Key events
It’s good! Chiefs 9-14 Colts 0:19, 2nd quarter
Confusion on the 3rd down play as Rice catches the ball sat down. One zebra gives the score and the other says out of bounds. The latter wins as Rice’s posterior is clearly out of bounds. Harrison Butker chips the 22-yarder through the posts. Indy doing a great job of limiting KC to three field goals in the red zone.
Chiefs 6-14 Colts 0:19, 2nd quarter
Sauce Gardner is beaten in the end zone by Rashee Rice but the ball flies through the receiver’s hands on 2nd & goal. The throw just off the mark from Mahomes. 3rd and goal incoming.
TOUCHDOWN! Bears 14-21 Steelers 1:31, 2nd quarter
Kenny Gainwell by name, Kenny Gainwell by nature. Another shootout is in the offing after Pittsburgh show tush push but run it out wide with Gainwell who sprints in for the 56-yard gain. Incredible trickery. They are on the one-yard line. Warren runs in for the score.
It’s good! Packers 10-6 Vikings 0:10, 2nd quarter
Great drive from McCarthy there to draw Minnesota a little closer. Will Reichard steps up and smashes a 59 yard field goal through. Ridiculous.
TOUCHDOWN! Lions 14-17 Giants 2:16, 2nd quarter
A lovely shootout is developing in Detroit. Jahmyr Gibbs runs the show on this scoring drive. The running breaks a 49-yard run to put his team three yards from the end zone, then catches the short pass to the right to just scrape the ball on the pylon. Touchdown!
Packers 10-3 Vikings 0:33, 2nd quarter
JJ McCarthy just ripped a beautiful throw in traffic to Justin Jefferson for 19 yards. An equally brilliant catch as he is immediately blasted by a defender. Sadly McCarthy loses seven yards after being sacked two plays later. 3rd down with 60 yards to go and not much time.
Chiefs 6-14 Colts 1:50, 2nd quarter
Kansas City get the stop and force Indy to punt. Mahomes will take over on their 15-yard line. Big stop and they have a lot of clock to potentially level this one up going into the half.
TOUCHDOWN! Bears 14-14 Steelers 3:56, 2nd quarter
Chicago can relax a bit after Caleb Williams finds rookie Colston Loveland for the 12-yard equalising touchdown.
Pick six! Bengals 10-14 Patriots 7:42, 2nd quarter
Joe Flacco coughs up an ugly pick six to gift the Pats the lead. That one will make Drake Maye feel better about his pick six earlier in the game. The veteran QB slings it lazily to his left and Marcus Jones reads it like a book as he jumps the route. Jones runs it back 33 yards for the score.
It’s good! Chiefs 6-14 Colts 2:19, 2nd quarter
Harrison Butker nails a 48 yard field goal after the drive stalls. Kansas City could do with a stop after giving up successive scoring drives.
TOUCHDOWN! Lions 7-17 Giants 8:21, 2nd quarter
Jameis Winton is on a heater as he throws his second touchdown pass with a 12-yard strike to Isaiah Hodgins.
TOUCHDOWN! Ravens 0-7 Jets 4:04, 2nd quarter
New York take a surprising lead after Tyrod Taylor finds John Metchie for an 13-yard score. The Jets defense has been playing a blinder so far.
Chiefs 3-14 Colts 6:00, 2nd quarter
KC are at midfield on another long drive. They have already used 10 plays, converted a 4th down and it has been rolling for six minutes. Midfield! C’mon Andy Reid lets open the playbook up a bit.
TOUCHDOWN! Bengals 10-7 Patriots 9:36, 2nd quarter
Drake Maye doesn’t wait long to hit back with a 28-yard touchdown to Hunter Henry. Game on.
Bears 7-14 Steelers 12:06, 2nd quarter
Pittsburgh have forced another turnover! Derrick Harmon recovers the ball after D’Andre Swift can’t keep it under control on a run play. Steelers take over at midfield.
TOUCHDOWN! Lions 7-10 Giants 11:41, 2nd quarter
Another classic combo dials it up to put Detroit just three points behind. Jared Goff dumps it short to Amon-Ra St Brown who fights through the Giants and into the end zone for the 11-yard score.
TOUCHDOWN! Titans 3-10 Seahawks 11:02, 2nd quarter
Sam Darnold drops a bomb to Jackson Smith-Njigba for a 63-yard touchdown. Those two might have a few more massive plays in this one.
TOUCHDOWN! Chiefs 3-14 Colts 10:31, 2nd quarter
Alec Ogletree extends Indy’s lead with a beautiful balletic catch in the back of the end zone. Daniel Jones fires it in and Ogletree just puts his left foot in bounds with his back facing the crowd. He couldn’t see where his feet were landing but he instinctually keeps it inbound. Chiefs need a response.
Pick six! Bengals 10-0 Patriots 14:19, 2nd quarter
OK so we said the Bengals defense was doing well, well they are doing a whole lot better than that. Drake Maye is picked off by Geno Stone who returns the ball for 33-yard touchdown. Amazing.
TOUCHDOWN! Bears 7-14 Steelers 14:34, 2nd quarter
TJ Watt picks up the strip sack touchdown as he takes down Caleb Williams in the Bears end zone. Williams drops the ball as he falls and Watt is on top of him to give Pittsburgh the lead. That Steelers pass rush is firing on all cylinders, watch out Chicago!
