Coach Andy Reid discovered his franchise quarterback wanted a real No. 1 extensive receiver after 5 seasons as a head coach and three straight losses within the NFC championship recreation.
Now, Patrick Mahomes is aware of what Donovan McNabb went by means of in Philadelphia.
McNabb’s high extensive receivers in his first 5 seasons had been Torrance Small, Charles Johnson, James Thrash and Todd Pinkston. When the Eagles acquired Terrell Owens in 2004, McNabb had his greatest season and the group reached the Super Bowl.
Reid, Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs have gained two Super Bowls collectively, together with one final yr with out Tyreek Hill. But it’ll be laborious for them to win one other one with out a reliable receiver apart from tight finish Travis Kelce.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling dropped what ought to’ve been a go-ahead 51-yard TD go within the fourth quarter and Justin Watson couldn’t catch a fourth-and-25 go that went by means of his fingers to seal Kansas City’s 21-17 loss to Philadelphia on Monday night time.
After seeing Owens’ affect on McNabb and the Eagles, Reid started to prioritize extensive receivers. He drafted DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin in Philly, introduced Maclin to Kansas City and hit a house run on Hill within the fifth spherical of the 2016 NFL draft.
But the Chiefs (7-3) didn’t change Hill after buying and selling the All-Pro receiver to Miami earlier than final season and so they went on to beat the Eagles within the Super Bowl anyway. JuJu Smith-Schuster led the extensive receivers with 78 catches for 933 yards whereas Kelce had 110 catches for 1,338 yards.
Smith-Schuster left in free company and Kansas City chosen Rashee Rice within the second spherical of the draft to assist fill the void this season. Rice leads the extensive receivers with 36 receptions for 420 yards by means of 10 video games. He wasn’t a lot an element on Monday, catching 4 balls for 42 yards. Watson had 5 receptions on 11 targets for 53 yards and one TD. Valdes-Scantling had no catches on three targets, together with the expensive drop.
The Chiefs lead the NFL with 26 drops this season. They have the fewest second-half factors within the league, together with zero up to now three video games.
Of course, it’s not all on the receivers. They had two turnovers —Mahomes’ interception and Kelce’s fumble — within the crimson zone towards Philadelphia.
The Chiefs have already got as many losses as final season after they gained their seventh straight AFC West and hosted the convention title recreation for the fifth consecutive yr. They’ve received a much-improved protection that can assist overcome the offense’s deficiencies, however Mahomes wants a dependable outdoors risk to catch the deep ball and make large performs.
The Chiefs go to the Las Vegas Raiders (5-6) on Sunday after falling a half-game behind Baltimore for the AFC’s No. 1 seed.
It took the New York Jets 10 video games to appreciate Zach Wilson isn’t a playoff-caliber beginning quarterback.
They already knew that after they made a blockbuster commerce to get Aaron Rodgers. But as soon as Rodgers went down in Week 1 with a torn Achilles tendon, the Jets went again to Wilson as a substitute of searching for a extra achieved quarterback.
Now, they’re turning to Tim Boyle, who was 0-3 as a starter with Detroit in 2021. Trevor Siemian will again him up when the Jets (4-6) host Miami (7-3) within the first Black Friday recreation.
Wilson, the No. 2 total decide in 2021, can be relegated to 3rd string after being benched for the third time in two seasons and it’s unsure whether or not he’ll have a future with the Jets.
The Lions rallied from a 12-point deficit with 4:29 left to beat the Chicago Bears in a recreation the place Jared Goff threw three interceptions and the protection allowed Justin Fields to run for 104 yards.
It was the kind of comeback that would assist Detroit (8-2) down the road within the playoffs. They overcame adversity, poor play and nonetheless discovered a strategy to win. The Lions have a fast turnaround earlier than internet hosting the Packers on Thanksgiving. They have their greatest file since 1962 and are on their strategy to reaching the playoffs for the primary time since 2016.
Detroit’s high purpose is to finish the NFL’s longest playoff win drought. It’s been 31 years since Barry Sanders led the Lions to a postseason win over Dallas.
Chargers coach Brandon Staley sounds as if he is aware of his tenure is ending.
Staley received defensive after a 23-20 loss at Green Bay dropped Los Angeles to 4-6. He insisted he’ll proceed calling the defensive performs for a unit that ranks thirty first within the league.
The Chargers have underachieved in Staley’s third season after losing a 27-0 lead in a playoff loss final season. They host the Ravens (8-3) on Sunday night time and may’t afford one other loss if they’ve any probability of getting again into the playoff race.
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed – Associated Press)
