ATLANTA (AP) — The NFL's rushing leaders will be in the spotlight on Sunday when Bijan Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons face Kenneth Walker III and the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Chiefs (6-2) enter the weekend
one-half game behind Denver in the AFC West and bolstered their roster by acquiring wide receiver Josh Downs for two draft picks at the trade deadline.
The Falcons (3-6) have lost four of five but are still just one-half game out of first place in the woeful NFC South. Atlanta traded two starters, safety Jessie Bates III and center Ryan Neuzil, before the deadline while adding three draft picks. The Falcons on Wednesday also cut kicker Nick Folk.
Bates and Folk were team captains.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Atlanta's 29-20 win over previously unbeaten San Francisco on Oct. 25 is proof the Falcons are “a good football team.”
“It wasn’t but a couple weeks ago that they got after the 49ers, so we know what they’re all about,” Reid said.
The Chiefs have strong offensive balance with quarterback Patrick Mahomes and rank second in the NFL with 384.1 yards per game.
The Falcons set a season high with 12 penalties in their 34-17 loss to Cincinnati last week in Madrid. The previous week, Michael Penix Jr. threw four interceptions and completed only eight passes in an ugly 16-0 loss at Tampa Bay in heavy rain.
Robinson leads the NFL with 880 rushing yards in nine games. Walker is second with 872 yards in eight games and his average of 109 yards per game leads the league.
“He’s a tough guy to get on the ground,” Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski said of Walker. “He’s got a great combination of size, speed that’s legit. A jump cut, excellent contact balance. Really good scheme fit for what they’re asking him to do. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. And then you add him to that offense already with Pat Mahomes and all the things that they’ve done over the years, it’s a really difficult scheme to defend.”
Robinson has 169 carries and is on pace to surpass his career high of 304 in 2024, when he rushed for 1,456 yards. He had 287 carries for 1,478 yards last season. He said he doesn't feel the workload has been too heavy this season.
“No, I feel good, man, I feel great,” Robinson said. “That’s what I’m here to do.”
Robinson said it hurt to lose Bates, Neuzil and Folk, although players “understand in the business of the NFL that’s what happens.”
“Those are great leaders for this team that have been on this team for a long time,” Robinson said. “I know Nick just got here, but it definitely sucks to lose guys like that.”
Robinson said players don't agree with the “external” opinion that the moves reflect the Falcons' hopes for this season “plummeted.”
“We’re still trying to get to where we want to get to this season,” Robinson said. “We’re all confident in ourselves and what we've got to do ... to try to make a push. So that’s where we’re at right now.”
The Falcons' decision to cut Folk and sign Jake Moody off Baltimore's practice squad comes with Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker facing pressure in his return to Atlanta, where he played at Georgia Tech. Butker has an NFL-leading 17 misses since the start of last season, including one last week.
“Over time, sometimes you go through these little peaks and valley things,” Reid said. “So, you’ve got to give him a chance to work through them. We’ll see how things go.”
Stefanski expressed similar statements of support for Folk before Folk was wide left on a 38-yarder in the third quarter of last week's loss.
The Chiefs have veteran kicker Justin Tucker on their practice squad. When asked if Butker is facing a short leash this week, Reid said, “I’m not going there. I’m just taking it week by week here.”
The Falcons must win at least six of their last eight games to avoid their ninth straight losing season. Their last winning season was in 2017.
The Chiefs have appeared in five Super Bowls, winning three, in their last seven seasons. They won nine straight AFC West titles from 2016-24. Mahomes led Kansas City to seven consecutive AFC championship games from 2018-24.
Kansas City (6-2) at Atlanta (3-6).
When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m., CBS.
Latest odds: Chiefs by 3 1/2.
Against the spread: Chiefs 4-4; Falcons 3-6.
Last week: Chiefs beat the visiting New York Jets 35-12; Falcons lost to Cincinnati 34-17 in Madrid.
Last meeting: Chiefs beat Falcons 22-17 on Sept. 22, 2024, in Atlanta.
Series record: Chiefs lead 8-3.
Falcons pass defense against Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The middle of the Atlanta secondary took a big hit when Bates was traded to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday in exchange for a 2027 second-round draft pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. DeMarcco Hellams is expected to start and help in the assignments against Kelce, who shares the team lead with 33 receptions and leads the Chiefs with 482 receiving yards.
Wide receiver Xavier Worthy also had 33 catches for the Chiefs before suffering a hamstring injury last week. Kelce could be asked to handle a larger share of targets while Downs adjusts to the offense if Worthy is held out or is limited.
— The Chiefs have won the last three games in the series. Atlanta's last win over the Chiefs was a 40-24 victory in 2012 at Kansas City.
— Reid has 313 regular-season and postseason wins, which leads active coaches and ranks fourth all-time.
— Kelce needs one catch of 25 yards or longer to set an NFL record for a tight end. He is tied with Rob Gronkowski with 99 career receptions of at least 25 yards.
— Walker has scored at least two touchdowns in five games this season, including a three-TD game against the Jets last week. If he scores two touchdowns against Atlanta, Walker would become the first player since Raiders running back Marcus Allen in 1982 with multiple touchdowns in six of his first nine games with a team.
— Kelce has 9,365 yards on passes from Mahomes. Last week, the duo passed Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates (9,352 yards) for the most yards by a quarterback and tight end in NFL history.
— Kelce has a reception in a franchise-record 199 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the league.
— Robinson has six games with at least 100 yards rushing and receiving, tied for the second most in the NFL.
— Kyle Pitts has 309 career catches, third among tight ends in Falcons history. He is seven catches behind Alge Crumpler's 316 from 2001-2007. Tony Gonzalez is first with 409.
— The Falcons have their bye next week before playing at Minnesota on Nov. 29.
___
AP Sports Writer Dave Skretta in Kansas City, Missouri, contributed to this report.
___
See AP’s full NFL coverage here
