CHIEFS COACH ANDY REID SAYS EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS IN LOSS TO CHARGERS ARE ‘PART OF THE GAME’
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are downplaying a pair of emotional on-field outbursts, including one that involved star tight end Travis Kelce, that marked their season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers in Brazil last week.
The first came when Kelce got into the face of right tackle Jawaan Taylor, who was penalized four times in the 27-21 loss. The second came late in the game, when Kansas City was trying to make a stop and get the ball back, and linebacker Drue Tranquill had words with defensive tackle Chris Jones, who had lost containment and allowed the Chargers to get a first down.
That mistake ultimately allowed Los Angeles to run out the clock.
“It’s an emotional game. That’s part of it,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said Wednesday. “The guys pull for each other, they get after each other. That’s all part of it. When guys do good, they jump around. It’s all part of it. Time and place for everything.”
Reid would like to see some of that emotion a little earlier in the game.
Preferably directed at the other team.
Reid acknowledged that his team came out flat last Friday night, even though the Chiefs had vowed all offseason that they would bounce back from a lopsided Super Bowl loss to the Philadelphia Eagles — who, by the way, visit Arrowhead Stadium for the rematch Sunday. But rather than come out with a sense of urgency against a division rival, the Chiefs fell into an early 13-3 hole, struggled to deal with Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert and ultimately never led in the game.
“There are no excuses, for any of us, what took place,” Reid said. “We’ve got to do better bringing energy for sure.”
What may be most concerning is that the early effort in Sao Paulo was strikingly similar to the languid way Kansas City started the Super Bowl. In that case, the Chiefs dug a 24-0 halftime hole against Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, and they trailed 34-0 late in the third quarter, before a couple of late touchdowns resulted in a 40-22 final margin.
“You have to learn from the mistakes you make. That’s part of playing the game,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “You learn from your failures, just like you learn from the positive things you do, and then you come back and play better football this week, and it’s going to take our best football to go out there and get a win.”
Mahomes also downplayed last week’s on-field disputes among teammates, saying simply: “It’s football.”
“It’s passionate. We love the game,” he said. “I’d rather have guys that are passionate about it and want to win than the other way around. And we hold each other accountable, and at the end of the day we love each other. And when you have that you can hold each other accountable, and then push forward the next time you step on the field, there’s no ill will anywhere.
“It’s just a bunch of guys that want to win, and want to do whatever they can to win. And so whenever that happens, sometimes passionate moments — outbursts — stuff happens. At the end of the day, we love each other and we’re going to push each other.”
NOTES: WRs Jalen Royals (knee) and Xavier Worthy (shoulder) did not practice Wednesday. Worthy was hurt when he collided with Kelce early in last week’s game. “I just gotta be better, man. I’m 13 years in the league. There is no excuse running into my own guys like that,” Kelce said on his “New Heights” podcast. … Reid said that surgery is not a consideration for Worthy at this point, nor are the Chiefs considering putting him on injured reserve.
PACKERS AND COMMANDERS ENTER THURSDAY NIGHT MATCHUP LOOKING TO BUILD OFF SEASON-OPENING WINS
Washington (1-0) at Green Bay (1-0)
Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EDT, Amazon Prime Video
BetMGM NFL Odds: Packers by 3 1/2.
Against the spread: Commanders 1-0; Packers 1-0.
Series record: Packers lead 22-17-1.
Last meeting: Commanders beat the Packers 23-21 at Landover, Maryland, on Oct. 23, 2022.
Last week: Commanders beat the New York Giants 21-6 at home; Packers beat the Detroit Lions 27-13 at home
Commanders offense: overall (2t), rush (2), pass (12t), scoring (13t)
Commanders defense: overall (5), rush (10), pass (10), scoring (1)
Packers offense: overall (22), rush (21t), pass (18t), scoring (6t)
Packers defense: overall (6), rush (1t), pass (18), scoring (6t)
Commanders player to watch
WR Deebo Samuel. The Packers grew accustomed to dealing with Samuel during his years with the San Francisco 49ers. Samuel joined the Commanders in the offseason and had seven catches for 77 yards to go along with a 19-yard touchdown run in his first game with his new team.
Packers player to watch
LB Edgerrin Cooper. The 2024 second-round pick from Texas A&M followed up an impressive rookie year by having a career-high 12 tackles in Green Bay’s season opener as the Packers kept Detroit out of the end zone until the game’s final minute.
