Blistering In From Sea.
Blistering In From Sea.
Secondary was questionable at best against Quez. Let that man set his feet and make that easy ass catch. Madden rolling in his grave
Blistering In From Sea.
Pittsburgh Steelers sneak into the playoff despite losing streak
Even with losses to the Giants and the Texans in the last two weeks, the Pittsburgh Steelers led by Mike Tomlin have made it back to the playoffs, getting some help from AFC North rival Baltimore who beat the Jets to keep the Steelers as the seventh seed.
Denver punched their ticket in with a 24-10 win over Carolina to clinch the six seed and will play Indianapolis in the first round while the Steelers will travel to Buffalo for the chance to play the Ravens in the next round, who have a bye.
In the NFC, Arizona clinched the last playoff spot available in the conference with a win over San Francisco, who finished as the second seed in the NFC. Arizona will play Detroit in the first round while the 49ers will host the Chicago Bears who dropped to the seventh seed after losing to the Colts in their regular season finale.
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Week 18 NFL Results
24 - 17 
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13 - 14 
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19 - 20 
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22 - 27 
19 - 13 
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24 - 14 
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17 - 41 
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35 - 07 
23 - 17 
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00 - 07 
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10 - 24 
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21 - 28 
35 - 28 
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28 - 16 
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24 - 30 
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28 - 21 
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NFL Standings
AFC North
1. Baltimore, 14-3 z
2. Pittsburgh, 9-8 x
3. Cincinnati, 8-9
4. Cleveland, 4-13
AFC South
1. Indianapolis, 12-5 y
2. Tennessee, 7-10
3. Jacksonville, 5-12
4. Houston, 4-13
AFC East
1. Buffalo, 13-4 y
2. Miami, 12-5 x
3. NY Jets, 8-9
4. New England, 5-12
AFC West
1. Kansas City, 11-6 y
2. Denver, 10-7 x
3. LA Chargers, 8-9
4. Las Vegas, 6-11
NFC North
1. Detroit, 10-7 y
2. Chicago, 8-9 x
3. Minnesota, 8-9
4. Green Bay, 6-11
NFC South
1. Carolina, 9-8 y
2. Tampa, 8-9
3. Atlanta, 8-9
4. New Orleans, 5-12
NFC East
1. Philadelphia, 13-4 z
2. NY Giants, 10-7 x
3. Dallas, 8-9
4. Washington, 7-10
NFC West
1. San Francisco, 12-5 y
2. Arizona, 9-8 x
3. LA Rams, 7-10
4. Seattle, 7-10
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NFL Wild Card Schedule
Pittsburgh Steelers (9-8) at Buffalo Bills (13-4)
Chicago Bears (8-9) at San Francisco 49ers (12-5)
Denver Broncos (10-7) at Indianapolis Colts (12-5)
Arizona Cardinals (9-8) at Detroit Lions (10-7)
Miami Dolphins (12-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (11-6)
New York Giants (10-7) at Carolina Panthers (9-8)
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2025 NFL Draft Order
1. Houston
2. Houston (via Cleveland)
3. New Orleans
4. Jacksonville
5. New England
6. Las Vegas
7. Tennessee
8. Green Bay
9. Atlanta
10. Tampa Bay
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Players of the Week
QB Dak Prescott: 26 of 32, 304 yards, 5 touchdowns S Marcus Maye: 7 tackles, interception, touchdown QB Lamar Jackson: 11 of 20, 142 yards, 2 touchdowns, 90 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns LB Matt Milano: 15 tackles, sack--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable Playoff Injuries
WR D.J. Moore: Out (arm) S Eddie Jackson: Out (knee) DT Michael Hall Jr: 5 weeks (back) WR Tyreek Hill: Out (thumb) OLB Jaelan Phillips: Season (elbow) HB Jahmyr Gibbs: Out (knee) HB Will Shipley: Out (foot)--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable Transactions
Cleveland Browns fire head coach Kevin Stefanski
Tampa Bay Buccaneers fire head coach Todd Bowles
Los Angeles Rams fire head coach Sean McVay
Last edited by Soapy on 03 Dec 2023, 09:03, edited 1 time in total.
Blistering In From Sea.
A Season In Review: Nothing but upside for the offense after season of change
The Raiders traded away their leading rusher in the offseason, their top receiver in the middle of the season, fired head coach Josh McDaniels and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi less than halfway through the season and was without starting quarterback Justin Fields for several games due to injuries. Despite all of this, they still finished with the league's top scoring and rushing offense.
