elaine95 le Mer Mai 29, 2019 2:43
|
|
|
|
The Denver Broncos did everything right in the first half against the Kansas City Chiefs a few weeks ago Carlos Dunlap Jersey White , holding Patrick Mahomes and their high-powered offense in check for 30 minutes.Everything unraveled after the break.The Chiefs found their rhythm behind their stable of offensive stars, their defense began to stop Broncos rookie running backs, and Kansas City mounted a second-half charge that resulted in yet another victory over its biggest rival in what has become a one-sided series.Now, the Chiefs (6-1) are ready to go for the season sweep Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium."I think both sides will take what they did well a month ago," Broncos coach Vance Joseph said, "but what we did last time won't be good enough to win this time. What we did last time was play good enough football to lose the game. We can't go in with the same plan and mindset."The mindset for the Broncos (3-4) these days is to build some midseason momentum. They're coming off a 45-10 shellacking of the Arizona Cardinals, and a victory over the front-running Chiefs would go a long way toward positioning them for a playoff run.No wonder Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. called it a season-changing opportunity."It is," added Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. "Think about it: Go to Arrowhead, beat these guys, a team that's at the top of our division right now, coming off a big-time game in Arizona. This is a game where we sit back and say, 'OK, was Arizona a fluke or are we really good?' That's what I'm looking forward to seeing."There's been nothing fluky about the Chiefs' hot start.Their only loss came in a shootout in New England, and they bounced back in fine fashion by walloping the Cincinnati Bengals 45-10 last week. Mahomes continues to throw touchdown passes by the handful Anthony Munoz Jersey , and his array of weapons has made trying to stop the Chiefs a veritable nightmare."You want to score every single time you're out there. That's what we believe in this offense we can do," Mahomes said. "Hopefully we can keep that success going."That goes for both sides of the ball. The Chiefs' maligned defense played by far its best game of the season last week, holding Andy Dalton and the Bengals' offense to 239 yards total."If we can get teams one-dimensional and let the guys on the back end do what they do," Chiefs linebacker Reggie Ragland said, "we're going to have a good shot at winning a lot of games, especially with the offense we got."As the Broncos head to Kansas City for an AFC West showdown, here are some key story lines:BARTERING BRONCOSFor the first time in a decade, the Broncos are seen as potential sellers instead of buyers ahead of next week's trade deadline. Prominent names bandied about have included Harris, WR Demaryius Thomas, LB Brandon Marshall and CB Bradley Roby.Joseph says general manager John Elway hasn't conveyed any trade talks to him, and "that makes it rumor. That makes it gossip. And that makes it right now something that we can't worry about."DENVER DISTRACTIONSBesides the trade talk, the Broncos dealt with the drama of backup quarterback Chad Kelly's dismissal following his arrest on suspicion of criminal trespass."We have a great locker room. We have a close-knit football team and their focus is the Chiefs," Joseph said. "They all feel bad for Chad. They will support Chad as their former teammate. But we have one focus and that's the Chiefs on Sunday morning."CHUGGING CHUBBOne of the reasons Mahomes was able to escape the pocket and do damage on the run in the first matchup with Denver was that rookie linebacker Bradley Chubb had trouble setting the right edge on defense. But he's hit his stride with five sacks in his last two games."We've got to be able to finish strong," Chubb said.O-LINE TURNOVERThe Chiefs are poised to have another starting offensive line combination after losing C Jordan Devey to a torn pectoral muscle. He was already playing in place of Mitch Morse Michael Johnson Jersey , who remained out with a concussion. Right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is also out with a broken leg, all of which means recently signed offensive lineman Jeff Allen could start against Denver."We'll just see how that goes," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "We'll see how it rolls."MORE FROM MAHOMESThis will be the eighth NFL start for Mahomes and already his third against the Broncos. He