The latest
Why ‘Eight Teams, Maybe 10’ Can Win the Super Bowl | SI
The NFL, sports books love this new trend
Two entities love this (perhaps) one-season, (possibly) new-to-stay trend more than any other. The first
is the NFL. The league wants viewers to be locked in over the season’s final month. The madness of 2025 should ensure highest numbers ever. The second entity is those sports books. They can all but count their Chiefs cash, from whatever bet anyone made from the preseason to now. That’s likely to continue over the season’s final month.
Perhaps Kansas City, in Week 14, highlighted the (one or maybe more) seasons without a favorite. The Chiefs, you might have heard, made five of the last six Super Bowls, winning three. But on that week, last Sunday, right after K.C. surged back into what looked like its true contender form, Mahomes and Reid and the dynasty lost a regular-season home game to the suddenly surging Texans. Their postseason probability plummeted to 11 percent.
Prisco’s Week 15 NFL picks: Bills vs. Patriots prediction, plus more expert picks | CBS Sports
Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs (-4.5)
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET CBS (Stream on Paramount+)
This is truly desperation time for the Chiefs. They can’t afford another loss. The Chargers beat them in Week 1, but this will be different. Los Angeles comes in on a short week and their offensive line is bad. Look for the Chiefs to win it behind their defense.
Pick: Chiefs 23, Chargers 17
After the Week 14 loss, however, Kelce sounded notably less optimistic about his ability to improve down the stretch.
“It’s been a tough ******* go-around for the past two days,” Kelce said around the 8:45 mark of Wednesday’s episode. “It’s just, you put all this ******* work in hopes that it pays off, and right now it just, for whatever ******* reason… It’s little things. It’s discipline.
“I feel like I’ve always had the answers, in years past, and this year I just can’t find them. And I keep thinking, if I show up to work, and I put in the work, and I fix the issues through my practice habits and through perfecting the game plan and my fundamentals and what I’m being taught, and go out there and try and play my ass off for the guys next to me, it’s all going to come together like it has in years past. And this year it’s just not, man.”
The Chiefs’ struggles come amid uncertainty regarding the NFL future of Kelce, who is playing this season on an expiring contract. The tight end has previously said he won’t consider his plans for 2026 until after the season.
NFL Week 15: Bears, Chiefs among 5 playoff contenders facing most pressure | NFL.com
Week 15 opponent: vs. Chargers
Welp, scratch off almost everything I wrote last week. Swing and a miss.
The Chiefs lost the first game of their five-game sprint to the end of the season, with Andy Reid’s offense unable to puncture the Houston defense. Setting aside the controversial fourth-down decisions, the issues that have plagued the team all season were on full display. Patrick Mahomes couldn’t connect on splash plays. The run game offered no reprieve outside of 2-yard dives by Kareem Hunt in short-yardage situations. And the pass-catchers can’t stop dropping balls. Travis Kelce looks like a man seeing the end of the road right in front of him.
The loss to Houston dropped the Chiefs’ playoff chances to 10%, per NGS. Their streak of AFC West titles has already been snapped at nine, with their lone shot at extending their playoff streak running through the wild card (1% chance at No. 6 seed; 10% chance at No. 7 seed).
The room for error now is zero. A Week 15 loss would officially eliminate the Chiefs from playoff contention. Even with a win, their odds only increase to 16%. Kansas City needs to win out, and it needs help from others.
On Sunday the Chiefs face a Chargers team that bested the Eagles in overtime on Monday night, with Justin Herbert gritting through a broken left hand. Kansas City lost the season opener to Los Angeles in Brazil, a game that feels like it happened eons ago. Since then, the reigning AFC champions have stumbled in close games, and outside of a three-game win streak in October, haven’t been able to keep their heads above water.
Losers of four of their last five, the Chiefs are on the brink. A win would keep their hopes alive for another week.
Chargers at Chiefs: Betting Trend for Week 15 | The Mothership
The two teams met in Brazil in Week 1, with Los Angeles winning 27-21. Kansas City has not lost both games to a divisional opponent in a season since 2014.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has had solid success against the Chargers throughout his career. In 13 career games, he’s completed 64% of his passes for an average of 271 yards per game, with 28 touchdowns and three interceptions.
Kansas City is 10-3 straight-up in those games.
7-round Chiefs mock: Kansas City drafts star Clemson defensive tackle | Chiefs Wire
Round 1, Pick 14: Clemson Tigers DT Peter Woods
Woods officially declared for the draft. He had a disappointing 2025 season relative to expectations but remains one of the class’ top prospects. Woods is an explosive player capable of generating quick pressure, but he’s better in the run game. He excels at stacking and shedding blocks with authority to muddy the point of attack.
Around the NFL
Philip Rivers ‘excited’ but Colts’ QB situation still fluid | ESPN
“I saw the injury live,” said Rivers, the eight-time Pro Bowl selection who rejoined the Colts this week, five years after his retirement. The move reunites him with close friend Shane Steichen, the Colts’ head coach.
“I feel terrible for Daniel … And I have to admit, I thought, ‘Well, I wonder if Shane will call.'”
Steichen did, in fact, call hours later. And he got a receptive response from Rivers, one of the most decorated passers in NFL history.
After mulling the idea over with his wife and family and seeking the counsel of some trusted associates, Rivers called the Colts on Tuesday morning with a final decision.
“I said, ‘What do you think?'” Steichen said Wednesday. “He said, ‘Dadgummit, let’s freaking go.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs’ Esa Pole makes good impression in NFL debut
Grading Pole’s performance
Kansas City’s game plan was likely already built around helping backups Morris and Jaylon Moore. With Pole, it was reliant on looks that provided help in pass protection and limited the number of solo blocks he would have to make against All-Pro defensive end Danielle Hunter, who entered the game with eleven sacks.
Pole earned a quality grade with a solid game in his NFL debut.
The Chiefs limited the number of “island” pass-protection looks that Pole had, and used help via tight ends, running backs, rollouts, and other specific designs.
Poles’ overall grade of 76 reflects an encouraging performance he can build off of.
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