The skeleton is there for the Raiders to continue to be one of the league's best offenses with a stable of impressive running backs, some exciting young talent at receiver and a reworked offensive line that has room for improvement but a really nice floor as they head into a 2025 season with potentially a brand new coaching staff. A position by position breakdown:
Quarterback
Under Contract: Justin Fields (25 yo, $38.5m cap hit), Aidan O'Connell (26 yo, $1.16m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: None
Prior to the injury, Fields appeared ready to take that next step into being a borderline elite quarterback, throwing just one interception through the first four games with ten passing touchdowns in that same period.
Since his week nine injury, Fields threw for over 200 yards just once in the last five games, a mark he failed to reach just twice in the previous eight games before the injury. He still finished with a career high passer rating, yards per game and his highest passing touchdown total with 27 in just fourteen games while still rushing for 60 yards per game and 8.2 yards per carry, a career high.
The Raiders also have a very solid and proven backup in Aidan O'Connell so don't expect much movement in free agency or the draft unless a talented arm falls to them.
Running Back
Under Contract: Laviska Shenault Jr (25 yo, $6.69m cap hit), Miyan Williams (22 yo, $1.31m cap hit), Zamir White (23 yo, $1.28m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Damien Harris (27 yo)
There's plenty to like about the running back situation with Shenault Jr. locked up through 2025 and Williams' under controlled cost through 2026, giving the Raiders flexibility to bring back Damien Harris as the team's lead back or a similar free agent while also being able to ride into 2025 with a stable of Williams as the lead back, Shenault Jr. in his versatile role and White as Williams' spell back.
Harris led the team in rushing but the Raiders should feel good and confident that Williams will be able to replace that production if given the opportunity.
Wide Receiver
Under Contract: Tre Tucker (23 yo, $1.44m cap hit), Tory Horton (21 yo, $1.14m cap hit), Mario Williams (21 yo, $1.01m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: N'Keal Harry (26 yo), Tyquan Thornton (24 yo), Bo Melton (25 yo), Moose Muhammad III (21 yo)
The Raiders have some exciting young talent in Tucker, Horton and Williams but they need to add some veterans to this room and diversify their portfolio a little bit.
They'll have plenty of cap space to do so with those three receivers all on rookie contracts, allowing them to target someone like Michael Thomas or DeAndre Hopkins in free agency or even a Jaylen Waddle who figures to be the top available free agent at the position but is a similar player to Tucker and Williams as fast guys out of the slot.
The draft is another option for the Raiders to bolster this receiver room with two first round picks and a talented crop of draft prospects that feature Mizzou's Luther Burden, Texas A&M's Evan Stewart and Arizona's Tetairoa McMillan who is that big body receiver that the Raiders need.
Tight End
Under Contract: Michael Mayer (23 yo, $2.5m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Brevin Jordan (24 yo), Eric Tomlinson (32)
Mayer missed five games due to injuries but on a per-game basis, the Notre Dame tight end took another step forward, averaging 40 yards per game to improve from his 35-yards per game rate as a rookie. He also caught more passes per game and improved as a run blocker. He had a few frustrating drops and he needs to improve his chemistry with Fields but all-in-all, the Raiders have to feel good about his progression.
The same can be said for Jordan who started five games in the place of the injured Mayer, putting up career highs in receptions (33), yards (343) and touchdowns with six. He continues to be a reliability in the running game but as a receiving option, it's hard to find a better backup in the league who complements Mayer as well and he should be a priority for the Raiders in free agency to bring him back.
They added Tomlinson as a run-blocking option in free agency last year and will need to try to improve that portion of the room this offseason, ideally in the draft.
Offensive Tackle
Under Contract: Kolton Miller (28 yo, $15.7m cap hit), Joe Alt (21 yo, $3.74m cap hit), Thayer Munford Jr. (24 yo, $1.12m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: None
Having two of the best offensive tackles in football for less than $20 million feels like highway robbery and it is after the Raiders nailed their first round pick last year in Joe Alt who was the team's best offensive linemen this season followed by Miller who continues to be a model of consistency at left tackle.
Munford is solid backup as well, locked in through 2025 so the Raiders should feel good about this position heading into next season.