It’s GOOD! Chiefs 3-7 Colts 14:51, 2nd quarter
The 28-yard kick is good but the Chiefs fans are not happy as boos rain down. Gene Steratore has stuck the knife in on commentary too as he points out KC could have reviewed the facemask call against them which he believes should have been overturned. The drive flamed out thanks to good coverage but still a very positive one of 17 plays in which the Chiefs moved the ball with ease on the ground and pinpoint short passes.
TOUCHDOWN! Bears 7-7 Steelers 0:30, 1st quarter
DK Metcalf receives a short pass out left and he romps home for the six-yard score. Level in Chicago.
Chiefs 0-7 Colts 0:11, 1st quarter
Touchdown is chalked off for Travis Kelce after an offensive face mask penalty. That is a killer penalty that moves the Chiefs back 15 yards to the 20-yard line. Ouch.
Chiefs 0-7 Colts 1:00, 1st quarter
The Chiefs pick up a nice chunk of 10 yards with a pass to Worthy then hand it to Hunt who moves the stick again. Chiefs are 1st & goal.
Bengals 3-0 Patriots 5:28, 1st quarter
New England are rather surprisingly struggling against the historically inept Bengals defense. Two drives so far and two punt for the Pats.
Chiefs 0-7 Colts 3:14, 1st quarter
KC are leaning on the running game to take some pressure off Mahomes. Kareem Hunt barrels them across midfield but they stall out to 3rd and 1. Hunt gets the ball again and moves the chains. About 30 yards remain for the Chiefs. Methodical drive trying to avoid turnovers.
Bears 7-0 Steelers 5:11, 1st quarter
Pittsburgh are across midfield after a sweet 21-yard throw into the deep right of the field from Mason Rudolph to Ben Skowronek.
Chiefs 0-7 Colts 8:06, 1st quarter
Mahomes takes over on offense again. Will want to put that shocker of a pick behind him with a strong drive. His first throw picks up the first down with an 11-yard strike to Xavier Worthy. About 60 more yards to go to level it up.
TOUCHDOWN! Chiefs 0-7 Colts 8:11, 1st quarter
The interecption is converted by Michael Pittman on a six-yard catch from Daniel Jones. What a start for Indy.
TOUCHDOWN! Bears 7-0 Steelers 8:28, 1st quarter
Caleb Williams throws one out to the right for DJ Moore who finishes it off from five yards to get the Bears going.
TOUCHDOWN! Packers 7-0 Vikings 9:15, 1st quarter
Backup running back Emmanuel Wilson starts his day off right with a one-yard run up the gut for the score.
PICK! Chiefs 0-0 Colts 8:54, 1st quarter
Nightmare start for Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes attempts a pass on his own goal line and the ball is bobbed up in the air and caught by Colts defender Laiatu Latu. Incredible play.
TOUCHDOWN! Lions 0-7 Giants 12:56, 1st quarter
Can you believe it?! The first touchdown of the day might just be the best. The Giants dial up the trick play on 3rd and 2 as Jameis Winston gets the ball back after handing it off confusing the Lions who all descend on the runner leaving Wan’Dale Robinson wide open in the end zone. He catches with ease for the 39-yard touchdown.
I’m loving the picture of Andy Reid and Shane Steichen having a chinwag while watching Patrick Mahomes go through his warmup. Anyone for a little caption competition a la Have I Got News For You? Message me in your best Paul Merton.
Preamble
Hello football family, welcome to week 12! The season is really shaping up now as we begin to round the final few bends toward the home stretch. It is indeed still all to play for as no team has yet been eliminated from playoff contention. Those 1-9 Tennessee Titans better get cracking then. As should, for a postseason adventure more steeped in reality, the 5-5 Kansas City Chiefs in your jumbo package of seven games at 12pm CST/1pm EST/6pm GMT (home teams listed first):
(5-5) Baltimore Ravens v New York Jets (2-8)
(7-3) Chicago Bears v Pittsburgh Steelers (6-4)
(3-7) Cincinnati Bengals v New England Patriots (9-2)
(6-4) Detroit Lions v New York Giants (2-9)
(6-3-1) Green Bay Packers v Minnesota Vikings (4-6)
(5-5) Kansas City Chiefs v Indianapolis Colts (8-2)
(1-9) Tennessee Titans v Seattle Seahawks (7-3)
A visit from the playoff-bound Indianapolis Colts is one of the last teams Patrick Mahomes and company will have wanted to roll into town but if you want to be the best then you have to beat the best. How the Chiefs respond to last week’s gut-punch loss to Denver will be very intriguing as will the level of play from Indy’s quarterback Daniel Jones. If KC can get after Jones then turnovers could flow into a sweet victory that would end a two-game losing streak. If the Colts do pull off a minor upset then it would be the first time Mahomes has lost three regular season games in succession. How the mighty have fallen … maybe.
Elsewhere, Pittsburgh Steelers fans might be watching through their fingers as Mason Rudolph will lead the offense against the surging Chicago Bears. Starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers misses out with a fractured wrist. With the Baltimore Ravens likely to make light work of the New York Jets we may have a new leader of the AFC North tonight.
Green Bay will also be without big name talent with running back Josh Jacobs not ready for action against Minnesota. Emmanuel Wilson will be taking handoffs today at Lambeau Field as the Packers look to keep pace just behind Chicago in the fierce NFC North.
Let’s go!
