The Covid-19 affect
I am going to start this thread out with a “dagnabbit”… Josh Gordon and Chris Jones (and now Willie Gay) were placed on the Covid-19 list. So, “dagnabbit”! I don’t know whether they will clear the restriction list by game-time Thursday (Gay won’t). Andy Reid reported they were not ruled out, pending tests on Wednesday and Thursday. Gordon was fully vaccinated according to sources.
Pete Sweeney@pgsween of ArrowheadPride says that DL Chris Jones is in the COVID-19 protocol and won’t practice. CB L’Jarius Sneed is on his way back to Kansas City and will miss today’s practice (personal).11:52 AM · Dec 14, 2021.
If K.C. bests the Chargers out in L.A., the Chiefs would hold the best record in the Division needing only to close out the final game of the season on the road versus the Broncos. That accomplished, The Chiefs would own the Division’s playoff Cede. Lose either game and the Chargers and then it is the Chargers who hold the fort and the Chiefs would be a wild-card entry for the post-season.
Not difficult to think the Chiefs would be favored, but it is Plus/Minus three. My general view is to take the home team when placing a bet. Essentially this tells me that it is a “you pick’em game!
This is a pretty mixed bag and rightly so. Here’s the view from GamingToday. Odds updated at Noon Wednesday.
I am not comfortable with this game, due to the news about Chris Jones (and now Willie Gay) and the Covid-19 effect (and now L’Jarius Sneed – for personal reasons). Both teams are challenged as the season is on the line. The obvious thing to do as a bettor is to take the home team — and that ain’t the Chiefs. Due to my unabashed Chiefs fanship and since the Chiefs are on a roll, however… I am picking K.C. to win the matchup.
1. Patriots (9-4)
2. Titans (9-4)
3. Chiefs (9-4)
4. Ravens (8-5)
5. Chargers (8-5)
6. Colts (7-6)
7. Bills (7-6)
Things can change rapidly in the picture for the Playoffs. Right now the Chiefs/Chargers have places in the playoffs with the Chiefs leading the division, 9-4 and owning the third-ranked playoff spot in the AFC. The Chargers would be the top wild card. Should the Chargers win, they would tie the Chiefs record-wise at 9-5, but they would take over the division lead and the 3rd ranked playoff team in the AFC. As you can see, this game is hugely important to both teams. The Chargers play the Chiefs at home, followed by the Texans on the road, then the Bronco’s at home and they finish 2021 on the road at Las Vegas. Meanwhile, after the Thursday game, the Chiefs at LAC, they play the Steelers at Arrowhead, followed by two road games versus the Bengals and Broncos — this is a fairly powerful four-game stretch and a daunting task to win, out even if they win Thursday Night.
No practice Monday, but Chiefs have to estimate practice status — L’Jarius Sneed (personal) and Tyrann Mathieu (not injury related-other) would not have practiced. Rashad Fenton (knee), Lucas Niang (ribs), Nick Bolton (wrist) and Derrick Nnadi (elbow) listed as limited. On Tuesday, Matt Derrick listed: Others from injury report: DT Chris Jones (ankle), RB Darrel Williams (quad) and OL Andrew Wylie (knee) would have been full participants if the team practiced today. Source: Matt Derrick @mattderrick. Now we have to add both Jones and Gordon to the Covid-19 list. I would guess that they will not clear it by Thursday Night. Jones and Gordon needs to have 2 negative tests prior to the game to be able to play Thursday.
The Chargers have their own report with possibly the biggest news is that Austin Ekeler has a sore ankle (see below). He left their game Sunday with a slight sprain, but was not ruled out. Star safety Derwin James was added to the report on Saturday with a hamstring problem. He was not active against the Giants over the weekend. HC Brandon Staley appeared to be optimistic about James being able to play Thursday but he is “day-today”. Staley observed: “… hoping for a good recovery here and hopefully, we can get him back Thursday night.” Derwin James is perhaps the Chargers best defender from the SS role with 100 total tackles, 5 for a loss, 3 FF, 2 Int’s and 15 PDs. The ChargersWire had noted that if James is less than 100% the advantage goes to the Chiefs.
During their Week 14 game for the Chargers, star RB Austin Ekeler was pulled from the game after he aggravated a prior ankle injury from week 13. Ian Rapoport was skeptical of Ekeler’s status Monday. If I had to make a wager, Austin will be playing Thursday. Like James though, if he is less than 100% that could be factor in the game. Ekeler has always been a thorn in the side of the Chiefs.
