed their 17-point comeback, scoring 27-unanswered to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, their division rivals.
One of the biggest questions about Haskins so far in his career is about his leadership ability, and that’s something that he has been working hard on this offseason, trying to take control of the team and lead them to success. If Week 1 is any indication of how that went, Washington is now in good hands with both Haskins and Ron Rivera.
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Texas is expected to play in the Big 12 championship in 2020. Once in the game, winning it would be a plus too. Here is how they can do it.
The expectations for 2020 are simple for the Texas Longhorns. Make the Big 12 Championship game. Even with the poor 7-5 season, Texas was still in the race for an appearance in the final quarter of the season. All it will take it some improvements on the offensive and defensive side of the ball and the Longhorns will have a great chance at achieving their goal.
Taking it one level further, once in the game, winning it would be an even better prize. It would be the first conference championship for Texas since 2009 and its fourth Big 12 title in program history.
The quarterback play from Sam Ehlinger needs to take another level up in order for the Longhorns to truly improve. Once you get past him, it is an elite level defense that is missing from this team. The defense can not only take the pressure off the offense and what they are doing, but it can create opportunities for Ehlinger to truly survive.
If all of that comes together, beating some of the top teams in the conference will be crucial. In 2018, it was a hump the Longhorns could overcome, losing to third-place West Virginia and fourth place Iowa State, but the Big 12 has gotten better and a couple losses may be the end of your season. Winning against top-level competition will be the key determinant of who plays in the Big 12 Championship game next season.
Here are three ways Texas can win the Big 12 in 2020:
The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team led by forward Charli Collier rout Texas Tech 92-66.
The Texas Longhorns women’s basketball team was looking to even up their conference record at two games apiece. After opening Big 12 play at home in a narrow loss to Texas Christian, the Longhorns split games against Iowa State and West Virginia to come into the game (1-2) in conference play. Standout sophomore forward Charli Collier came prepared to put the team on her back.
The Longhorns and Texas Tech played in close in the first quarter before Texas started pulling away in the second quarter. They look a 47-31 lead to halftime after outscoring the Lady Raiders 25-12 in the second. Collier was an interior menace on both offense and defense as she finished with yet another double-double, her stat line finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds.
The Longhorns continued to ride that wave in the second half of the game to build upon their lead that ultimately led to a 92-66 route of Texas Tech. The Longhorns shot 49.3% from the field including hitting 35.3% of their attempts from behind the arc.
The defense of Texas made this game difficult for Texas Tech who were led by Brittany Brewer’s 18 points and seven rebounds. The Lady Raiders were limited to 36.4% shooting and an abysmal 13.3% from three. The Longhorns were able to best Tech in every statistically category except fouls and four more turnovers. Other than that it was a complete victory for Texas who look to face Kansas State on the road Sunday.
Texas is now 10-6 overall with a 2-2 conference record.
In a must-win scenario for Texas, they delivered on the road against Oklahoma State. Winning 76-64, it was an all-around effort from UT.
In a must-win scenario for the Longhorns, they delivered on the road in Stillwater against Oklahoma State. Winning 76-64, it was an all-around effort from Texas, getting multiple players involved.
With five different players in double figures, Jase Febres and Kamaka Hepa led the way with 15 points. Between the two of them, they shot a combined 6-13 from the three-point line, making six out of the team’s 15 threes.
That boy @JaseFebres got UP ⬆️#AllForTexas | #HookEm pic.twitter.com/5I7PlmXaCH
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) January 16, 2020
Guards Courtney Ramey and Matt Coleman had 14 and 10 points respectively, making four Texas starters in double figures. Ramey added nine rebounds and six assists, leading the team in both. He also went 4-8 from behind the arc and Coleman went 2-3.
Off the bench, Andrew Jones had 12 points, the most he has had since the Lone Star Showdown against Texas A&M. Playing 31 minutes, he also added three rebounds and an assist.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Longhorns held their opponent to under 70 points for the 11th time in 16 games. Now only allowing 60.9 points per game, the Texas defense continues to be one of the best in the Big 12.
Now sitting at 2-2, in the conference, it only gets tougher for Texas. The next two games are against two of the best in the conference, Kansas and West Virginia. Hosting Kansas at home on Saturday, Jan 18 and traveling mid-week to Morgantown, the Longhorns will need to find a way to get a win against a highly ranked team before facing LSU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge on Jan. 25.
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