Chiefs News: Patrick Mahomes is the NFL's greatest closer

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The Clutch Gene: Why Patrick Mahomes is the NFL's greatest closer since Tom Brady | FOX Sports

Brady may be the GOAT, but when it comes to clutch genes, Mahomes has him covered. Both QBs are known for their ability to close games in the fourth quarter, both in the regular season and postseason. Just look at the data, courtesy of FOX Sports research.

Fourth Quarter Comebacks: Not only does Mahomes have the best record in NFL history (13-10) when he falls behind in the fourth quarter, he is also the only quarterback with one Winning record in this situation (at least 10 games).

However, Brady's 31 total regular season wins by the start of the fourth quarter are the most in NFL history. Even more impressive, Brady has 19 regular-season wins with two minutes left, the second-most of any QB since 2000. He has three two-minute comebacks in the playoffs, the most since 2000.

Late touchdowns: Mahomes has eight touchdown drives when trailing at any point in the playoffs. That's tied for seventh most since 2000 and third-most among active QBs (Russell Wilson has 13, Aaron Rodgers has 11). He also has six TD passes in the playoffs when trailing at any point in the fourth quarter, third-most among active QBs (Rodgers has eight, Wilson has seven).

Chiefs-49ers Super Bowl rematch: What changed, biggest surprises, X-factors | The athlete

What has changed most for your team since the Super Bowl?

Taylor: The Chiefs had to adapt on the fly due to several serious injuries on offense, particularly at wide receiver. Rashee Rice and veteran freshman Marquise Brown should be the top receiver options alongside Kelce, but they may not play another snap this season. The Chiefs will once again lean on wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who is now in his third stint with the team. Mahomes is also expected to target speedy rookie receiver Xavier Worthy more as the season progresses, starting Sunday against the 49ers.

The other big change involves the player responsible for protecting Mahomes' blind side. In Super Bowl LVIII, the Chiefs' left tackle was Donovan Smith, a nine-year veteran who hasn't played since that night. Wanya Morris, a second-year player, is the Chiefs' starting left tackle after replacing rookie Kingsley Suamataia just two games into the season.

32 Thoughts Ahead of NFL Week 7 | Bleacher Report

Kansas City Chiefs: The 5-0 Chiefs hardly have a better lead (+33) than the 3-3 49ers (+32), whom they play on Sunday in California. I think this could be the wake-up call.

NFL predictions: Which players and teams will make a splash in Week 7? | USA today

Niners get massive revenge in Super Bowl

A quick look at USA TODAY's NFL staff picks for Week 7 shows that I'm the only one brave enough to pick the San Francisco 49ers over the Kansas City Chiefs in America's Game of the Week on FOX defeat. I predicted the Niners would win by a score of 23-21, which essentially means they'll cover the spread. Playing against Andy Reid's team when there's only one bye is pretty brave, to begin with. But to say that the Niners will “rip” the Chiefs without Christian McCaffrey is undoubtedly bold. San Francisco handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season and avenged the Super Bowl loss in February with a final lead of at least 10 points.

Prisco's Week 7 NFL Picks: Packers top Texans, Vikings oust Lions to remain undefeated | CBS Sports

Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers (-1)

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo test for free)

This is a big game for both teams, the Super Bowl rematch. The Chiefs are coming off a bye while the 49ers played last Thursday, which somewhat mucks things up. The 49ers have struggled on defense, which is not a good thing against Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs play well on defense. This also carries over to winning a tough away game.

Choose: Chiefs 27, 49ers 23

Around the NFL

Amazon Prime ratings reflect Broncos-Saints sellout | NBC Sports

At 9.81 million, Amazon Prime's viewing rate fell below 10 million for the first time this season.

It still topped last year's Jaguars-Saints game in Week 7 on TNF, which drew 9.79 million viewers. And NFL play handily beat postseason baseball.

In fact, the numbers for the Broncos-Saints could have been much worse. Despite Sean Payton's return to New Orleans, the game was a disaster – thanks in large part to the fact that the Saints were and are banged up.

Steelers QB Mike Tomlin mothers as signs point to Russell Wilson | ESPN

“Yeah, we're on the same page after practice and we're throwing more than usual because this is his first start,” Pickens said when asked if he had any extra work with Wilson during practice this week.

But half an hour before Pickens' interview, Tomlin refused to reveal anything about the plan when asked if he was ready to name a starter.

“I am, but I’m just going to keep it in house,” Tomlin said. “But I found (Wilson) sharp. I also found Justin (Fields) sharp. I think we had an extremely productive week for both guys and for the entire unit.”

In case you missed it at Arrowhead Pride

The Chiefs-49ers leaders for Week 7: Off the field and into the bay

Bulls

Running back Kareem Hunt and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster: What is old is new again! Kansas City's retro version of offense is back in style with the league's leading rusher from 2017 and the team's leading wide receiver from its 2022 championship season. It was remarkable that the team was able to sign both players off the street in 2024 — and then have each of them gain at least 100 yards in the same game. In Week 5, they led the Chiefs offense to victory like old times. Hunt scored a touchdown and Smith-Schuster had a 50-yard catch-and-run. If head coach Andy Reid is telling the truth, both should continue to contribute. With 27 runs against the New Orleans SaintsHunt had the most carries of any Kansas City running back since… well, Kareem Hunt (29) in Week 16 of 2017. He's now the hot hand in a pretty efficient running game. In the meantime, Smith-Schuster will help fill the void left by Rashee Rice's injury — at least until the team (maybe) trades for another receiver. With Davante Adams and Amari Cooper now moving on to new teams, the market may be thin enough for him to continue his comeback – assuming he's healthy enough on Sunday.

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