Kansas City Chiefs

It's the Philadelphia Eagles' world, and the rest of the NFL is living in it.

Philadelphia is nearly halfway to the first 17-0 regular season in league history after Thursday's 29-17 victory over the Houston Texans. It's a full two games clear of the Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East at 8-0 and looks like the team to beat in the race for the Lombardi Trophy.

Things are going much differently for the Houston Texans, who fell to 1-6-1 with their latest loss.

Here is a look at the updated standings and current tiebreaker scenarios following Thursday's results:

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AFC

1. Buffalo Bills, 6-1

2. Tennessee Titans, 5-2 (tiebreaker over KC because of winning percentage against AFC)

3. Kansas City Chiefs, 5-2

4. Baltimore Ravens, 5-3

5. New York Jets, 5-3 (tiebreaker over MIA because of head-to-head)

6. Miami Dolphins, 5-3

7. Los Angeles Chargers, 4-3

8. New England Patriots, 4-4 (tiebreaker over CIN because of winning percentage against AFC)

9. Cincinnati Bengals, 4-4

10. Indianapolis Colts, 3-4-1

11. Cleveland Browns, 3-5 (tiebreaker over DEN because of strength of victory)

12. Denver Broncos, 3-5

13. Las Vegas Raiders, 2-5

14. Jacksonville Jaguars, 2-6 (tiebreaker over PIT because of winning percentage against AFC)

15. Pittsburgh Steelers, 2-6

16. Houston Texans, 1-6-1

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NFC

1. Philadelphia Eagles, 8-0

2. Minnesota Vikings, 6-1

3. Seattle Seahawks, 5-3

4. Atlanta Falcons, 4-4

5. Dallas Cowboys, 6-2 (tiebreaker over NYG because of head-to-head)

6. New York Giants, 6-2

7. San Francisco 49ers, 4-4 (tiebreaker over WAS because of winning percentage against NFC)

8. Washington Commanders, 4-4

9. Los Angeles Rams, 3-4

10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 3-5 (tiebreaker over GB and AZ because of winning percentage against NFC)

11. Green Bay Packers, 3-5 (tiebreaker over NO and AZ because of winning percentage against NFC; tiebreaker over CHI because of head-to-head)

12. Arizona Cardinals, 3-5 (tiebreaker over NO because of head-to-head; tiebreaker over CHI because of winning percentage against NFC)

13. New Orleans Saints, 3-5 (tiebreaker over CHI because of winning percentage against NFC)

14. Chicago Bears, 3-5

15. Carolina Panthers, 2-6

16. Detroit Lions, 1-6

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From a playoff positioning battle, no game stands out more in Week 9 than the one between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans.

While many fans may assume the Chiefs and Buffalo Bills are on an inevitable collision course for the AFC Championship Game with Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen under center, the Titans have an opportunity to secure an early inside track for the No. 2 seed and the home-field advantage for multiple rounds that would come with a win.

Kansas City appears to have some advantages beyond the fact the game is at home, though, considering it lost a 24-20 nailbiter to the Bills. Comparatively, the Titans were blown out 41-7 in Buffalo in Week 2 and looked a step behind the other top contenders.

Yet Tennessee has won five straight games since that loss and appears to be one of the most daunting threats for a Mahomes-Allen rematch in the AFC title game.

It also flummoxed Mahomes last season on the way to a commanding 27-3 victory over the Chiefs. The Titans forced two turnovers from the four-time Pro Bowler and sacked him four times.

While he exited that game with injury concerns, the outcome was already well in hand by that point.

Repeating a showing like that will be no easy task in Kansas City, but the Titans will surely look to control the clock with Derrick Henry and keep Mahomes on the sidelines with extended drives.

That will especially be the case if quarterback Ryan Tannehill misses a second consecutive game with an ankle injury. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported he was limited in Wednesday's practice and sat out Thursday, so his status is very much up in the air.

It could ultimately decide the most important AFC game of the week.

Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid, who is the son of head coach Andy Reid, was sentenced to three years in prison Tuesday, per Margaret Stafford of the Associated Press.

Reid pleaded guilty to a felony charge of driving while intoxicated and causing a crash, which severely injured Ariel Young, who was five years old at the time.

