The latest
Raiders announce QB news ahead of Black Friday game vs. Chiefs | Yardbarker
Aidan O’Connell will indeed be in place for the Raiders for their Black Friday contest. The second-year quarterback was activated from injured reserve on Thursday, per a team announcement.
O’Connell was designated for return earlier this week with the expectation he would be activated in time to start against the Chiefs on Friday. The QB1 gig will be his the rest of the way this year given Gardner Minshew‘s broken collarbone. Minshew was officially moved to IR in a corresponding move.
The Raiders have been linked to a quarterback pursuit this offseason given their struggles on offense, but both Minshew and O’Connell are under contract for 2025. The latter has made 12 total starts in the NFL, but after showing a degree of promise late last season, the current campaign has not gone according to plan. O’Connell, 26, will be joined on the depth chart by Desmond Ridder over the coming weeks but it would come as no surprise if one or more new signal-callers were to be added this offseason.
Raiders-Chiefs Week 13: What has DeAndre Hopkins brought to Kansas City? | Silver And Black Pride
Q: Noah Gray was an under-the-radar player at the beginning of the season but has already set career highs in receiving yards and touchdowns and is coming off a two-touchdown performance last week. What can you tell us about Kansas City’s second tight end?
A: I have always thought Gray is a good player, and Chiefs’ general manager Brett Veach looks like a genius for an under-the-radar extension for him as the season started. For the last couple of years, Gray has been the perfect complement to Travis Kelce. While he will never match the Hall of Famer’s performance, there is a minimal gap in November of 2024 between what the 25-year-old Gray and the 34-year-old Kelce can do on the field.
I knew when Rashee Rice went out for the season that TE2 was going to be a more important position for the Chiefs going forward. Right now Gray has that great combination of being well-practiced with Mahomes while not drawing attention from defenders due to the bigger names among Kansas City pass catchers. It will be interesting to see if Gray becomes a bigger priority for linebackers and safeties over the next few weeks.
2024 Thanksgiving: One thing each NFL team can be thankful for this season, as Eagles, Lions eye big runs | CBS Sports
Kansas City Chiefs
Patrick Mahomes’ killer instinct remains intact. Everyone around him is seemingly either aging, hurt or spare parts, but the quarterback’s ridiculously efficient late-game scrambling has kept them a winner.
NFL Playoff Picture: Chiefs, Bills, Lions playoff clinching scenarios for Week 13 | SB Nation
With 10 wins, the worst record KC could end up with is 10-7. The eighth-place Miami Dolphins have six losses, so they can finish 11-6 at best. The Chiefs need to get to 11 wins and have the Dolphins at seven losses in order to clinch a better overall record, so here are the outcomes Kansas City needs to clinch a playoff spot:
Chiefs win AND Dolphins loss/tie
Since the Dolphins play on Thanksgiving night and the Chiefs play on Black Friday, Kansas City could have their playoff spot sewn up by the end of November!
Tom Brady’s Power Rankings: Who made the GOAT’s Top 5 teams entering Week 13? | FOX Sports
2. Kansas City Chiefs (10-1) (Last week: 3)
Week 12 result: Defeated Carolina Panthers, 30-27
Brady’s thoughts: ”They continue to find ways to get the job done. They had a close game against the Panthers on Sunday, but they found a way to win, as they always seemed to do. Patrick [Mahomes] came up huge again in the clutch with a great scramble late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. K.C. hosts the Raiders this week, who just so happened to hand the Chiefs their last home loss almost a year ago.”
NFL news: Raiders-Chiefs Week 13 predictions | Silver And Black Pride
Look, this is a tough assignment for the Raiders on a short week. They have lost seven in a row and are 2-9 and the Chiefs are 10-1.
The Chiefs are famous for playing close games and they beat the Raiders 27-20 at Allegiant Stadium in Week 8.
Of course, we know what happened on Christmas last year when the Raiders stunned the Chiefs at Arrowhead. It was Kansas City’s last loss of the season.
Is another upset coming up?
It’s possible, but I’m playing it safe.
Chiefs 31, Raiders 20.
Around the NFL
Eberflus: Bears’ clock management handled ‘the right way’ | ESPN
But late-game clock mismanagement assured the Bears would not get the chance to complete a come-from-behind victory against their division rival. As time ran out on Chicago to solidify a sixth consecutive loss in a 23-20 defeat, coach Matt Eberflus defended his decision to not call a timeout in the final moments of the game.
“We’re at 36 seconds right there and our hope was, because it was third [down] going into fourth [down], that we would rerack that play at 18 seconds, throw it inbounds, get it in field goal range and then call a timeout,” Eberflus said.
Upon getting the ball back at Detroit’s 1-yard line with 3:31 to play, the Bears ran 13 plays before facing second-and-20 from the Lions’ 35-yard line. Quarterback Caleb Williams was sacked for a 6-yard loss with 32 seconds remaining as Detroit defensive end Za’Darius Smith went untouched to bring the rookie down.
Instead of calling a timeout ahead of what became Chicago’s final play while facing third-and-26 from Detroit’s 41-yard line, the Bears let the clock wind down. About 10 seconds passed before Williams frantically alerted the offense to get lined up for a pass play, and the ball was not snapped until there were six seconds remaining.
Packers move to 9-3 with 30-17 victory over Dolphins | NBC Sports
Quarterback Jordan Love passed for 274 yards with a pair of touchdowns, helping Green Bay control the game for much of the night.
The Packers built a 24-3 halftime lead with Love completing a pair of TD passes to Jayden Reed — a 3-yard catch in the first quarter and a 12-yard catch in the second quarter. Running back Josh Jacobs also had a 1-yard score late in the first quarter and Brandon McManus sent a 46-yard field goal through the uprights as time expired in the second quarter.
Cowboys vs. Giants takeaways: Dallas wins first home game of 2024, beats New York for eighth time in a row | CBS Sports
Why the Cowboys won
Points off or from turnovers. This wasn’t some offensive shootout, but Cooper Rush did take advantage of the opportunities his defense created for him. Early in the second quarter, Overshown had a pick six of Lock, and on the Giants’ first drive of the third quarter, Eric Kendricks forced a Lock fumble that was recovered by Overshown at the Giants’ 38-yard line.
The Cowboys used that favorable field position to score points, as Rush hit Brandin Cooks for a 2-yard touchdown to extend Dallas’ lead to double digits. The Cowboys offense was the superior unit here in Week 13, but Giants turnovers were the difference.
In case you missed it on Arrowhead Pride
Chiefs-Raiders Week 13: Why rush Aidan O’Connell back?
1) Why are the Raiders rushing Aidan O’Connell back on a short week over going with Desmond Ridder?
Ridder was brought in just to be a backup when O’Connell went down since the only other quarterbacks in the building were Gardner Minshew and undrafted rookie Carter Bradley, who is on the practice squad. There was some speculation that Ridder might get the start after the bye week but that didn’t happen, pretty much confirming his role on the team as the QB2.
Plus, O’Connell only got one game and a quarter as the starter before getting injured, so I think the front office wants to see a bigger sample size to evaluate his potential as a long-term starter. I’m not holding my breath that he’ll win the job, but the rest of the Raiders season is about evaluating who will be part of the long-term plans.
Social media to make you think
We have activated DE Charles Omenihu and RB Isiah Pacheco from Reserve/Injured.
We have activated Practice Squad players TE Anthony Firkser and K Matthew Wright via Standard Elevation. pic.twitter.com/zIdLYY0Vgo
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) November 28, 2024
