Kicking is big money nowadays. Kids know that NFL kicking can be a pathway to big money and a long career, and perhaps crucially, little wear and tear on the body compared to other positions. There are tons of expensive kicking camps for kids these days.
Isiah Pacheco, top running back for the Chiefs, suffered a broken fibula late in the game yesterday and is out for at least 6 weeks. KC, who recently signed career backup Samaje Perine, reportedly has invited FA Kareem Hunt for a visit.
Pacheco was the leading rusher and 3rd-leading receiver for the Chiefs in their first two games. This is a significant loss for KC.
Not entirely true; in 1999, the NFL instituted the “K-Ball” for kicking plays: effectively, brand-new balls, which have not been broken in, with a special “K” stamp on them, for use only on kicking plays.
They did this specifically because it was fairly widely known that kickers (and punters) had been engaging in various techniques to “loosen up” game balls, to make them easier to kick.
But, despite this, kicking accuracy continued to go up anyway.
The Panthers have, at least for the moment, benched QB Bryce Young, and will be starting Andy Dalton next week against the Raiders.
Young, the first overall pick in the 2023 draft, has played poorly as Carolina’s starter; in their first two games, the Panthers have been outscored by a combined 73-13.
After yesterday’s loss, Panthers head coach Dave Canales had said that Young was still the starter; in today’s announcement, Canales indicated that, after watching game film, and consulting with team management, he had changed his mind.
All Canales has to do is go to the Wikipedia page of Bryce Young and Andy Dalton and compare their statistics side-by-side.
Pacheco was a freaking force of nature. I saw him shove two defenders 5 yards like a bulldozer in one play yesterday. It was Beast Mode-esque.
I also saw him hobble off the field late in the game and knew that guy was hurt. I didn’t think it was broken leg hurt, though.
The good thing is that a broken leg reportedly isn’t as difficult to recover from as something like a joint or tendon injury. At least, not physically. (I still remember when Thomas Rawls was an awesome rookie RB who broke his leg partway through his first year, and was never the same afterward and washed out. Pacheco is in his third year though, and has already overcome injuries before, including a torn labrum and broken hand that he played through in Super Bowl LVII, so I’m sure he’ll be fine. The guy also has grit; in 2016 and 2017 his brother and sister were killed in separate incidents. I don’t think a broken leg is going to derail a guy like that.)
Damn you Chiefs. Why can’t I hate you like I hated the Patriots? You have too many people on your team I root for.
Tom Brady and Bill Belichick were hate-able.
Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid are not.
The end of this game has the energy of a 35-3 blowout, not a last minute comeback. Awful, low energy prevent defense, bizarrely low crowd noise/energy.
Nice, Falcons with the upset.
An absolutely ridiculous play call by the Eagles on third and three at the 10 yard line with1:46 to play and the Falcons out of timeouts. The dropped pass stopped the clock and allowed Atlanta plenty of time to march down the field and score the go-ahead TD with 34 seconds to play. Had Philly run the ball, they could have run the clock down to about a minute, which would have put a whole lot of pressure on Atlanta on their last possession.
Philly definitely contributed to their own demise. The drop by Barkley was bad enough, but a simple run or even read-option probably would have gotten them into a tush-push situation at worst. Silly silly, Philly Philly.
Strongly disagree.
Mahomes is one of the most offensive prima donnas to ever disgrace the gridiron.
Guaranteed that this not the KC Swifties’ year…unlike during the dark times of recently memory.
Can’t have it. And no Bengals, neither, for good measure.
The juvenile “We’re a bunch of Indians!” chant that Chiefs fans do is easily hateworthy. Also, Mahomes’ growl voice at the line.
I’ve watched Chiefs games for over 60 years. I’ve attended probably 40 or 50 games in my life. I have NEVER heard that chant. Do you have any proof of that? Video, article, anything?
Let’s not pretend everybody is totally hunky-dory with the Tomahawk Chop or that it is not problematic in any way.
I turned off the phone with Philly deep in Atlanta territory, game over for sure. Short third down, burn much of the rest of the clock. Imagine my surprise this morning 
. Glad I don’t live or die with a team in any sport anymore.
Has anybody ever said that?
Now, if someone wants to take issue with the Chop and its accompanying ‘war chant’ (or whatever it is), that’s their right to do so. Of course, it’s the exact same thing done by the fans of the Florida State Seminoles, who started it well before Chiefs fans.
But nobody in Arrowhead chants “We’re a bunch of Indians!”
It goes like: Ohh-ohh, O-Oooh oh.
Kind of.
Which is rather a far cry from “We’re a bunch of Indians!”, yes?
No.
And the Atlanta Braves I believe. It’s obnoxious, IMO.
I genuinely don’t understand if this is deliberately disingenuous or if I am losing some kind of nuance over the internet.
One difference is Florida State works closely with the Seminole tribe and gets things approved. The day the tribe says the chant has to go, it will go. That still leaves people with room for disapproval but at least shows they’re not merely covering things with a fig leaf.
That contrasts directly with Kansas City.
I admit I was borderline shocked during the playoffs whenever I heard it on TV. It was something we did in high school (our mascot was also the Seminoles) but that was a loooong time ago and not something I expect now.
Cleveland, at least, figured out Chief Wahoo was a step too far.
And Washington, though Dan Snyder, being Dan Snyder, really tried to gum up those works for no particularly good reason.