"Every time I see my daughter, I think about Ariel and how my decision affected her so deeply and her family," Reid said while apologizing as he addressed the court, per Sam McDowell of the Kansas City Star.

Meredith Deliso of ABC News noted the crash that happened in February 2021 injured five other people. Reid was driving a pickup truck at 84 mph in a 65 mph zone and hit two vehicles that were stopped on the side of the highway.

His blood alcohol level was 0.113 two hours after the crash, according to police.

Court documents said Young, now six years old, suffered "life-threatening injuries" and a "severe traumatic brain injury, a parietal fracture, brain contusions and subdural hematomas."

Young's mother, Felicia Miller, submitted a victim impact statement that was read in court. It said, in part:

"Today, Ariel drags her right foot when she walks. Next month we're going to see a doctor about leg braces. She has terrible balance. She takes longer to process information than her peers. She will have to be in special ed. She wears thick glasses that she never wore before. This is our life."

The Chiefs chose not to renew the expiring contract of Reid, who was a linebackers coach, after the accident. They also helped pay for Young's medical care.

Deliso noted this is not the first legal issue for Reid, who pleaded guilty to simple assault and flashing a gun at another driver related to a 2007 incident. He served prison time for that and also pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of a controlled substance stemming from another incident.

Fantasy football players may have rushed to add Kadarius Toney after he was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs, but you may want to think twice before rushing him into your starting lineups.

"I'm not expecting him to learn the whole offense in a day," head coach Andy Reid told reporters on Monday. "I think it will be a gradual process going forward, even though he is a smart kid, so I'm sure he'll pick it up relatively fast. He hasn't played for a few weeks here. So getting him back in the swing of things and the speed of it and all will be important, and then we'll just see. But he's a nice addition. I'm just not going to rush him into something that he's not comfortable with or I'm not comfortable with."

The Chiefs traded a conditional third-rounder and a sixth-rounder, both in the 2023 draft, to the Giants for Toney. The young wide receiver was a first-round pick by New York in the 2021 NFL draft, but things soured rather quickly between the two sides.

Injuries had limited him to just two games this season, though Toney indicated in a since-deleted tweet that he was healthy at this point despite appearing on the Giants' injury report.

There's no doubt that Toney has intriguing playmaking ability and upside. He turned plenty of heads during his rookie season when he lit up the Dallas Cowboys to the tune of 10 catches for 189 yards in an October loss.

He's a real threat in space, and if there is one thing this Chiefs offense is good at, it's getting its playmakers open in space:

Thinking about Kadarius Toney in the Chiefs offense 😮@0fficialC2N | @Chiefs pic.twitter.com/qiFwrAtjga

— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2022

The question is where Toney will fall in the pecking order, with tight end Travis Kelce the top dog and JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Mecole Hardman already carving out roles at wide receiver.

"We've got a handful of guys that are very capable, and I joke about it, but I mean you have one football and you can only spread it around to one person at a time," Reid told reporters. "We try to (utilize) everybody's strengths and then work on whatever weaknesses they have. That allows us to get guys in at least a decent position to do what we think they can do best. It won't be any different with him than the other guys."

The Chiefs wouldn't have traded for Toney if they didn't believe in his ability. But it's fair to question whether he'll make much of a fantasy impact, at least initially, in a new scheme surrounded by other weapons Patrick Mahomes can utilize.

Running back Ronald Jones seemed to suggest Friday night on Twitter that he wants his release from the Kansas City Chiefs.

While Jones didn't specifically mention the Chiefs in his tweet, he noted that he would "like a release."

Sure would like a RELEASE right about now

— Rojo ひ “The Breeze” (@rojo) October 29, 2022

Jones signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Chiefs in free agency during the offseason, but he has found himself buried on the depth chart.

In fact, Jones has not been active for a single game this season, as head coach Andy Reid has opted to roll with a backfield comprised of Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Jerick McKinnon and rookie seventh-round pick Isiah Pacheco.

Jones was originally a second-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2018, and he spent his first four NFL seasons with the Bucs.

His best campaign occurred in 2020, when he rushed for a career-high 978 yards and seven touchdowns while also catching 28 passes for 165 yards and one score. The Bucs also won the Super Bowl that season, although Leonard Fournette solidified himself as the lead back during the playoffs.

