The once formidable Kansas City Chiefs look old, tired and out of ideas
Patrick Mahomes has led his team to seven straight AFC Championship Games, winning three Super Bowls on the way.That run appears to be overThis is how great runs end.Not with a single catastrophic collapse, but with a slow drift towards the finish, looking old, tired and out of ideas.For the Chiefs, that sense of finality arrived on Sunday night, delivered by the Texans in a 20-10 defeat at home that felt more lopsided than the score.For much of this season, there had been a gnawing sense of inevitability about the Chiefs.
Whether judging by the eye test or the advanced data, this year’s group has been slightly better than the 15-win team who trudged through one-score victories last season, got hot in the playoffs and then were crushed by the Eagles in the Super Bowl,Even as the losses mounted this year, it felt like the Chiefs still had a run in them,If they could figure out their disjointed offense and find any juice on defense, they could sneak into the playoffs,And in a one-off game, with everything on the line, it would still be hard to look past the Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes axis,Now the Chiefs sit at 6–7, staring at the standings with the grim realization that they are exactly what their record says they are: not that good.
There will be analytics models insisting that the Chiefs remain top-10 in efficiency here or expected points there.But those numbers have become background noise in a season defined by drops, miscues and the erosion of their aura.Sunday in Arrowhead was the full excrement meets fan moment.The Chiefs didn’t just lose; they were rocked.Mahomes completed just 42.
8% of his passes and connected on only two of 12 passes under pressure, as Houston’s relentless defensive front attacked a makeshift offensive line.The Texans were tougher, quicker, craftier and looked like a cohesive, if flawed, team.They have playmakers at every level of their defense, and all of them showed up to fluster Mahomes.For the first time since 2021, Mahomes’ offense was shut out for an entire half of a regular season game.All Kansas City’s long-denied vulnerabilities bubbled up at once.
Mahomes was picked off three times,The offense couldn’t reliably move the ball through the air or on the ground, again relying on the quarterback to lead the team in rushing to generate any pulse,Everything felt stale, with the same old recycled answers to the same old problems,This wasn’t a decade-long juggernaut stalling, but a fatigued organization rolling out exhausting ideas with an aging core and little clue about how to evolve,The defeat was, in many ways, a microcosm of the season.
The Chiefs conceded multiple third-and-long conversions to CJ Stroud and the Texans’ offense,They missed a field goal,Receiver Tyquan Thornton failed to hold on to a long touchdown toss from Mahomes, one of six drops from the Chiefs’ pass-catchers – the most of any game in the Mahomes era,And then came a fourth-and-one failure, from deep inside the team’s own territory,Tied at 10-10 early in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs faced that fourth-and-one from their own 31-yard line.
Reid, typically conservative, went for it.Mahomes’ pass hit the grass, the Texans took over in premium field position, and scored a touchdown to effectively seal the game.“I take full responsibility for that,” Reid said post-game.“I thought we could get it.I was wrong.
”The call was telling.It was Reid admitting that he needed to do something different, that his team doesn’t have the goods this season.The decline didn’t happen overnight.Behind Reid and Mahomes, the Chiefs have reached seven straight AFC Championship Games, winning three Super Bowls.Even at their weakest, they’ve found a way.
But this season, 20 points, once a comical attempt at upsetting the Chiefs, has become the threshold that teams need merely to compete.The offense is stagnant.The defense is middling, even if it caused the Texans mediocre offensive line plenty of problems on Sunday.The long postseason runs, the accumulated hits, the personnel misfires, they’ve all taken their toll.Even dependable veterans reflect the problem.
The 36-year-old Travis Kelce had been their most reliable third-down target until Sunday night.Kareem Hunt, 30, is their most effective running back.Those are not markers of a healthy roster.The Chiefs aren’t completely out of the playoff hunt yet.But they’re two games behind Houston and down on the tiebreaker.
Either way, limping into January won’t fix anything.This team needs something bigger: a full reboot, the kind they embraced after being dismantled by the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl, when they rebuilt their entire offensive line in an offseason.What they need now is even more drastic – new weapons, ideas and energy.Mahomes has masked fundamental issues for years.But that is no longer enough.
Stick a fork in this iteration of the Chiefs dynasty.Josh Allen, QB, Buffalo Bills.We had snow in Buffalo! And it came with one of the greatest quarterback duels this season.Allen and Joe Burrow went toe-to-toe, throwing dart after dart in grim conditions.But it was Allen who made the biggest plays in the biggest moments, shredding a woeful Bengals defense to the tune of 329 total yards and four touchdowns with no turnovers in a 39-34 shootout win.
Burrow matched Allen early, piling up an 11-point half-time lead, only to undo it all with a pair of interceptions on successive throws,Allen, again asked to bail the Bills out of trouble, responded as he always does,He engaged full MVP-mode, putting the team on his back while being hit or hurried on nearly half of his dropbacks,Every high-leverage moment belonged to him: third- and fourth-downs, broken pockets, busted plays,And then, to close it out, a third-and-15 scramble up the middle – ploughing his way to 18 yards to ice the game.