Key matchup
Commanders running game vs. Packers run defense. Washington rushed for 220 yards on 32 carries against the Giants. Rookie seventh-round pick Jacory Croskey-Merritt ran for 82 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries in his debut. Quarterback Jayden Daniels rushed 11 times for 68 yards. The Packers allowed Detroit just 46 yards on 22 carries.
Key injuries
Commanders: Although Washington only had a walkthrough Tuesday, P Tress Way (back), WR Noah Brown (knee) and RB Austin Ekeler (shoulder) would have been limited participants if there had been a full workout.
Packers: CB Nate Hobbs (knee) didn’t play Sunday and was listed as an estimated limited practice participant this week. OT Zach Tom (oblique) and OG Aaron Banks (ankle/groin) left Sunday’s game.
Series notes
The Packers have won each of the last six times Washington has visited Lambeau Field. Washington’s last road victory over the Packers was a 20-17 game at Milwaukee in 1988. The Commanders’ last win over the Packers at Lambeau Field was a 16-7 decision in 1986. This marks the Commanders’ first trip to Lambeau Field since 2021, when the Packers beat them 24-10.
Stats and stuff
Daniels’ 891 career yards rushing are the most by any Washington quarterback in his first 17 games. Robert Griffin III rushed for 840 yards in his first 17 games. … Samuel is tied for fourth in the NFL with 36 touchdowns from scrimmage since 2021. The only players with more during that stretch are Ja’Marr Chase, Mike Evans and Davante Adams. … Ekeler has an NFL-leading 2,435 yards after the catch since 2021. Samuel is third with 2,229, behind only Ekeler and Chase. … Commanders WR Terry McLaurin is seeking his sixth straight season with at least 1,000 yards receiving. No other player in franchise history has more than three straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons. … Commanders LB Bobby Wagner has recorded at least 100 tackles in 13 straight seasons. … Packers RB Josh Jacobs has scored a touchdown in a franchise-record nine straight games. … Packers QB Jordan Love has thrown 195 consecutive regular-season passes without an interception, though he was picked off three times in their playoff loss to Philadelphia last season. He hasn’t been intercepted in his last eight regular-season games. … Packers K Brandon McManus has made his last 17 regular-season field-goal attempts, though he did miss one in Green Bay’s playoff loss. … The Packers haven’t allowed a sack in four of their last seven games. … Packers DL Rashan Gary recorded 1 1/2 sacks against Detroit to increase his career total to 40 1/2. He’s the eighth player to have at least 40 sacks for the Packers. … DL Micah Parsons recorded a sack while playing less than half of Green Bay’s defensive snaps in his Packers debut. Parsons’ workload figures to increase as he recovers from a back issue. … The Packers are 22-10-1 in September games over the last 10 seasons. Only Kansas City (24-6) has a better September record in that time. … Packers coach Matt LaFleur was a quarterbacks coach for Washington from 2010-13. LaFleur was also a quarterbacks coach for Atlanta from 2015-16, when current Commanders coach Dan Quinn was the Falcons’ head coach.
Fantasy tip
TE Tucker Kraft scored the Packers’ first touchdown of the season after having a solid 2024 campaign in which he caught 50 passes for 707 yards and seven touchdowns. Many of Green Bay’s wideouts missed much of training camp with various injuries that could impact them early this season, so look for Kraft to continue making an impact.
PACKERS’ MICAH PARSONS COMPARES COMMANDERS’ DAN QUINN TO A FATHER FIGURE HEADING INTO MATCHUP
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons remains grateful to Washington Commanders coach Dan Quinn, even though they’re no longer together in Dallas.
Quinn was Dallas’ defensive coordinator during Parsons’ first three seasons with the Cowboys. They became NFC East rivals last year when Washington hired Quinn.
They’re no longer in the same division, but they’re still facing off in the second week of the season on Thursday, when Quinn’s Commanders head to Lambeau Field to take on Parsons’ Packers.
“It’s just like a father figure, uncle, however you want to put it,” Parsons said. “That’s my guy and we’re going to go forever. We’re in this for the long run and maybe our journeys might cross again one day.”
Their paths cross Thursday, though perhaps not in the way Quinn would have preferred. Quinn knows all too well how Parsons’ presence can be a dream for a defensive coordinator and a nightmare for an opposing offense.
“I was surprised that he was traded, and I had an absolute blast coaching him,” Quinn said. “He brings out the mad scientist in you to see: ‘All right, what if he was here and how would you feature him? And what about over here?’”
This game could come down to how well Parsons and the rest of the Packers defenders handle Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who led Washington to an NFC championship game appearance as a rookie last season.
