Chiefs News 12/15: A nightmare season gets the worst possible ending

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As Chiefs miss the playoffs, why Chris Jones’ words — and emotions — spoke for his team | The Athletic

Jones hadn’t seen all the other NFL scores yet. Somewhere in the back of his mind — still — he clung

to hope that this season might not be over for the Chiefs. “Are we out of the playoffs?” he said, looking to the media members around him. A few answered yes. The Chiefs, at 6-8, had been eliminated from any postseason chance with Sunday’s results. “We are?” Jones said, his head nodding while looking down, taking in a moment of acceptance. “OK.” He pursed his lips, giving himself a second to take it all in. It remained a shock — both to him and everyone else around the NFL world.

Looking for the Silver Lining in an Awful Day for the Chiefs | SI

But maybe today was the universe’s way of asking us to stop heaping expectations on this wunderkind-turned-legend. Stop comparing his recovery to Tom Brady’s lone lost season to the same injury. Stop wondering what this means in some nebulous and undefinable concept of greatness. Stop everything, because Mahomes, who has played the equivalent of an extra season’s worth of postseason games since arriving as Kansas City’s starting quarterback (21 of them), hasn’t been able to. Not once.

I think there are two main reasons why this could be a great blessing in disguise and the first is forcing a player with maniacal energy to take a step back. Just look at Mahomes’s post on social media about the injury, which led with “Don’t know why this had to happen.” He clearly feels weight. Pressure. A world temporarily coming to an end. And it’s difficult to blame him. When you’re as good as Mahomes, when you’re as successful as Mahomes, when you’re as marketable as Mahomes, an entire economy is dependent on your ability to stay transcendently great. Imagine sprinting on a treadmill at world record pace with the knowledge that you can never, ever get off.

Injuries to monitor after Week 15 | Yardbarker

This makes the Chiefs’ disastrous season even worse, as they have already been eliminated from the playoffs. Two-time league MVP Mahomes has been one of the positives for the fading dynasty this season. Entering Week 15, he ranked third in the league in passing yards (3,398) and was tied for fifth in passing touchdowns (22).

Backup QB Gardner Minshew is now set to replace Mahomes. The Chiefs (6-8) should continue to struggle with him as the starter. The former Jacksonville Jaguar has a 17-29 record as a starter over seven seasons. Against L.A., he went 3-of-5 passing for 22 yards and one interception.

NFL Week 15 takeaways: What We Learned from Sunday’s 14 games | NFL.com

Next Gen Stats Insight for Chargers-Chiefs (via NFL Pro): Justin Herbert faced the blitz on 19 of his 34 dropbacks (55.9%), the second-highest blitz rate he has faced this season. Herbert completed 10 of 17 passes for 101 yards with one touchdown and one interception when facing the blitz.

NFL Research: Justin Herbert has been sacked four-plus times in a career-high six games this season. He owns a 5-1 record in those games, the most wins when taking four-plus sacks this season, and tying with Sam Darnold for the most by any QB in the last five seasons.

NFL Week 15 grades: Bills earn ‘B+’ for win, Chiefs get ‘C’ after playoff elimination | CBS Sports

C – Chiefs
The Chiefs offense is shell of itself this year and that’s why they lost this game. Patrick Mahomes can usually muster enough magic to win a game like this, but with a banged up knee, he was a sitting duck against a Chargers pass-rush that sacked him five times. With a struggling offense, a hobbled quarterback and a team that hasn’t been able to find a way to win one-score games, this season just wasn’t meant to be for the Chiefs, and now, they’ll be sitting at home for the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

Around the NFL

Colts come up just short in Philip Rivers’ return to action | ESPN

But in the aftermath of the Indianapolis Colts‘ 18-16 loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, Rivers — the 44-year-old quarterback who returned to the field five years after retirement — remained just as competitive as he was during any of his 17 previous seasons.

“I’m grateful that I was out there, and it was a blast,” Rivers said. “But, obviously, the emotions now are disappointment. This isn’t about me. We’ve got a team that was scrapping like crazy to try to stay alive and get in the postseason, so obviously, we’re all disappointed.

Source: Packers’ Micah Parsons believed to have torn ACL | ESPN

The initial belief is that Green Bay Packers star pass rusher Micah Parsons suffered a torn ACL in his left knee Sunday, a source confirmed to ESPN.

Pro Football Talk first reported the news.

Parsons sustained a noncontact injury to his left knee in the third quarter of Green Bay’s 34-26 loss to the Denver Broncos.

“It didn’t look good. I’ll leave it at that,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said.

In the same quarter, Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, the team’s most explosive offensive player, suffered a chest injury and left the game. Watson was taken to a hospital for further evaluation and will travel back to Green Bay with the team.

In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride

Kansas City Chiefs open as favorites over Titans in Week 16 odds

In Week 16, the (6-8) Kansas City Chiefs will hit the road to face the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. The matchup of AFC teams eliminated from playoff contention will kick off at 12 p.m. Arrowhead Time.

According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Chiefs have opened as a 4.5-point favorite for the game.

This matchup will follow a devastating loss in Kansas City: the 16-13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers that eliminated the team from playoff contention — and saw quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffer a season-ending injury. The Chiefs’ star quarterback tore his left ACL, setting up backup Gardner Minshew to take snaps for the remainder of this campaign.