Interior Offensive Line
Under Contract: Jonah Jackson (27 yo, $13.3m cap hit), Cesar Ruiz (25 yo, $7.73m cap hit), Jon Runyan (27 yo, $7.21m cap hit), Dylan Parham (25 yo, $1.63m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Solomon Kindley (27 yo), Lamont Gaillard (28 yo), Trey Hill (24 yo)
While they improved from last season with the addition of Jackson, Ruiz and Runyan, this was far from a perfect unit and they'll need to take a step forward next season, specifically in pass pro.
The trio projects to be the starters next season with the Raiders not in a position to move on from any of them money wise but they should absolutely invest into the future of this position in the draft with Jackson and Runyan approaching thirty and their contracts expiring after next season anyway.
Ruiz struggled at center at times but given that it was his first time playing the position since his Michigan days, another offseason should improve his performance next season as he's locked in for three more years.
Blistering In From Sea.
Raiders to interview Sean McVay, Ron Rivera following formal interview of interim head coach Antonio Pierce
The Las Vegas Raiders are in the process of scheduling interviews with two former head coaches in Sean McVay and Ron Rivera according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The Raiders interviewed interim head coach Antonio Pierce last week in what was described as their first round of interviews in Schefter's report which also included Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores and Miami Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith.
Raiders owner Mark Davis is reportedly very fond of Pierce and thinks highly of the defensive assistant who served as the team's interim head coach following the mid-season firing of Josh McDaniels. The Raiders finished the season with three straight losses to knock them out of playoff contention, but the defense improved under Pierce, holding teams to under 20 points in three of their last six games after allowing over 30 points in five straight games prior to McDaniels' firing.
An interesting name in Schefter's report was former Stanford head coach David Shaw who has already met with the Raiders' brass in an 'informal setting' during the season although no official interview has yet to be scheduled.
Interim general manager Champ Kelly is leading the coaching search and is expected to be promoted to a permanent role. He served as head coach of the Stanford Cardinal football team from 2011 to 2022. Shaw was the team's offensive coordinator for the entire tenure of his predecessor, head coach Jim Harbaugh, from 2007 to 2010. Shaw spent time with the Raiders as an assistant earlier in his career so there are ties there.
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KimJongBaze
- Posts: 1337
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Blistering In From Sea.
MCVAY LFG!!!!
Blistering In From Sea.
Another disappointing season and early playoff exit for Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills
Josh Allen might be the second best quarterback in Buffalo Bills history but following the team's 14-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round of the playoffs, it's another year without an AFC Championship appearance for Allen and head coach Sean McDermott.
The Bills will need to do some soul searching in the offseason and decide if they want to bring back a crew that has amassed a ton of success in the regular season but little of it in the playoffs with the team's biggest playoff moment being an overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round a few years ago.
Since then, Buffalo has yet to win a playoff game and will need to figure out in the offseason what went wrong, again.
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NFL Wild Card Results
Pittsburgh Steelers 14 - 07 Buffalo Bills
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QB Kenny Pickett: 21 of 28, 231 yards, TD---
DE Bralen Trice: 7 tackles, tackle for loss, 2 sacks---
QB Josh Allen: 23 of 34, 232 yards, touchdown---
WR Stefon Diggs: 5 receptions, 82 yards, touchdownChicago Bears 24 - 38 San Francisco 49ers
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QB Michael Penix Jr: 22 of 42, 266 yards, touchdown, interception---
WR Donovan Peoples-Jones: 8 receptions, 109 yards---
QB Brock Purdy: 16 of 22, 265 yards, 4 touchdowns---
WR Deebo Samuel: 5 receptions, 137 yards, 2 touchdownsDenver Broncos 10 - 27 Indianapolis Colts
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QB Drake Maye: 24 of 36, 237 yards, touchdown, 2 interceptions---
WR Marvin Mims Jr: 9 receptions, 97 yards---
QB Anthony Richardson: 20 of 26, 239 yards, 3 touchdowns, interception---
WR Josh Downs: 7 receptions, 125 yards, TDNew York Giants 16 - 33 Carolina Panthers
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QB Daniel Jones: 17 of 31, 184 yards, touchdown, 2 interceptions---
LB Bobby Okereke: 12 tackles, tackle for loss---
QB Bryce Young: 23 of 28, 240 yards, touchdown---
WR Jonathan Mingo: 6 receptions, 90 yardsArizona Cardinals 15 - 34 Detroit Lions
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QB Kyler Murray: 12 of 16, 169 yards, touchdown, interception---
LB Kyzir White: 8 tackles, interception---
QB Jared Goff: 19 of 22, 188 yards, 2 touchdowns, interception---
HB Jake Funk: 21 carries, 83 yards, fumbleMiami Dolphins 20 - 24 Kansas City Chiefs
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QB Tua Tagovailoa: 18 of 23, 194 yards, touchdown, interception---
DE Zach Sieler: 4 tackles, tackle for loss, 1.5 sacks---
QB Patrick Mahomes: 19 of 36, 185 yards, 2 touchdowns---
TE Travis Kelce: 4 receptions, 45 yards, 2 touchdowns--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFL Divisional Round Schedule
Pittsburgh Steelers (10-8) at Baltimore Ravens (14-3)
Carolina Panthers (10-8) at Philadelphia Eagles (13-4)
Kansas City Chiefs (12-6) at Indianapolis Colts (13-5)
Detroit Lions (11-7) at San Francisco 49ers (13-5)
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Players of the Week
QB Brock Purdy: 16 of 22, 265 yards, 4 touchdowns DT Jarvon Hargrave: 7 tackles, 3 sacks QB Patrick Mahomes: 19 of 36, 185 yards, 2 touchdowns DE Bralen Trice: 7 tackles, 2 sacks--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable Playoff Injuries
HB Jonathan Taylor: Season (elbow) CB James Bradberry IV: Out (quad) HB Jahmyr Gibbs: Out (knee)Blistering In From Sea.