Daniels threw for 233 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 68 yards in Washington’s 21-6 season-opening victory over the New York Giants. Parsons played less than half of Green Bay’s snaps as he recovers from a back issue, yet he still had one of the Packers’ four sacks in their 27-13 win over the Detroit Lions.
Parsons was making his Packers debut Sunday, just over a week after Green Bay acquired him from Dallas and made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in league history. While with Dallas last season, Parsons totaled 4 1/2 sacks in the Cowboys’ two matchups with Washington.
“You don’t let game-wreckers wreck the game,” Daniels said. “You have to keep an eye on him. … He got paid a lot of money for a reason. He is a very good player.”
Quinn-LaFleur connection
Parsons isn’t the only member of the Packers with ties to Quinn.
Green Bay coach Matt LaFleur was a quarterbacks coach on Quinn’s Atlanta staff from 2015-16 and helped the Falcons reach the Super Bowl.
“I’m pretty certain I wouldn’t be standing here right now if it weren’t for being with DQ for those two years in Atlanta,” LaFleur said. “It just changed my whole mindset in regards to how much fun you can have within the building yet still get down to business.”
QBs feeling OK
Packers quarterback Jordan Love has said he’s feeling no limitations after undergoing surgery on his left (non-throwing) thumb last month, and he backed that up by going 16 of 22 for 188 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions against the Lions.
Although Daniels appeared on Washington’s injury report with a wrist issue, he practiced this week, and Quinn said he had “zero concerns” about it.
Parsons’ fantasy player
Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper seems ready to take the next step after delivering a productive rookie season. The 2024 second-round draft pick collected a career-high 12 tackles against the Lions.
That didn’t surprise Parsons, who noted that he drafted Cooper in his fantasy football league, which includes individual defensive players.
“They saw me pick up Coop, and they were like, ‘What do you know?’” Parsons said. “Because I’m watching practice and I’m seeing everything we’ve got dialed in and what we’re putting in, and so I started him, and he goes off and gets me 36 points.”
Commanders’ productive rookie
Jacory Croskey-Merritt wasn’t drafted until the seventh round after a college career that included stops at Alabama State, New Mexico and Arizona. But the rookie running back has wasted no time making an impact.
Croskey-Merritt rushed for 82 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries Sunday.
“You could feel he was really prepared, really ready and it wasn’t too big,” Quinn said. “That was really cool to see.”
Protecting Love
While Parsons’ pursuit of Daniels will get much of the pregame attention, the Packers’ ability to give Love enough time to throw also is critical. Sunday marked the fourth time in Green Bay’s last seven regular-season games that the Packers didn’t allow a sack.
Green Bay’s offensive line could be at less than full strength Thursday. Right tackle Zach Tom is dealing with an oblique injury and left guard Aaron Banks has groin and ankle issues; their status is uncertain.
PACKERS WR CHRISTIAN WATSON SIGNS CONTRACT EXTENSION AS HE CONTINUES RECOVERY FROM TORN ACL
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson has signed a contract extension as he continues his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament that is delaying the start of his season.
The Packers announced the signing Wednesday. Terms weren’t disclosed, but ESPN reported that Watson agreed to a one-year, $13.25 million extension on a deal that would run through 2026.
Watson is beginning this season on the physically unable to perform list, which means he must miss at least the Packers’ first four games. He tore the ACL in his right knee during the Packers’ 2024 regular-season finale.
The 26-year-old has been the Packers’ top deep threat ever since they selected him out of North Dakota State in the second round of the 2022 draft.
Watson had 29 catches for 620 yards and two touchdowns last year while playing in 15 games. His average of 21.4 yards per catch ranked second in the league among players with at least 25 receptions. That also represented the top average for any Packers player with at least 25 catches since James Lofton gained 22 yards per reception in 1984.
He had 41 receptions for 611 yards and seven touchdowns in 14 games as a rookie. Watson caught 28 passes for 422 yards and five touchdowns while playing nine games in 2023.
His average gain of 16.9 yards per catch since 2022 ranks third among all players with at least 75 receptions during that stretch.
JETS CUT WIDE RECEIVER XAVIER GIPSON AFTER HIS COSTLY FUMBLE IN SEASON-OPENING LOSS TO STEELERS
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Xavier Gipson is out of a job after a costly fumble in the New York Jets’ season-opening loss to Pittsburgh.
Coach Aaron Glenn confirmed that the team released the wide receiver, but he insisted Wednesday he wasn’t trying to send a message about accountability — something he has preached since being hired in January — by cutting Gipson after one game.
