The Kansas City Chiefs defense has been a sound unit, whether you look at the top-5 mark in points allowed or the reliable tackling it shows every week.
Six players are tied for the team lead in sacks with one. However, defensive end George Karlaftis (13) has more than 3x the quarterback hits of the second-place defender, Felix Anudike-Uzomah (4). He has been one of the unit’s most valuable players this year.
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How George Karlaftis leads the Chiefs’ defense — even without racking up sacks | The Athletic
“He’s making plays — really smart plays, too — all across the field,” Gillotte told The Athletic.
In this instance, Gillotte said, Karlaftis read his keys correctly. He trusted his film study during the week and leaned on coaching pointers he’d received from defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo and defensive line coach Joe Cullen.
“You know what you’re going to get on pass rush. He’s relentless,” Gillotte said. “And he wins. You can rally around people like that.”
Kenneth Walker III is thriving with Chiefs. Why did the Seahawks let him go? | ESPN
“I’ll just say, I love Ken,” Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald said Wednesday when asked if he has any second thoughts about Seattle letting Walker leave. “I thoroughly enjoyed him being on our football team. We’ve had some great one-on-one conversations. I thought we had a great relationship. I respect the heck out of him. … But I think there’s mixed emotions in terms of, you’re happy for him, but also, we’re trying to figure out ways to stop this guy, too, because he’s playing at a really high level.”
Even some clarity about Chiefs’ Josh Simmons punctuates the enigma that he is | The Kansas City Star
As much as player safety and health has to be a prime directive, the Chiefs, of course, also would like to return to full function with the help of Simmons — a player whose talents are such that he could be not just a pillar of their line, but of their future.
Yes, they’re 5-0 entering their Sunday night contest at reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle (3-3), a game that represents the start of a scheduling, well, ramp-up.
With Simmons still back on the ramp, largely remaining — to borrow from Winston Churchill — a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
Kansas City Chiefs have a 53-man roster spot to fill after latest Josh Simmons news, and a move to reward a player makes the most sense | A to Z Sports
Chiefs wide receiver Andrew Armstrong is the player deserving of a spot on the 53-man roster
After Week 6’s win over the Los Angeles Chargers, it became clear that wide receiver Andrew Armstrong deserves a larger role. Armstrong entered that game as a practice squad player who hadn’t appeared in a regular season game. He left it with his first career catch, a 13-yard reception, and the third-most offensive snaps among Kansas City’s wide receivers.
Only starting wide receiver Xavier Worthy and second-year wide receiver Jalen Royals played more offensive snaps at the position.
Chiefs DE George Karlaftis, DT Chris Jones take on different kind of ‘line’ duty | KSHB 41
Kansas City Chiefs defensive end George Karlaftis and defensive tackle Chris Jones traded their defensive line responsibilities for a different kind of “line” work when they served as line judges at a recent Shawnee Mission East volleyball match against rival Shawnee Mission South.
Jones said he was happy to support the event’s cause despite not being aware of his line-judging duties.
“I didn’t know I was gonna be a line judge, so that was a curveball,” Jones joked. “But it’s pretty exciting.”
Around the NFL
Baker Mayfield says thumb ‘strong enough to be able to play’ for Buccaneers vs. Panthers | NFL.com
“Feel good. Just improving,” Mayfield said. “It’s been a process for me. Never really missed time cause of injury. Not fun. You always want to be out there with the guys. … It’s been feeling slowly better and better. That’s the frustrating part, it just takes time for an injury like that.”
Buccaneers coach Todd Bowles hasn’t yet confirmed Mayfield will play against the Panthers, and offensive coordinator Zac Robinson told reporters they’re prepared for Mayfield or backup Jalon Daniels to fill the job Sunday, but it seems as if Mayfield is trending toward being available. He was a full participant in practice for the second straight day on Thursday.
Ben Johnson originally called a punt, but Cairo Santos asked to try a 58-yard field goal | Pro Football Talk
“I was right next to HT and Ben originally called a punt, and then the injury allowed us to talk about it. I was talking to HT that I felt good about it,” Santos said. “Ben asked, ‘Does he want it?’ And I heard it and I told HT I want it and he said, ‘Ben, Cairo says he wants it.’ Thankful that Ben trusted me on that, and I delivered a great kick right down the middle.”
Rare NFL penalty: Bears become first team in 16 years to get flagged for illegal forward handoff | CBS Sports
On the play, Caleb Williams took the snap and immediately handed the ball off to guard Joe Thuney. This was a trick play by the Bears and not only did it NOT work, but they lost five yards after the officiating crew threw a flag.
The reason you don’t see offensive linemen get more handoffs is because in most instances, it’s against the rules. As the NFL rule book clearly states, “except where permitted by rule, handing the ball forward to a teammate is illegal.”
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Patrick Mahomes praises rookie Cyrus Allen’s contested catches
“And then the one down the middle was a big time catch in between a lot of traffic.“
“So that’s stuff we saw from him in training camp,” Mahomes continued. “I think now that he’s getting more and more comfortable within the offense, we’ll continue to give him more and more of a role within the offense.”
Mahomes threw a third pass Allen’s way against the Chargers, and it helped move the chains. On second-and-6, a downfield, back-shoulder fade attempt to the rookie drew a defensive pass interference flag.
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