ReportWire

Tag: josh simmons

  • Prescott’s Cowboys overcome Mahomes’ fourth-down magic in 31-28 Thanksgiving win over Chiefs

    [ad_1]

    ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys still face long odds in trying to rally for a spot in the playoffs.

    They won’t be short on confidence with a win over last season’s Super Bowl runner-up just four days after beating the defending champs.

    Prescott threw for two touchdowns, Malik Davis sprinted 43 yards for a score and the Cowboys overcame two fourth down TD throws from Patrick Mahomes in a 31-28 Thanksgiving Day victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday.

    CeeDee Lamb scored the first Dallas touchdown and finished with 112 yards on seven catches after drops plagued the star receiver in a 24-21 victory over reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia.

    The Cowboys (6-5-1) have won three straight and dropped the defending AFC champion Chiefs (6-6) back to .500 in a matchup of playoff-chasing teams.

    Dallas is 3-0 since 24-year-old defensive end Marshawn Kneeland was found dead of an apparent suicide during the club’s open week. The Cowboys came back from the emotion-filled break with a 33-16 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

    “On top of where we put ourselves right before these games and just the place that we’re in, having to get these wins against two elite teams,” Prescott said. “I mean, two teams that played in the Super Bowl last year. Last year’s last year, but you’re talking about two organizations that obviously know how to win and we just beat them both in two great games.

    “On top of everything that we’ve been through.”

    Mahomes had four touchdown passes in his first professional game at the home of the Cowboys, where he played three times for Texas Tech not far from his East Texas roots.

    “They’re the same desperation that we are and they play better over four quarters than we did,” said Mahomes, who threw for 261 yards and was sacked three times, twice by Jadeveon Clowney. “So even though we have good plays here and there, we have be more consistent at the end of the day.”

    Travis Kelce caught Mahomes’ first fourth-down TD toss on a 2-yarder, and Rashee Rice’s second scoring catch came on fourth-and-3 early in the fourth quarter.

    Kansas City was down 10 when Mahomes was almost tripped in the backfield by Quinnen Williams but kept his feet and found Xavier Worthy wide-open down the field for 42 yards, setting up a 10-yard scoring toss to Hollywood Brown with 3:27 remaining.

    Prescott and company didn’t give Mahomes another chance.

    After two pass interference penalties gave Dallas first downs, Prescott hit George Pickens for 13 yards and a clinching first down at the two-minute warning. Prescott knelt three times after that.

    The Chiefs had five pass interference penalties, one that was declined, and another defensive holding that gave Dallas a first down. Kansas City finished with 10 penalties for 119 yards.

    “Bottom line is we’re having too many penalties, and we have to make sure to take care of that,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “No excuses with it. We’re going to clean it up.”

    Rice had eight catches for 92 yards, his first score coming on a 27-yard catch-and-run on the sideline two plays after Prescott was intercepted by Jaylen Watson on the first Dallas possession.

    Davis had just three carries, but his long run gave Dallas its first lead at 17-14 late in the second quarter. Lead running back Javonte Williams scored on a 3-yard catch early in the fourth quarter, and Pickens’ catch on a 2-point conversion put Dallas back in front 28-21.

    The Cowboys were 10th in the NFC entering the game, same as the Chiefs in the AFC coming off nine consecutive AFC West titles. The schedule doesn’t get much easier, although two of the next four opponents — all playoff teams from a year ago — aren’t in the postseason picture at the moment.

    “We’ve got to continue with the same mentality,” Lamb said. “Obviously it’s been a short week. Now we get a little time to rest, a regular week so to speak. We get our bodies back, relax, build, grow, get better and on to next week.”

    Injuries

    Chiefs: The Chiefs lost two offensive linemen to injuries after beginning the game without RG Trey Smith, who was inactive because of an ankle injury. RT Jawaan Taylor injured an elbow, and rookie LT Josh Simmons went out with a wrist injury. … S Bryan Cook injured an ankle in the first half.

    Cowboys: CB Caelen Carson, who had started the previous two games, was inactive after being listed as questionable. He was added to the injury report during the week. … CB DaRon Bland injured a foot in the second half.

    Up next

    Chiefs: Play host to Houston in prime time on Dec. 7.

    Cowboys: Visit Detroit next Thursday night.

    ___

    AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

    [ad_2]

    Source link

  • Chiefs LT Josh Simmons Added to Injury Report, Likely Out vs. Lions

    [ad_1]

    Josh Simmons, the left tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, has been added to the team’s injury report and is not expected to participate in the upcoming Sunday Night Football game against the Detroit Lions due to a personal matter. As noted by NFL Media, Simmons traveled back to California to address a family issue, rendering him unlikely to return in time for the kickoff.

    Simmons, who has been a pivotal part of the Chiefs’ offensive line this season, participated in 314 snaps, representing 95 percent of the offensive plays. His absence would shift the lineup, with Jaylon Moore or Wanya Morris expected to step into the left tackle position for the game, as Simmons has held the starting role since minicamps. He was the Chiefs’ first-round draft pick in 2025, selected despite previous injury concerns, including a torn patellar tendon.