The Bills, despite their flaky defense, move to 9-4, with a game against the division-leading Patriots on deck.A season can hinge on a decision.For the Ravens and Steelers, it may come down to an official’s decision.Make your own call: touchdown or no touchdown?You make the call: Ravens TE Isaiah LikelyTouchdown or incomplete? pic.twitter.
com/YoGObodFpeIn Pittsburgh, with Baltimore driving for a late lead, Lamar Jackson hit tight end Isaiah Likely in the endzone for a go-ahead score.But after initially being ruled a touchdown, the catch was overturned to an incomplete pass.No matter that Likely had control of the ball and took two steps.The officials ruled that he did not complete the process of a catch or make a “football move” by getting a third step down in time.The Ravens had two more shots from the 13 and came up empty, then staggered through a frantic final minute without finding the endzone.
Pittsburgh escaped 27-22 and climbed to the top of the AFC North,Both teams showed their fragilities,The Steelers got Aaron Rodgers’ sharpest outing this season,He was decisive, clinical and willing to throw the ball downfield, completing his first pass over 20 yards since October,Rodgers even tacked on his first rushing touchdown since 2022.
But Pittsburgh’s offense was tight in the fourth quarter and could only muster 27 points despite Rodgers’ best efforts, giving the Ravens the opening needed to get back into the game, but they came up short,If they miss the playoffs, they will spend a good chunk of the offseason thinking about the catch that wasn’t,8-5,That’s the Colts’ record after a week in which they slipped from the top of the AFC South to third place in the division, after losing to the Jaguars 36-19,After blowing teams away early in the year, their season is effectively done.
Daniel Jones tore his achilles in the first quarter, ruling him out for the rest of the season and much of next year.It’s a devastating blow.Jones’s comeback was one of the stories of the year.He was in line for a $100m contract this offseason, with the Colts committed to the quarterback after trading away two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner at the trade deadline.Jones faces an arduous recovery.
He was already playing with a fractured fibula in the opposite leg, and it’s a wonder why he was cleared to play to begin with.The Colts are out of options at quarterback, relying on sixth-round rookie Riley Leonard with Anthony Richardson on injured reserve with a fractured orbital bone.In the short term, it ends any hopes of a playoff run, and after dealing away the future, the medium-term outlook is murky at best.-- Some games come down to a single play.After putting together a string of exceptional drives to force a one-score game against the Packers in Lambeau, the Bears failed to convert on a last-second fourth-down deep in Green Bay territory.
With a chance to tie the game, Caleb Williams threw an interception in the endzone with 22 seconds left.It was a miserable decision in what was an otherwise electric performance from the Bears quarterback.Rolling out of the pocket, Williams had a first down open on a scramble.He had a touchdown pass open to Cole Kmet.But Williams threw a floater into the waiting hands of Packers corner Keisean Nixon, sealing a 28-21 win for Green Bay.
The result moves Green Bay up to the No 2 seed in the NFC, while the Bears slide from the top spot to No 7.-- Mike McDaniel is saving his job in Miami.The Dolphins blew out the Jets 34-10 to extend their winning streak to four.Don’t look now, but the Dolphins are 6-7, matching the Ravens’ record and putting them only two wins behind the Colts.The Dolphins have a less than 1% chance of making the playoffs, given the depth of the AFC West, AFC South, as well as the Bills and Patriots.
But if you planted them in the North, they’d be favorites to win the division.McDaniel looked like a sure-fire candidate to be bounced as soon as the season ended.But with a strong second half of the year, he may have bought himself another season with a new quarterback.-- How about Tyler Shough? The Saints rookie quarterback continues to prove that he’s more than a placeholder in a lost season.Shough ran for two touchdowns as the Saints beat the Bucs 24-20 on the road.
In a monsoon, the Saints dragged the Bucs down into the mud.Baker Mayfield, harassed, hurried, and perpetually annoyed, never found a rhythm, completing just 14 of 30 pass attempts with an interception and a touchdown.The four-time defending NFC South champs have lost four of their last five games, slipping into a first-place tie with the Panthers.The Bucs and Panthers will play each other twice in their final three games, effectively a mini-playoff.-- Speaking of rookie quarterbacks, Shedeur Sanders put together the best performance of his young career.
