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Chiefs’ Travis Kelce ‘not worried’ about early struggles this season | The Athletic
“I’ve had a lot of catches in this league, man. I’m not worried about the catches and the yards and all that,” Kelce said. “I have the most fun when the ball is thrown my way, who doesn’t? It has everything to do with execution, just making sure we’re doing whatever we can to win these football games, man. That’s always going to be the goal.”
Kelce’s brother and podcast co-host, Jason, said it’s “frustrating” to watch Travis’ struggles and he “can’t wait for it to turn (around).”
“If it doesn’t, as long as we’re winning football games, we’re good to go, baby,” Travis responded.
Ranking the NFL’s 3-0 teams: Are the Steelers, Seahawks and Vikings for real? | The Athletic
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Odds to make the playoffs: 97%
Odds to win division: 90%
Odds to clinch first-round bye: 41%
A shocking No. 1, right? We won’t spend much time here. They’re back-to-back Super Bowl champs; they’ve gone to six straight AFC Championship games, and they’re led by three-time champion and two-time MVP Patrick Mahomes. The AFC runs through Kansas City — the Chiefs have a 31% chance to win the AFC — until another team proves it can knock them off in January.
That doesn’t mean the Chiefs don’t have flaws. There are certainly times when it looks like they’re not on their A-game. We saw this most of last season and have seen it again this year. Honestly, they are a couple of bad bounces away from being 0-3.
Where Does Trevor Lawrence Rank Among NFL Starting QBs After Disastrous Start? | Bleacher Report
2. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills: The Approximate Value metric at Pro Football Reference registers Allen as the most valuable player in the NFL since the start of 2021. He leads the NFL in both passer rating and QBR in what might finally be his first MVP campaign.
1. Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs: I don’t care if he’s off to a bit of a slow start this year. We’re talking about a two-time NFL MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP at the age of 29.
NFL FACT OR FICTION: Josh Allen league’s best player? Steelers most dangerous team? | NFL.com
6) Something is amiss with Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs offense.
Mahomes admitted he hasn’t played very well. Andy Reid shouldered some of the blame for the QB’s struggles, noting, as the play-caller, he needs to get the QB into a better rhythm early in games. Travis Kelce has basically been invisible. The deep game is noticeably absent once again.
Still, the Chiefs are 3-0.
Sorry, I won’t get worked up about the back-to-back Super Bowl champions still finding their way in September. I’ll call this one fiction.
I’m not sure anything is actually amiss. It’s just clunky right now.
Defenses are taking away deep shots, forcing Mahomes to dink and dunk his way down the field. Until defenders stop playing off, he’ll continue to take the quick gains to Rashee Rice. The four interceptions aren’t great, but let’s be honest, it’s not entirely unusual for Mahomes. He has thrown 12 or more INTs in each of the past three seasons.
The Best NFL Bets for Week 4 | The Ringer
Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Chargers (+8.5)
The Chargers may be without Derwin James Jr., Joey Bosa, Justin Herbert, Rashawn Slater, and Joe Alt for Sunday’s game. The market has taken notice, as the line surpassed six and seven on Monday. How will the Chargers handle Steve Spagnuolo’s blitzes and the Kansas City secondary’s strong man coverage? If both tackles are absent, it would be nearly irresponsible to play a half-healthy Herbert.
There are too many unknowns, but I will note that the Kansas City offense appears to be struggling, and the absence of Isiah Pacheco affected its rushing efficiency against Atlanta.
Verdict: Pass.
NFL Week 4 Power Rankings: The Bills are rolling, but their upcoming schedule will be tough | PFF
1. Kansas City Chiefs
Another close win against the Atlanta Falcons couldn’t stop the Chiefs from rolling, and they’re now 3-0 in the early season while comfortably looking like one of the best teams in the NFL once more. Rashee Rice’s performances have been promising, too: his 86.2 receiving grade is fourth at the position.
Josh Allen is the greatest threat to Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs as NFL’s early MVP tone-setter | Sky Sports
His genius does not go unappreciated, but the narrative around the Buffalo Bills quarterback might feel a whole lot different were it not for the man with the taper fade mohawk over in Kansas City, who may be Allen’s only superior.
Patrick Mahomes is in a Mount Rushmore-bound league of his own, but Allen and his influence are not all that far behind.
2025 NFL Mock Draft: Latest First-Round Predictions Entering Week 4 | The 33rd Team
32. Kansas City Chiefs
Selection: Derrick Harmon, DT, Oregon
After transferring to Oregon to Michigan State, Derrick Harmon somehow became a pass-rushing force.
He already has 14 quarterback hurries, proving to be incredibly disruptive. Putting the 6-foot-5, 320-pounder next to Chris Jones would keep the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense operating at an elite level.
Around the NFL
Josh Allen named AFC offensive player of the week for 13th time | NBC Sports
Bills quarterback Josh Allen continued his torrid start to the season in Monday night’s win over the Jaguars.
Allen was 23-of-30 for 263 yards and four touchdowns to fuel Buffalo’s 47-10 rout. The win moved the team to 3-0 on the season and it resulted in Allen being named the AFC’s offensive player of the week on Wednesday.
It’s the 13th time that Allen has taken the prize since joining the Bills as a 2018 first-round pick.
Justin Tucker confident he can fix a “technique thing” that has led to three misses | NBC Sports
The Ravens kicker has the worst percentage in the NFL this season among kickers with more than two attempts at 62.5.
He has made only 5-of-8 field goals, missing one in all three games.
“I think one of my greatest assets is my mind,” Tucker said, via Clifton Brown of the team website. “I’m able to compartmentalize for the most part, move onto the next one, and make the most of my next opportunity.
“You have to be your own harshest critic if you want to take greatness from inside of you and put it on display for the world. That’s really how I think about it.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs Roster: How Wanya Morris looked in first start against Falcons
Protecting Patrick Mahomes
Keeping the team’s star quarterback upright will always be the No. 1 priority for any of Kansas City’s offensive lineman — especially the left tackle. A few of Sunday’s play-calls included extra help for Morris, but he had plenty of snaps where he had to face the Falcons’ pass rush alone, too.
Last season, Morris struggled against speed rushers. On Sunday, Atlanta tried to exploit this by putting third-year edge rusher Arnold Ebiketie across from him.
ATL tried to challenge Morris with speed early off the edge. 17 fires his hands first but with a good set Morris is able to use his long arms to lock out and work him up the field. pic.twitter.com/tt5rnuwnbZ
— Caleb James (@CJScoobs) September 23, 2024
On this rep, Ebiketie quickly tries to get in Morris’ grille right off the snap — but with good timing and a solid vertical pass set, Morris fires the first strike. Then he uses his long reach to keep Ebiketie out of the pocket.
Social media to make you think
Nepotism is ruining the NFL. The Bears’ starting running back this year has been horrendous and only has a job because his sister is dating Travis Kelce.
— Dave Kluge (@DaveKluge) September 25, 2024
