The latest
The Winners and Losers of the NFL Week 9 | The Ringer
Winner: The Bills-Chiefs Rivalry
Sunday marked the 10th time we’ve seen Patrick Mahomes’s Chiefs take on Josh Allen’s Bills since 2020, and somehow the matchup still doesn’t feel stale. Whenever they meet up, it feels like the biggest game in football, and Sunday was no different. Their teams traded early blows before both defenses adjusted and tightened up in the second half. Every drive felt important. Every stop felt like a triumph. I’m all for parity
and the league having a fresh crop of winning teams, but based on what we saw from these two quarterbacks on Sunday at Highmark Stadium, I’d sign up for another Bills-Chiefs AFC title game this season. Hell, put both of these teams in the same division so we get three of these games each year.
Josh Allen has officially drawn even with Patrick Mahomes
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction
Allen was stellar in Buffalo’s 28-21 victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bills quarterback had as many incompletions (three) as he did total touchdowns. The win moves him to 5-5 all-time against Mahomes while no other signal-caller has more than three victories against the Chiefs’ quarterback. Does this mean Allen suddenly has the edge over his main rival now that they’re even? Not yet. Allen is 5-1 against Mahomes in the regular season. When these two go toe-to-toe in the playoffs, Mahomes has come out victorious in all four instances. Until Allen gets the better of Mahomes when it matters most, he’ll still be looking up to him in this legendary rivalry despite the overall lockstep record.
NFL midseason crystal ball: 10 people who will shape the 2025 season’s second half | NFL.com
Kansas City Chiefs · WR
The Chiefs’ star receiver missed the first six games of the season due to a suspension related to his involvement in a high-speed car crash in Texas following his rookie year. He’s also spent his first three games back on the field reminding people why Kansas City was so excited about his return. Rice already has 20 receptions on the year, and he’s also logged four rushing attempts. That usage rate speaks to how many ways head coach Andy Reid wants to get the ball into this playmaker’s hands. Rice is an exceptionally strong runner after the catch, and he’s developed an undeniable chemistry with Patrick Mahomes. It wasn’t a coincidence that Mahomes hooked up with Rice on a 29-yard catch on a fourth-and-17 play in the fourth quarter of that Buffalo loss. Kansas City’s offense has evolved to the point that Rice is the go-to guy in most situations. His return energized this offense immediately, as the Chiefs ran through the Raiders and Commanders. They couldn’t do the same against the Bills, when Rice finished with four catches for 80 yards and 3-yard rushing touchdown. Clearly, though, the third-year wideout is the key to this offense.
NFL Week 9 grades: Steelers have ‘A’ effort in upset over Colts | CBS Sports
B- Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes has been so clutch in his career that it’s always a shock when he fails, but that’s what happened in Buffalo. The Bills defense harassed Mahomes for four straight quarters and the Chiefs quarterback struggled to hit his open receivers. In the second half, Mahomes completed just 8 of 19 passes. If there’s any upside to this loss for Kansas City, it’s this: Mahomes was bad and the defense gave up more than 400 yards, but the Chiefs still ALMOST won. The last three times that the Chiefs lost a regular-season game to Buffalo, it ended up spurring them to a Super Bowl appearance, so no one should be shocked if that once again happens this year.
Holidays Shine Brighter in Chiefs Kingdom This Season with Kingdom Christmas | The Mothership
As previously announced, the Chiefs will take the field on Christmas Day against the Denver Broncos, streaming live on Amazon Prime Video and airing locally on KSHB. But the celebrations don’t stop there – throughout November and December, the Chiefs will spread the holiday magic across Chiefs Kingdom, offering fans countless ways to come together and celebrate the season.
“It’s exciting to once again be part of the NFL’s Christmas Day lineup and to celebrate this special time of year with our fans,” said Chiefs President Mark Donovan. “With the return of Kingdom’s Greetings and a full slate of marquee matchups across November and December, we’re proud to create experiences that bring our community together and showcase the spirit of Chiefs Kingdom.”
But here’s the crazy part about this season, as the Chiefs enter their bye week at 5-4 and two games behind the Denver Broncos in the AFC West: This K.C. team is better than it was last season. And not only that, it probably remains the best team in the NFL — all while only scraping just above .500 so far.
