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Six NFL units that need a wake-up call over final six weeks of 2025 regular season | NFL.com
4) Chiefs defense
There were a lot of reasons for Kansas City to be excited about its 23-20 overtime win over Indianapolis — including head coach Andy Reid’s commitment to the run and huge day from wide receiver Rashee Rice — but it’s the defense that deserves a ton of credit for Kansas City keeping its playoff hopes alive and avoiding a three-game losing streak. That unit held the highest-scoring offense in the league
to just 20 points and a season-low 255 total yards. It limited Jonathan Taylor, the league’s leading rusher, to 58 yards on 16 carries. Just as importantly, the Chiefs were able to harass Colts quarterback Daniel Jones in the second half of that game, which helped Kansas City rally from a 20-9 fourth-quarter deficit. The Colts went three-and-out on their final four possessions of the game, including overtime. That’s a huge change for a Chiefs defense that couldn’t contain Josh Allen and James Cook in a loss to Buffalo and also struggled with Bo Nix in a defeat at Denver. In fact, one of the least-discussed stories in the league was how vulnerable that defense had become this season. The Chiefs have struggled to generate pressure with their defensive line all year. They’ve been just as disappointing when it comes to blitzing, which is the trademark of defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo. That’s why Sunday’s game had to create some optimism for Kansas City finding a way to turn around a frustrating season. Yes, there’s always a lot riding on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and his ability to generate points. There’s also plenty of pressure on the defense. That unit has been an underrated part of this team’s success, and the Chiefs will need more of what they saw on Sunday.
Kansas City Chiefs have saved their season
Overreaction or reality: Reality
The Chiefs were in real danger of Week 12 being the week where the first nail in their playoff coffin was struck. Not only were they coming into this matchup on a two-game losing skid, but those defeats were against key AFC rivals in the Buffalo Bills and Denver Broncos to drop them to .500. A loss to the Colts in Week 12 would’ve sent them under .500, further out of the playoff picture and owning a measly 2-5 conference record (a pivotal tiebreaker). Instead, K.C. pulled off an overtime victory, and suddenly it feels like the momentum is shifting in the Chiefs’ favor.
Entering Week 12, the Chiefs had a 56% chance of making the playoffs, according to SportsLine’s projections. Had they lost this game, those odds would’ve dropped to just 35%. However, this win has boosted their playoff chances to 66%. It cannot be overstated how big a win this was for the Chiefs. Yes, they still have an uphill climb, but they are not out of the wild-card race.
1. Kansas City overcame a 20-9 deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Colts. How excited should Chiefs fans be?
The Chiefs could use a high-end running back to convince coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes to lean into the ground game, both by design and in the calls they make over the headsets and at the line of scrimmage. Kansas City could also use a high-end pass rusher to help 31-year-old Chris Jones close out games against top quarterbacks.
“At the end of the day, I think you will see that come back to bite them,” an exec from another team said of the pass rush, specifically.
Beating the Colts to barely break the surface with a 6-5 record does not change those things. But there were a couple of encouraging signs for those hoping the Chiefs might become more than a team that runs from the shotgun, and then only out of obligation.
Kansas City’s 16 carries by running backs from under center against the Colts tied for the second most in 144 total games with Mahomes in the lineup. The Chiefs averaged only 2.9 yards per rush on these — they really need a back whom defenses must respect — but that low average included three short runs for first downs with a yard to go.
Chiefs WR Rashee Rice reflects on late-game execution in comeback win | Chiefs Wire
“I wouldn’t say, necessarily, anything specifically clicked. We just had to dial in and focus on the small details that got us to the point where we were still competing in the game and pushing a little harder and stuck together,” said Rice, reflecting on his catches in the middle of the field. “The coaches have a great scheme. All we have to do is execute whatever they call the play call. When everybody is doing their job, it is a lot easier to come out with big plays like that.”
NFL Week 12: Biggest questions, takeaways for every game | ESPN
Most surprising performance: In the first half, the Colts’ defense essentially removed wide receiver Rashee Rice as an option, limiting him to just three receptions for 9 yards. One of the biggest reasons the Chiefs rallied from an 11-point deficit, beyond Mahomes’ excellence in the fourth quarter, was Rice finishing with 111 yards on four receptions. He had a 47-yard gain and a critical catch on fourth-and-3 from the Colts’ 43-yard line to set up the game-tying field goal from kicker Harrison Butker.
Around the NFL
Bengals QB Joe Burrow expected to play on Thanksgiving against Ravens | NFL.com
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced on Monday that Cincinnati’s star quarterback is expected to play Thursday against the Baltimore Ravens.
“He looks like he’s in good shape to be ready to go,” Taylor said, per the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Burrow has not played since he suffered a toe injury that required surgery in Week 2.
Cincinnati (3-8) has gone 1-8 without Burrow this season with Jake Browning and Joe Flacco (who the Bengals traded for in October) each starting multiple games. While Flacco played admirably since swapping AFC North clubs, a porous defense has put the Bengals in yet another hole to climb out of as they would likely have to win out their remaining games to have a chance to make the playoffs this season.
Such a scenario is more plausible with Burrow under center, however, and the Bengals face the Ravens (currently tied with the Steelers for the division lead) twice over the next three weeks.
49ers top Panthers, as Christian McCaffrey beats former team | ESPN
Though the bruised and battered San Francisco 49ers haven’t had many aesthetically pleasing wins this season, they have found ways to get the victory.
It happened again Monday night, as the Niners overcame a litany of first-half mistakes to knock off the Carolina Panthers 20-9 in a game that figures to be pivotal in the NFC playoff chase.
With the win, the 49ers improved to 8-4, including 7-2 against NFC opponents. Carolina fell to 6-6 and 4-3 in NFC games.
According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the Niners bolstered their playoff hopes from 86% to 91.3% and put the Panthers’ chances in peril, as they dropped from 22.7% to 18%.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
5 things we learned from the Chiefs’ overtime win over the Colts
1. Steve Spagnuolo has black magic voodoo
I don’t know if he sacrifices a chicken at midfield or puts amnesia-inducing substances in the opposing coaches’ Gatorade at halftime — but somehow, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo can make head coaches with superstar running backs forget about their bread and butter.
Despite leading until the final second of regulation, Indianapolis head coach Shane Steichen decided to stop handing the ball off to the NFL’s leading rusher: running back Jonathan Taylor.
The Colts ran the ball just three times on their final four drives — all of which ended in three-and-outs, giving the ball back to Kansas City.
When you make a team like Indianapolis one-dimensional — and that dimension is Daniel Jones trying to pass his way to victory — you stand a pretty good chance of winning the game.
Spagnuolo has said that defenses have to earn the right to rush the quarterback. That’s exactly what Kansas City did on Sunday, holding Taylor to just 58 yards on 16 carries. Once Taylor was an afterthought in his coach’s mind, the team was free to blitz — and that forced Jones into making bad throws.
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