“I want it to be known that decisions that are made are not rash decisions,” Glenn said. “And they’re never based off one incident. So, I will keep it at that. Xavier’s a really good player and he’s going to play in this league.
“But I felt it was time for us to move on in another direction.”
Gipson, in his third season with the Jets, was returning a kickoff in place of the injured Kene Nwangwu on Sunday when he had the momentum-changing mistake in New York’s 34-32 loss. After the Steelers scored to make it a two-point game early in the fourth quarter, Gipson fumbled on the ensuing kickoff. Pittsburgh recovered and the Steelers took the lead two plays later on Aaron Rodgers’ second TD throw in a 50-second span.
Gipson continued to return kicks after the gaffe, which was the first turnover of the game. But afterward, Glenn bemoaned the team’s turnovers and declared: “You will not be on the field with this team if you’re going to cause us to lose games, if you’re going to cause issues like that.”
He backed that up Wednesday by cutting Gipson, although he reiterated that the decision wasn’t based on that play alone. Gipson has 10 fumbles in 35 career games.
“We’re trying to get the best players on this team that can play a role,” Glenn said. “At this point, I just felt we needed to have a change at that spot. It’s not just that as far as accountability. There’s accountability in everything that we do. So, I don’t want to pin it on, ‘OK, he fumbled the ball, OK, he’s getting (cut).’
“Nah, that’s not it. There’s a number of things that led up to this.”
Nwangwu injured a hamstring early in the game, so Gipson — who was New York’s primary punt returner — stepped in on the kickoff return unit. Glenn said Wednesday that Nwangwu’s injury was still being evaluated.
If Nwangwu is forced to miss time, the Jets have a few options, including Isaiah Williams, who was signed Wednesday off Cincinnati’s practice squad. Isaiah Davis, rookie Arian Smith and practice squad members Jamaal Pritchett and Keilan Robinson, who was signed Tuesday, could also be in the mix to return kickoffs. Williams and Pritchett also could be options to replace Gipson as the primary punt returner.
Glenn has familiarity with Williams, who was signed by Detroit — where Glenn was the defensive coordinator — last year as an undrafted free agent out of Illinois. He played in two games for the Lions before being waived and claimed by the Bengals.
Gipson was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 out of Stephen F. Austin. He won a roster spot in training camp that summer and returned a punt 65 yards for the winning touchdown in overtime to beat Buffalo in the season opener that year — the game during which Rodgers went down with a torn Achilles tendon four snaps into his debut for New York.
The 24-year-old Gipson had 27 catches for 268 yards and a touchdown with the Jets, along with 73 yards rushing and a TD on nine carries. He averaged 8.9 yards on punt returns and 26 yards on kickoffs.
Injuries
Rookie tight end Mason Taylor is dealing with an ankle injury that kept him out of practice Wednesday.
Taylor, the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jason Taylor, missed just over a week during training camp after suffering what the team said was a high ankle sprain. Glenn confirmed the current issue is to the same ankle and added that the team is “managing” Taylor’s injury.
The second-round pick out of LSU had a 20-yard reception on his only target in his NFL debut.
Defensive tackle Jay Tufele also sat out to handle a personal matter.
This story has been corrected to show that Gibson was in his third, not second, season with the Jets.
TWO QBS, TWO COMEBACKS: HOW JOSH ALLEN AND J.J. MCCARTHY STUNNED THE NFL
The opening weekend of the NFL season was capped by a pair of unlikely comebacks led by the reigning MVP and a quarterback making his NFL debut.
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter on Sunday night to beat Baltimore in one of the most improbable comebacks in recent history.
J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings followed that up a night later against Chicago when McCarthy became the first QB in four decades to erase a 10-point hole in the fourth quarter and win in his NFL debut.
A look deeper inside the numbers shows how surprising both games truly were.
Let’s start with McCarthy and the Vikings. After sitting out his rookie year with a knee injury, McCarthy struggled in the first three quarters of his debut before throwing two TD passes and running for another in the fourth quarter of a 27-24 win.
McCarthy became the fifth player since the 1970 merger and first since Cam Newton in 2011 to throw for at least two TD passes and run for one in his NFL debut. He was the only one to do that in the fourth quarter.
He also became the first QB since Hall of Famer Steve Young in 1985 to overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter and win in his debut and the first to do it on the road.
Allen staged a memorable comeback against the Ravens as the Bills had just a 1.1% win probability midway through the fourth quarter when they trailed 40-25, according to the NFL’s Next Gen Stats model. That was the most improbable comeback ever for Allen and the 13th most over the last decade.