That isn’t based on speculation; it’s based on the bookies. The Chiefs, according to sportsbook Power Rankings, entered Week 9 projected to be favored by two points over any other team on a neutral field. It’s part of the reason K.C. was a 2.5-point road favorite over Buffalo on Sunday — and also remained as BetMGM’s betting favorite to win the Super Bowl even after losing to the Bills.
No, none of that got the Chiefs the result they wanted Sunday. Defenders said they messed up run fits and weren’t disciplined enough. Mahomes said he needed to be better at finding receivers downfield.
Before we move on completely from their Week 9 loss to the Buffalo Bills, though, let’s look back at the infamous intentional grounding call on Patrick Mahomes in this one. Clearly, the officials got this one wrong, but on the live broadcast, some might have missed this: even ex-NFL official Gene Steratore thought it was the flat-out wrong call.
“I’ve been around for almost 30 years in this business. This is the first time that I have seen a play like that. My question would be though, if you were throwing the ball in an area of a player and a tipped football changed that, I would like it to be reviewable if it’s not at this point,” he said.
Around the NFL
Sources: Eagles land Jaelan Phillips in trade with Dolphins | ESPN
The Philadelphia Eagles added another player to their defense ahead of the NFL trade deadline, acquiring outside linebacker Jaelan Phillips from the Miami Dolphins, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Dolphins will receive a 2026 third-round draft pick in the deal, sources told Schefter, while the Eagles hope to boost their struggling pass rush with their third trade in the last week.
Phillips has three sacks in nine games this season and 26 in his five-year career with Miami. The 2021 first-round pick is scheduled to become a free agent after this season.
Kevin Stefanski gives up offensive play-calling to OC Tommy Rees | NBC Sports
For the second year in a row, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski is giving up play-calling to his offensive coordinator.
Coming out of the bye, Stefanski announced in his Monday press conference that Tommy Rees will take over offensive play-calling moving forward.
“These are things that I’m always looking at — what can we do better,” Stefanski said of his decision, via Jeff Schudel of The News-Herald. “I have a ton of trust and faith in Tommy. He’s more than capable, so excited for him. But, bottom line is, we have to just get better collectively — so that’s offense, that’s defense, that’s special teams, that’s players, that’s coaching. So, that’s our charge and that’s what we’re working hard to do.”
Stefanski said the bye week allowed him to look at things, and he felt like Rees gives the offense a good chance to improve.
Cardinals snap losing streak, beat Cowboys in Dallas | ESPN
The Arizona Cardinals‘ five-game losing streak was snapped in rather impressive fashion with a 27-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on “Monday Night Football.”
It wasn’t pretty toward the end, and it brought back memories from earlier in the season when Arizona gave away games in the fourth quarter.
But Monday’s victory did more than end a winning drought. It created a quarterback controversy.
Kyler Murray is the established, incumbent, bona fide starter with the $230.5 million contract, but the Cardinals’ offense looked better and more efficient, both statistically and to the naked eye, with Jacoby Brissett running it.
Brissett now owns the top three passing games of the season — and he has started three times. Arizona’s offense topped 300 yards for the third straight game after hitting the mark just once when Murray started the first five games.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
5 things we learned from the Chiefs coming up short in Buffalo
1. The Chiefs’ offensive line is a problem… again
In the blink of an eye, we’re back to 2024 on the offensive line.
Hopefully, the Chiefs can get healthy during the bye week so that this doesn’t become a long-term issue. But as it stands right now, Kansas City is banged up (or missing its starter) at four of the line’s five positions.
We don’t have a solid timeline for Josh Simmons’ return. We don’t yet know how serious Jawaan Taylor’s ankle injury is. But Jaylon Moore and Wanya Morris facing the Broncos’ pass rush in Week 11 isn’t something anyone wants to imagine.
Even though they played through their injuries on Sunday, starting guards Trey Smith and Kingsley Suamataia are also banged up. The Chiefs need them healthy for the back half of the season.
On Sunday, the offensive line came up short. If they can’t quickly get back to full strength, this won’t be the last time we see Kansas City get overwhelmed in the trenches.
Social media to make you think
Follow Arrowhead Pride on Social Media
- Facebook: Like our page
- Instagram: @ArrowheadPride
- X: Follow @ArrowheadPride
- AP Staff on X: See complete list
- Sports Radio 810 on X: Follow @SportsRadio810