    This situation has taken the organization by surprise. General Manager Brett Veach had prepared for unexpected circumstances by signing Jaylon Moore, who could make his starting debut if Simmons is unavailable. While Simmons managed to play through illness in the previous week, the nature of this personal matter prevents him from participating this time.

    The significance of this event is underscored further by the fact that the Lions will also be missing their starting left tackle, Taylor Decker, who is out with a shoulder injury. This scenario sets the stage for both teams to face challenges on their offensive lines heading into the matchup.

    Going Deeper

    Reference Links:

    1. KMBC
    2. NBC Sports
    3. Arrowhead Addict
    4. Kansas City Star
    5. Sports Illustrated

    [ad_2]

    Richard Knight

    Source link

  • Know your enemy: Can Eagles EDGEs dominate remade left side of Chiefs OL?

    [ad_1]

    When the Eagles and Chiefs meet Sunday in Kansas City, they won’t be the exact same squads that met in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans about seven months earlier, a memorable night for the Eagles as they pounded the two-time reigning champions by a 40-22 score that wasn’t even that close.

    The Eagles are trying to rebuild a top-ranked defense that lost about half its starters in the offseason to free agency or trades. The Chiefs are trying to repair the left side of an offensive line so decimated by injuries come playoffs that coach Andy Reid had moved his All Pro left guard to left tackle and filled the left guard spot with a third-stringer.

    Amazingly, the Chiefs still made it to the Super Bowl despite their offensive line issues, but the short-armed Joe Thuney was no match for the length of Eagles EDGEs Josh Sweat, Jalyx Hunt and the team’s other pass rushers who teed off on Patrick Mahomes. 

    Pressures like this were common throughout the game:

    And like this..

    The Chiefs remade their o-line this offseason, trading Thuney to the Bears and moving 2024 second-round pick Kingsley Suamataia to guard after the former BYU lineman struggled as a rookie and couldn’t get on the field past Week 1. They also used a first-round pick on Ohio State OT Josh Simmons, who was a big-time recruit out of California and one of the most athletic linemen in his class. Simmons suffered a knee injury in October and missed the rest of the season, including Ohio State’s run to a national title. 

    Simmons won the starting LT job and lined up alongside Suamataia last Friday when the Chiefs opened their season in Sao Paolo against the Chargers, a game they’d lose 27-21.

    How improved are the Chiefs on the left side compared to February? It’s a complicated answer. At very least, they have a left tackle who’s actually a left tackle. At left guard, though, Suamataia is nowhere near Thuney’s level.

    The film from Week 1 showed that both young linemen have some progress to make, and the Eagles are probably happy they get to face them earlier in the season.

    The Chiefs showed some communication breakdowns – especially against some stunts and line games, which the Eagles do occasionally – and some technique breakdowns for both linemen.

    Pressure on Mahomes came early for the Chargers – like the first third-down sceanario, a 3rd-and-6 that saw Simmons driven back into the pocket, forcing Mahomes to throw off his back foot with a lot of traffic in his face.

    Both Simmons and Suamataia were driven back to collapse the pocket, making Mahomes release quickly and off the mark at the first-down marker.

    Here’s a schemed pressure with the Chargers overloaded on the left side of the line.

    The Chargers executed a T/E stunt and delayed LB blitz but the real pressure simply came from the DT getting inside Suamataia and then riding him back into Mahomes, who was hit while he threw incomplete.

    Side note: This is also the play where Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy and TE Travis Kelce collided on a mesh concept leading to Worthy’s exit from the game with a dislocated shoulder. He’s listed as doubtful to play Sunday.

    Here’s a pressure from just a three-man rush – a three-man rush!

     

    Simmons gets beat badly off the snap by the edge rusher, forcing Mahomes to step up and then scramble to his left. Naturally, the LB who looked like a blitzer but was actually a dropper and spy saw Mahomes the whole way and was able to outflank Mahomes to make the QB stop dead in his tracks and try to reverse course before getting sacked.

    Every so often, the Chiefs like to go under center and run play-action bootlegs, getting Mahomes out of the pocket, where he’s a sensei with his ability to hurt defenses with a pass or run. There were two instances where the under-center play action did nothing to help Mahomes avoid pressure from the left side.

    Here’s one:

    Simmons badly missed his punch on the EDGE defender, who beat him with a hand swipe and then went into QB pursuit mode. Sure, Mahomes picked up the first down, but he took a major knock at the end of the run. 

    The Eagles don’t have Sweat anymore but Jalyx Hunt and Josh Uche took turns last week lining up over Cowboys LT Tyler Guyton while Jordan Davis lined up over LG Tyler Smith and had one of the best games of his career, although his best rushes came against Cowboys C Cooper Beebe.

    Andy Reid is notorious for not helping out his offensive tackles so he can make the most of his five outlets on every pass play. We’ll see if he makes any adjustments Sunday afternoon or if the Eagles once again dominate the left side of KC’s offensive line.

    SIGN UP HERE to receive PhillyVoice’s Sports newsletters.

    Follow Geoff on Twitter/X: @geoffpmosher

    Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports

    [ad_2]

    Geoff Mosher

    Source link