He became the first rookie quarterback this season to throw for 300-plus yards, converting 23 of 42 attempts in a 31-29 losing effort against the Titans,Sanders had one wayward interception and took a pair of drawn out sacks, two defining features of his game,But he looked more comfortable with the speed of the league, ripping off tight-window throws to every level of the field and extending plays when pressure crashed into the backfield,He found Jerry Jeudy with a 60-yard touchdown dart, joining Rodgers as the only quarterbacks since 2000 to have four completions of 50 yards or more in their first three starts,Sanders may be unpolished, but he continues to prove that he has a starter’s skill set despite the lack of talent around him
Christmas mixers: Thomasina Miers’ recipes for fire cider and spiced cocktail syrup
Despite being known for shaking a cocktail on Instagram now and again, very little will induce me to last-minute cocktailery if I am entertaining a serious number of guests. However, a good drinks recipe that you can prep in advance is a lovely thing to dazzle your friends with and to gift over Christmas. With or without alcohol, this pair look good and taste delicious, and should help everyone ease into the December festivities.This makes a delicious base to which you can add soda, juice, tonic or any other mixer for a thirst-quenching and delicious alternative to an alcoholic drink in the evening. Prep 15 minInfuse 1 week+ Makes 500ml bottleFor the fire cider2 jalapeños, finely sliced seeds and all1 large thumb of ginger, peeled and finely sliced2 branches fresh rosemary1 cinnamon stick3 heaped tbsp honey2 garlic cloves, peeled1 thumb turmeric, peeled and finely sliced (optional)350ml apple cider vinegarFor the cranberry fizz (serves 1)30ml fire cider 75ml cranberry juice1 wedge of orange Sparkling water, to topMix all the ingredients for the fire cider in a sterilised 500ml jar, then put in the fridge for at least week, and preferably three to extract the most goodness from the ingredients
Jamie Oliver to relaunch Italian restaurant chain in UK six years after collapse
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Maximum protein, minimal carbs: why gym bros are flocking to Australia’s charcoal chicken shops
From El Jannah’s webpage dedicated to ‘health-conscious individuals’ to Habibi Chicken’s ‘Gym Bro’ pack, businesses are catering to the post-leg day crowdGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailPopularised in Australia by Balkan and Lebanese immigrants, charcoal chicken has long been part of our comfort-food canon. But recently, the humble chicken shop has had a renaissance – driven by fresh takes on the classics, the expansion of longstanding chains and a surge of protein-conscious gym goers.In June, charcoal chicken chain El Jannah, which has more than 50 stores, launched a page on its website dedicated to protein and macros – complete with recommendations for the best post-leg day order – a clear nod to the fitness crowd.In Wagga Wagga, Habibi Chicken has a “Gym Bro” pack – a half or quarter chicken, tabbouleh, pita and toum, no chips. Co-owner Mariam Rehman says it’s a top seller, designed to maximise protein and reduce carbs
Helen Goh’s recipe for edible Christmas baubles | The sweet spot
These edible baubles make a joyful addition to the Christmas table or tree. Soft, chewy, marshmallow-coated Rice Krispies are studded with pistachios and cranberries, chocolate and ginger, or peppermint candy cane; they’re as fun to make as they are to eat, and they make a perfect little gift. To add a ribbon for hanging, cut small lengths of ribbon, then loop and knot the ends. Push the knotted end gently into the top of each ball while it’s still pliable, then reshape around it, so it holds the knot securely as it sets. Alternatively, wrap each bauble in cellophane, then gather at the top and tie with a ribbon, leaving a long loop for hanging
A gentle trade in edible gifts binds communities together
A guest at our restaurant recently told me about her mother’s seasonal side hustle, though no one would have dared call it that out loud: in the weeks before Christmas, she became a quiet merchant of puddings. The proper kind of pudding, too: all dense but not leaden, heavy with prunes and warm with careful spicing.As December crept in, forgotten cousins and semi-estranged uncles seemed to find reasons to drop by her place. She never advertised the fact, of course, but everyone knew that if you came bearing even a modest offering, you might just leave with a pudding wrapped in waxed paper and still warm with possibility. The exchanges were subtle
Chocolate tart and zabaglione: Angela Hartnett’s easy make-ahead Christmas desserts – recipes
When you’re the cook of the house, you spend quite enough time in the kitchen on Christmas Day as it is. And, after those time-consuming nibbles, the smoked salmon starter and the turkey-with-all-the-trimmings main event, the last thing you want is a pudding that demands even more hands-on time at the culinary coalface. For me, the main requirement of any Christmas dessert is that it can be made well in advance, not least because, by the time the pudding stage comes around, I’ll be completely knackered and more than ready to put up my feet and finally relax (or, more likely, fall asleep on the sofa).Prep 15 minRest 3 hr+Cook 40 minServes 6-8For the sweet pastry500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting 150g caster sugar 250g cold butter, diced2-3 eggs, lightly beatenFor the filling640g 70%-cocoa dark chocolate, broken into small pieces800ml double cream 64g glucose syrup 64g cold butter, cubed 100g roasted hazelnuts, lightly choppedPut the flour and sugar in a large bowl, stir to combine, then add the diced butter and work it in with your fingertips until the mix takes on the consistency of rough breadcrumbs. Add two of the beaten eggs, then mix until the dough comes together into a ball; if need be, add the third beaten egg, but take great care not to overwork the dough
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