Kansas City Chiefs – Page 6 – North Platte Post Archive

Chiefs Beat Chargers 19-7 as Both Miss Playoffs

Posted on December 28, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs beat San Diego 19-7 on Sunday to eliminate the Chargers from playoff contention, moments before they were eliminated themselves by games happening elsewhere.

The Chiefs needed Cleveland to beat Baltimore and Jacksonville to beat Houston, and neither of those outcomes transpired. The Ravens wound up with the AFC’s final playoff spot.

San Diego (9-7) needed merely to beat Kansas City (9-7) to reach the postseason.

Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston piled up four sacks to finish with 22 on the season, breaking Derrick Thomas’s franchise record, and Cairo Santos had four field goals.

The Chargers’ Philip Rivers threw for 291 yards, but was picked off twice. Branden Oliver ran for 71 yards and a touchdown.

Chiefs QB Alex Smith Out with Lacerated Spleen

Posted on December 26, 2014December 26, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith will miss Sunday’s game against the San Diego Chargers because of a lacerated spleen. Chase Daniel will start in his place.

Team trainer Rick Burkholder said Friday that Smith was likely hurt on a hit during the third quarter of last weekend’s loss to the Steelers, but the quarterback didn’t have significant symptoms.

The lacerated spleen was diagnosed by a scan Thursday when Smith continued to experience mild discomfort after practicing all week. He will not need surgery and a full recovery is expected.

If the Chargers beat Kansas City, they make the playoffs. The Chiefs would need to win and have Baltimore and Houston lose to earn a postseason berth.

Smith would be out for a potential playoff game.

Daniel has one career start in six NFL seasons.

Steelers Wrap Up Playoff Berth, Top Chiefs 20-12

Posted on December 21, 2014

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Ben Roethlisberger passed for 220 yards and a touchdown, Le’Veon Bell added a score and the Pittsburgh Steelers locked up a postseason berth with a methodical 20-12 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Pittsburgh (10-5) faces Cincinnati next week for the AFC North title. Either way, the Steelers will be playing January football for the first time since Tim Tebow and Denver stunned the defending AFC champions in the wild-card round three years ago.

Antonio Brown caught seven passes and a touchdown for Pittsburgh, which has won seven of nine and can clinch a division title for the first time since 2010 by beating the Bengals next week.

Kansas City’s Alex Smith passed for a season-high 311 yards but was sacked six times. The Chiefs (8-7) have lost four of five and need to beat San Diego next Sunday and receive plenty of help to make it back to the playoffs for a second straight year under coach Andy Reid.

Chiefs’ Bowe Questionable for Steelers with Flu

Posted on December 20, 2014December 20, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe missed his third straight day of practice with the flu Friday and is questionable for Sunday’s pivotal game at Pittsburgh.

The Chiefs (8-6) would not be eliminated from the playoff race with a loss to the Steelers, but they would need a lot of help. Kansas City plays San Diego in the final week of the season.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Friday he thinks Bowe will be able to play. If he’s unable to go, Frankie Hammond Jr. and Jason Avant will likely be called upon to cover Bowe’s production.

Linebacker Tamba Hali also did not practice Friday, though Reid said that was mostly to rest his sore knee. Reid expects Hali to be available for the game.

NFL Announces 32 Nominees for Walter Payton Award

Posted on December 16, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The NFL has announced the 32 players eligible for the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award.

Among the nominees are Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers, Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson, Dallas running back DeMarco Murray, San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers, Kansas City linebacker Tamba Hali and Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis, who was a finalist last year.

Named for the late Hall of Fame running back, the award recognizes a player’s community service and performance on the field.

Each team nominates a player, and the NFL Foundation donates $1,000 to a charity of his choice. The three finalists will receive an additional $5,000 contribution. They will be announced next month.

The winner will receive a $20,000 donation in his name to his favorite charity. The announcement will be made during the NFL Honors show Jan. 31, the night before the Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.

Alex Smith, Chiefs Rout Raiders 31-13

Posted on December 14, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Alex Smith threw for 297 yards and two scores, Kansas City shut down Derek Carr and the Oakland offense and the Chiefs beat the Raiders 31-13 on Sunday to end a three-game skid.

Knile Davis had touchdowns running and receiving, and De’Anthony Thomas returned a punt 81 yards for another score as the Chiefs (8-6) got even for a 24-20 loss to Oakland (2-12) last month.

The Chiefs led 10-6 early in the third quarter before scoring three touchdowns in 4 minutes, 42 seconds. The last was a 70-yard throw from Smith to Davis, who had taken over the majority of running back duties after Jamaal Charles took a shot to the head.

Charles appeared to pass concussion testing and returned briefly to the game.

Carr finished 27 of 56 for 222 yards, throwing a TD pass in the final minute. The Raiders’ rookie also was sacked four times and fumbled a snap that led to a Kansas City touchdown.

Chiefs’ Charles, Hali Held Out with injuries

Posted on December 10, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles, linebacker Tamba Hali and tight end Anthony Fasano were held out of practice Wednesday with knee injuries.

All of them are considered day to day, Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.

Defensive lineman Allen Bailey also missed practice as he continues to recover from a concussion, but wide receiver Junior Hemingway returned to the field after passing his concussion tests. Hemingway had missed the previous two games.

The Chiefs (7-6) have lost three straight, putting their playoff hopes in jeopardy. They play the Oakland Raiders on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.

Conlan, Thomas Inducted into College Hall of Fame

Posted on December 9, 2014

Derrick Thomas playing for the Kansas City Chiefs

NEW YORK (AP) — Shane Conlan and Derrick Thomas, two of the most dominant college linebackers of the 1980s, are part of a class of 14 former players and two coaches being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in New York.

Thomas had 27 sacks and won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker in 1988 before going on to a successful NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs. He was paralyzed in an automobile wreck in 2000 and died from complications about a month later. He was 33.

Conlan was a two-time All-American. He had two interceptions in his final college game as Penn State upset Miami 14-10 in the Fiesta Bowl to win the national title.

The rest of the class is highlighted by TCU running back LaDainian Tomlinson, South Carolina receiver Sterling Sharpe and Southern California tackle Tony Boselli.

Chiefs’ Eric Berry Diagnosed with Cancer

Posted on December 8, 2014

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Chiefs safety Eric Berry has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and will begin chemotherapy for what doctors called a “very treatable and potentially curable” form of cancer.

Hodgkin’s disease is a form of lymphoma originating in white blood cells.

Berry had been undergoing tests at Emory University in Atlanta since an MRI exam nearly two weeks ago showed a mass on the right side of his chest that was suspected to be lymphoma.

Berry said in a statement that he will “embrace this process and attack it the same way I do everything else in life. God has more than prepared me for it.”

The former All-Pro safety has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Williams, Stanton lead Cardinals by Chiefs 17-14

Posted on December 7, 2014

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Kerwynn Williams rushed for 100 yards two days after being elevated from the Arizona practice squad and the Cardinals rallied to beat Kansas City 17-14 on Sunday in a matchup of teams that had lost two in a row.

The NFC West-leading Cardinals (10-3) took the lead when Drew Stanton threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jaron Brown in the third quarter.

Jamaal Charles scored two first-half touchdowns on a 63-yard run and 18-yard pass from Alex Smith, but the Chiefs (7-6) were shut out in the second half.

Arizona won a crucial call reversal when it challenged that tight end Travis Kelci fumbled deep in Cardinals territory late in the fourth quarter.