Buffalo became the fourth team since at least 2000 to win a game it trailed by at least 15 points in the final 4:10 to play and the first to do it in regulation.
Allen has won two of his last four regular-season games when he threw a pass despite Buffalo allowing at least 40 points, with the Bills beating Detroit 48-42 in Week 15 last season. There have been only 44 other games in NFL history won by a team that allowed at least 40 points, with Fran Tarkenton the only QB with more wins in that scenario with three.
The Ravens became the fourth team to lose an opener when scoring at least 40 points in what is their latest in a string of late-game collapses.
Baltimore’s 17 losses after leading by double digits in the second half under coach John Harbaugh are the most of any team since he was hired in 2008. He joined Weeb Ewbank and Marion Campbell as the only coaches ever to lose twice when leading by at least 15 points at the start of the fourth quarter, with the other coming in Week 2 of the 2018 season against Miami.
Lamar Jackson averaged at least 11 yards per pass and rush in both of those games — something no other player has done even once in a game with at least six carries and 18 passes.
Dazzling QB debuts
McCarthy wasn’t the only quarterback who had an impressive first start with a new team, with Aaron Rodgers, Daniel Jones, Geno Smith and Justin Fields all faring well.
Rodgers threw for 244 yards and four TDs with no interceptions in a 34-32 win over his former team, the New York Jets. No other QB in the Super Bowl era has hit those marks in his debut for a team. Rodgers also tied Tom Brady with his 28th career game with at least four TD passes and no interceptions.
Fields ended up on the losing side against Rodgers and the Steelers but had one of the best games of his young career, throwing for 218 yards and one TD and rushing for two touchdowns. The only other Jets players ever with at least two TD runs and a TD pass in the same game are Josh McCown (2017 vs. the Chiefs) and Mark Sanchez (2011 vs. the Chiefs).
Jones began his tenure in Indianapolis by running for two touchdowns, throwing another and leading the Colts to scores on all seven possessions in a 33-8 win over Miami. Indianapolis was the first team in at least 47 years to score on every offensive possession of a game — although a handful of other teams have done it excluding kneel down drives at the end of a half or game.
Smith completed 70.6% of his passes and threw for 362 yards — the most ever by a Raiders QB in his first start with the team — as Las Vegas beat New England 20-13.
Super Bowl rematch
For the third straight season there will be a Super Bowl rematch in the regular season, with Philadelphia visiting Kansas City on Sunday just over seven months after the Eagles beat the Chiefs 40-22.
These are becoming much more common with the addition of the 17th game, which has meant that first-place teams face two of the four division winners in the other conference each season instead of one of four. There were no rematches for 16 straight seasons from 1998-2013.
The Super Bowl winner has had the upper hand in the rematches, winning seven of the 10 that have been held since the AFL and NFL merged in 1970. The Chiefs have split the past two, losing to the Eagles in 2023 and beating the San Francisco 49ers last season.
The Chiefs come into this game in unfamiliar territory as they are home underdogs for just the second time ever with Patrick Mahomes starting at QB. BetMGM Sportsbook has listed the Eagles as a 1-point favorite. Kansas City lost 24-20 to Buffalo as 2 1/2-point underdogs in 2022.
Kansas City is also alone in last place in the AFC West after losing the opener to the Los Angeles Chargers and with Denver and Las Vegas winning their first games. The only other time in the past 10 seasons when the Chiefs were alone in last place after any week came in 2021. It happened that season after Week 5 when Kansas City was 2-3, one game behind the Raiders and Broncos and two behind the Chargers.
49ers kick Moody to the curb
Jake Moody’s failed tenure with the San Francisco 49ers showed why so few teams are willing to use a high draft pick on a kicker.
The Niners picked Moody 99th overall in 2023 for the highest pick used on a kicker since Roberto Aguayo went 59th to Tampa Bay in 2016. San Francisco hoped Moody would solidify the kicking spot for years to come, but his tenure didn’t end up much better than Aguayo’s with the Bucs.
The 49ers cut ties with Moody one game into his third season after he missed two short tries against Seattle. He was 12 for 23 on field goals in his last 10 games, with one other miss on an extra point.
Aguayo lasted only one season in Tampa Bay, making just 71% of his kicks, and never appeared in another NFL game.
Drafting kickers is never a sure bet. Over the last 10 seasons, there have been 66 kickers who attempted at least 30 field goals. Five of the eight who made less than 77% of their kicks were drafted in the top 175, while 18 of the 24 who made at least 85% were undrafted.