made his NFL debut against them in Week 17 last season."I mean, you get a little more familiar with a defense whenever you play them a lot, especially playing them this last game. They threw a ton at me, a ton of different blitzes and looks," he said. "It's something that I'm going to be able to take into this next game." CINCINNATI (AP) — The Bengals had four interceptions, six sacks and a late 18-point lead. They needed all of it — and every last second on the clock as well — to salvage a win that was more relief than anything.Jessie Bates returned Jameis Winston's fourth interception for a touchdown Sunday, and the Bengals overcame Ryan Fitzpatrick's late rally for a 37-34 victory that left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with a question at quarterback.The Bengals (5-3) put together their only drive of the second half to pull it out. Andy Dalton had completions of 23 and 9 yards to A.J. Green that got them in range for Randy Bullock's 44-yard field goal on the final play. "A win is a win, but this one feels a little weird," Bengals linebacker Preston Brown said.Weird all around.Cincinnati was coming off a 45-10 loss at Kansas City on Sunday night that was their second-worst drubbing in coach Marvin Lewis' 16 seasons. The Bengals gave up 576 yards to the Bucs (3-4) and managed only 95 yards in the second half — 50 on the final drive."We're not very happy with how we performed," Bates said.Tampa Bay's biggest problem earlier this season was its porous defense, which led to a change of coordinators. This time, their quarterback play was their downfall.Winston opened the season on suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. He's had seven turnovers in the past two games http://www.thebengalslockerroom.com/authentic-sam-hubbard-jersey , creating an opening for Fitzpatrick to reclaim the job that was his at season's start.Winston was benched after matching his career high with four interceptions, the third time he's thrown so many in his career. He has thrown 10 interceptions, one fewer than all last season."I'm definitely the reason we came up short with this game, and I know that I have to fix it," said Winston, who was 18 of 35 for 276 yards with five sacks.Winston went to the bench, and Fitzpatrick pulled Tampa Bay even.He threw a 72-yard touchdown to Mike Evans , his fifth TD pass of at least 50 yards this season — most in the NFL. He also led an 88-yard drive to the tying score, hitting O.J. Howard for an 18-yard touchdown and completing another pass for the conversion with 1:05 left.Fitzpatrick finished 11 of 15 for 194 yards and a passer rating of 154.9 that's just shy of perfect.Now, the Bucs have to decide which one will lead the NFL's top-ranked offense."Today is not the day I need to decide that," coach Dirk Koetter said.DeSean Jackson caught a 60-yard touchdown pass that moved him ahead of Jerry Rice for the NFL record. He has 24 TDs of at least 60 yards. It also was Jackson's 29th career TD of at least 50 yards , tying Randy Moss for second-most since the 1970 merger behind Rice's 36.FAST STARTCincinnati couldn't hold a 27-6 lead set up by a big first half. Joe Mixon ran for 114 yards in the half and scored on runs of 1 and 8 yards. Tyler Boyd had six catches for 112 yards, including a 9-yard touchdown.LOTS OF INTsWinston has thrown at least two interceptions in five straight games, tied for the most since 1990. His 13 interceptions over that span are tied with Fitzpatrick for the most in a five-game stretch over the past five seasons.LOTS OF EMPTY SEATSThe game drew 45 Tyler Kroft Jersey White ,134 fans, the smallest crowd at Paul Brown Stadium since 41,273 showed up for a 23-16 win over Arizona on Dec. 24, 2011.BLOWING IN THE WINDBoth kickers missed extra-point attempts in a gusty, swirling wind.NO SAD SACKBuccaneers end Jason Pierre-Paul had a pair of sacks. He's had at least one in six straight games, tying Simeon Rice for the most consecutive games with a sack in team history.INJURIESBuccaneers: RB Ronald Jones II suffered a hamstring injury in the second half.Bengals: G Clint Boling hurt his back late in the first half. DE Carl Lawson hurt his right knee, reportedly an ACL tear. CB Dre Kirkpatrick left in the third quarter with an Achilles injury that kept him out of practice, but he returned.UP NEXTBuccaneers: Play at Carolina on Sunday, finishing a stretch of four road games out of five.Bengals: Have their bye week, followed by a home game against the Saints. |
|
Connexion
Se connecter pour lire ses MP