A Season In Review: The secondary needs some serious reworking but plenty of bright spots for a hopeful future
The Las Vegas Raiders tried everything this season to fix their defense, adding new pieces via free agency, the draft and via trade at every level of the defense and even fired defensive coordinator Patrick Graham midway through the season but they still finished with one of the league's worst defenses in almost every defensive category for the second year in a row.
Even if they bring back Antonio Pierce as the team's head coach, they'll need a new defensive staff with most of them moving on or having already been relieved of their duties. A position by position breakdown as they head into the offseason:
Interior Defensive Line
Under Contract: Byron Young (23 yo, $1.54m cap hit), Tyree Wilson (24 yo, $6.82m cap hit), Tyleik Williams (21 yo, $1.47m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Jerry Tillery (27 yo), Khalid Kareem (26), Rashard Lawrence (25 yo), Tommy Togiai (24), Deadrin Senat (30 yo), Nesta Jade Silvera (24 yo)
For the sake of this discussion, we'll include Wilson as an interior, five-technique since that's where he was the most productive this season. The combination of him and Tyleik Williams is a good starting point for a defense that could look different next season depending on who the team hires to run the defense.
They've gotten very good production from Tillery the past two seasons as a pass rusher but could look to upgrade for a more complete player next year if they could somehow pull of the signing of Aaron Donald, who has yet to commit to returning in 2025 with retirement on the table for him. Outside of the big whale in Donald, there's also guys like Harrison Phillips, Derrick Brown and Deatrich Wise Jr. that could help this unit level up.
EDGE
Under Contract: Maxx Crosby (27 yo, $27m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Jordan Willis (29 yo), Malcolm Koonce (26 yo), Carl Granderson (27 yo), Kyle Van Noy (33)
The numbers don't lie from a production standpoint and when looking at the salary sheet as the team simply didn't invest enough at the position outside of Maxx Crosby. The room should and will look drastically different next season with free agent acquisitions and also the draft as the team should use at least one of their top 100 picks on an edge rusher and need to bring in a veteran around the $10 million mark -- at least -- to help bolster a consistent pass rush outside of Crosby.
Inside Linebacker
Under Contract: Kenneth Murray Jr (25 yo, $2.02m cap hit), Curtis Jacobs (22 yo, $1.27m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Robert Spillane (28 yo), Jayon Brown (29 yo), Eric Gentry (22 yo)
By the end of the season, it was clear that the future of the position was Murray and Jacobs who are on very team friendly deals and a lot younger than Spillane who had been a very productive player for the Raiders since signing with the team two years ago. Spillane has his limitation and while the team would probably ideally like to bring him back as the third linebacker, it begs the question of if his presence will stunt the growth opportunities for Murray and Jacobs to eventually be the leaders of the team.
There's also the question to be asked that while the young guys have potential, if the team wants to improve on defense, there are only so many starters they can bring back and expect an improvement, lending credence to looking towards free agency to improve. It'll be a tough decision for the Raiders front office this spring as they really do like their two young linebackers.