WR Keenan Allen remains on the COVID-19 list. Apparently he caused other players to be added to the list as close contacts last week. All of them should be a “go” for the game today.
Brandon Staley confirmed that Rashawn Slater testing positive for COVID-19, adding that there’s still a chance he plays on Thursday night.
Slater, like the Chiefs Chiefs Chris Jones and Josh Gordon, would need to have two negative tests at least 24 hours apart and be asymptomatic for 48 hours for that to happen. Allen is cleared from the list as of Wednesday Morning.
James, who popped up on the injury report a day before the Week 13 matchup with a hamstring issue, is currently day-to-day, but Staley said he reported better on Wednesday than Tuesday. Good news also applies for Allen, who is expected to play this week, barring any setback, according to Staley. Allen was ruled out with COVID-19.
Weather won’t be a Factor for the Chiefs, who will feel right at home with temps ranging from a high if 51 degrees and dipping to the 40s as evening progresses. Despite this, I doubt the Chargers will be affected either, but the fans might be. Of course, visiting Chiefs fans will find the weather to be almost balmy… as SOFI Stadium has a state of he arts roof.
None of the injuries for the Chiefs should be a factor. Although L’Jarius Sneed won’t be back, Tyrann Mathieu should be able to cover the slot again his week with ease. If I harken to how the Chiefs played on Sunday Night versus the Raiders, I would say that the team is hitting on all cylinders. That bodes well for this matchup. I think it was obvious that the Offense really had it together Sunday. With the way the Chiefs defense has played, even without Sneed, they are all on the same page. They forced 5 turnovers against a good Raiders team and held them to only 9 points.
That is the 4th game of the past 5 that the Chiefs defense has held the opponent to 9 points or less. If I turn back to the game against the WFT, K.C. has held every team to 14 points or under, with the exception of the Titans, who really stomped the Chiefs 27-3. Even so, that is only 7 points over my own magic number of 20. The offense really stunk that game up. After the Titans game, the most points yielded by the defense was 17 versus the Giants, so for 7 of the last 8 games, the Chiefs have kept opponent scores at 17 or under. The Defense has it all together and they are playing top-notch team football.
Playing road games may have an effect, but the Chiefs are streaking at the same time and facing the Chargers who have lost 2 of their last 5 games. For me, the Chiefs club has completely gelled and I’m predicting that the Chiefs win a tough contest against a division foe.
Not only that, but I am watching what goes on with the players. They themselves are “Cheerleaders” en masse and they are playing with big grins on their faces. They are having fun playing the game. As long as they play football like they have been, even a road game against a powerful team like the Chargers should see us come out of Cali with a victory, but there is a caveat [Noted below]. I am not saying that the Chiefs will roll over a hapless Chargers team. It will be a tough-rough-and-tumble game versus the Herbert-led Chargers. I like Herbert a bunch. However, I’m still, betting on Patrick Mahomes.
The Chiefs offense falters again and it appears they may play the Chargers sans Chris Jones. Stone Cold Jones is one of the best Front Four players in the NFL. If he is a “No Go”, the other men manning the front must play their very best, including the role-players. The Chiefs Front Four has grown to be a powerful force, but without Jones, it is going to be weaker. DC Steve Spagnuolo will have to figure out how to mix and match if Jones is missing from the fray.
You cannot take this game lightly. For the Chiefs, it is a must-win game, especially since the Chargers won the first time the teams met this year. The team that wins will likely win the Division. Falling into the Wild Card role is not the end of the world, but it makes it far more difficult to win on the way to the Super Bowl. For K.C. this is also a revenge game.
Tyrann Mathieu outlined what was necessary, talking about the importance of this game. He said:
“It’ll say a lot about us if we’re able to win this game, our commitment to each other. How bad do we want it? Is nine wins enough for us? I think it’s still a lot out there that we can own. The team feels that. We just want to be better than we were the last time around. This is a big challenge for us…I think this game is probably the most important game we’ve played up to this point. It’s going to take all of us to get it done. We’re really just hoping we can go in there with some great energy and just take over the place.”
That echoes the sentiment of DC Steve Spagnuolo: “It Takes All of Us.”
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David Bell – ArrowheadOne
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