Cornerback
Under Contract: Jeff Okudah (25 yo, $5.49m cap hit), Jakorian Bennett (24 yo, $1.24m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Nate Hobbs (25 yo), Michael Davis (29 yo)
The Raiders seemed to close the door on Hobbs returning next season by essentially benching him the last few games right after extending Okudah and promoting the Ohio State alum into the top cornerback role opposite of Davis.
Davis is 29 and again, if the team wants to improv,e they can only bring back a limited number of starters and Davis might not make the cut if they're able to land a better free agent. It's not an overly impressive group of potential free agents led by Stephon Gilmore and Desmond King II but without knowing the type of scheme the next coaching staff will run, it's tough to say if they'll be an upgrade over Davis.
Safety
Under Contract: Decorian Patterson (23, $1.01m cap hit)
Expiring Contracts: Tre'von Moehrig (25 yo), Marcus Epps (28 yo), Karl Joseph (30 yo), Sheldrick Redwine (27 yo)
Epps is likely gone with him losing his starting spot to the rookie Patterson who is probably a more natural fit at free safety which puts Moehrig's return into question. He's still one of the team's better players in the secondary so bringing him back should be priority and adding another solid cover safety in free agency would free the team up to deploy Patterson as a hybrid player capable of playing corner, nickel and deep safety which fits him best.
Blistering In From Sea.
Bryce Young announces himself to the NFL world with duel against Jalen Hurts
Alabama head coach Nick Saban must have been proud as he sat in his living room and saw two of his former players in Bryce Young and Jalen Hurts combine for 695 passing yards and eight touchdowns in the Panthers' 34-31 win over the Philadelphia Eagles to make it to the NFC Championship Game just two years removed from drafting Young with the number one overall pick.
The diminutive Young is off to a blazing start in his career, completing 72 percent of his passes this past season and throwing for 4,241 yards and 32 touchdowns to just ten interceptions in his second NFL season.
Young had a solid rookie season, completing 67 percent of his passes for 3,673 yards and 26 touchdowns but threw seventeen interceptions and had a 96.0 passer rating. He's improved that passer rating by over fourteen points and brought his interception ration way down while improving his yards per attempt.
With the Detroit Lions upsetting the San Francisco 49ers, the Panthers now head into Detroit with a chance to make it to their third Super Bowl in franchise history with three different quarterbacks.
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NFL Divisional Round Results
Pittsburgh Steelers 14 - 35 Baltimore Ravens
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QB Kenny Pickett: 22 of 26, 255 yards, touchdown, sacked 7 times---
WR Diontae Johnson: 10 receptions, 107 yards---
QB Lamar Jackson: 17 of 22, 283 yards, 3 touchdowns---
WR Odell Beckham Jr: 7 receptions, 125 yardsCarolina Panthers 34 - 31 Philadelphia Eagles
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QB Bryce Young: 22 of 28, 335 yards, 4 touchdowns---
DE Derrick Brown: 7 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, sack---
QB Jalen Hurts: 25 of 31, 360 yards, 4 touchdowns---
WR Devonta Smith: 7 receptions, 172 yards, 3 touchdownsKansas City Chiefs 42 - 17 Indianapolis Colts
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QB Patrick Mahomes: 26 of 29, 335 yards, 4 touchdowns---
WR Rashee Rice: 10 receptions, 158 yards, 2 touchdowns---
QB Anthony Richardson: 21 of 32, 261 yards, touchdown, interception, ---
TE C.J. Uzomah: 6 receptions, 89 yardsDetroit Lions 27 - 17 San Francisco 49ers
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QB Jared Goff: 24 of 30, 301 yards, 2 touchdowns, 2 interceptions, sacked 5 times---
WR Jameson Williams: 8 receptions, 82 yards, touchdown---
QB Brock Purdy: 6 of 18, 108 yards, touchdown, sacked twice---
HB Christian McCaffrey: 18 carries, 86 yards, touchdown--------------------------------------------------------------------------
NFL Conference Championship Schedule
Kansas City Chiefs (13-6) at Baltimore Ravens (15-3)
Carolina Panthers (11-8) Detroit Lions (12-7)
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Players of the Week
QB Jalen Hurts: 25 of 31, 360 yards, 4 touchdowns CB Chardavious Ward: 7 tackles, interception QB Patrick Mahomes: 26 of 29, 335 yards, 4 touchdowns OLB Alex Highsmith: 5 tackles, 2 sacks--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notable Playoff Injuries
TE Travis Kelce: Out (wrist) HB Jahmyr Gibbs: Out (knee)