Jones' role lessened significantly last season, as he rushed for just 428 yards and four touchdowns and made 10 receptions for 64 yards.

There was some thought after Jones signed with Kansas City that he would become the Chiefs' lead back and preferred option in short-yardage situations since Edwards-Helaire failed to live up to expectations in his first two seasons, but CEH has averaged a solid 4.4 yards per carry.

McKinnon and Pacheco are also more dynamic options with pass-catching ability, and they have done enough to keep Jones off the field as well.

Jones is somewhat one-dimensional as a power running back, but if the Chiefs were to release him, he would likely be on the active roster for a different team on a weekly basis.

The Kansas City Chiefs made a major splash on Thursday, trading for wideout Kadarius Toney, according to multiple reports:

Breaking: Kadarius Toney
To Chiefs, source tells @theScore. #Chiefs trade their conditional 3rd round pick and 6th to #Giants.

— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) October 27, 2022

Giants have traded Kadarius Toney to the Chiefs for a conditional third pick and a sixth round pick, source confirms.@Schultz_Report on it first.

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) October 27, 2022

The trade offers Patrick Mahomes yet another speedy offensive playmaker and will have fantasy players questioning whether Toney is a must-have waiver addition this week and if the other Chiefs receivers, namely JuJu Smith-Schuster, will be impacted by the trade.

Toney is a fascinating option. His hamstring issues have limited him to just two games this season, and it has to be a concern that the New York Giants were willing to cut ties in their 2021 first-round pick's second season. Toney has also offered a mixed bag when he has played, though the flashes of upside have been tantalizing.

We all scream about Kadarius Toney's talent. He had one game in which the league fell in love with that talent against the Cowboys, and since then he has failed to live up to that standard.

The Giants were done. Apparently, Toney was as well.

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) October 27, 2022

Kadarius Toney could be huge for the Chiefs IF he can ever get healthy.

But the fact that the Giants, who are desperate for WR help, would just dump him rather than wait to see if he could get healthy, shows how much he quickly wore out his welcome with the new regime. https://t.co/vmKbDbO3tI

— Ralph Vacchiano (@RalphVacchiano) October 27, 2022

In October last year, for instance, he torched the Dallas Cowboys to the tune of 10 catches for 189 yards. The rest of his rookie season didn't come close to matching that, however, as he finished with 39 receptions for 420 yards in 10 games, never finding the end zone.

Toney has real playmaking potential, though, and he'll have the team's bye week to get up to speed. His new quarterback is certainly happy to have him:

pic.twitter.com/3jWNbjuLIR

— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) October 27, 2022

He should be added on waivers in all formats as a speculative addition. There is enough talent here to intrigue, and he's landed with an offense famous for getting the most out of dynamic wide receivers. If any team is going to extract his full potential, it's the Chiefs.

Andy Reid is going to turn Toney into a monster isn’t he. https://t.co/6IZTESQYgh

— Brett Kollmann (@BrettKollmann) October 27, 2022

Andy Reid’s track record of dealing with difficult personalities might be more important to Toney’s potential success in KC than the wide receiver’s health.

— Bruce Nolan (@BruceExclusive) October 27, 2022

As with everything Kadarius Toney, I LOVE the idea of him in Kansas City.

Just have to see him actually play consistently. But he can be the WR1 there for a long time if everything goes well.#ChiefsKingdom

— Ian Valentino (@NFLDraftStudy) October 27, 2022

“Trade: Chiefs trade their conditional 3rd-round pick and 6th-round pick to the Giants for WR Kadarius Toney, per source.”

Toney’s fantasy value:https://t.co/lCWdvHkCFA

— Moody (@EricNMoody) October 27, 2022

KC is betting that: 1. Toney will be motivated; 2. Reid can scheme him up; 3. Mahomes can lead him.

The potential is through the roof. But he's been hurt + disinterested. Veach/Reid must believe they can rehab him.

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) October 27, 2022

It shouldn't affect Smith-Schuster's impact much—the two are far different players. The veteran wideout has appeared to develop real chemistry with Mahomes in recent weeks, emerging as a solid flex option for your team.

If anything, Toney could see some of the touches that have been going to Mecole Hardman or Skyy Moore. But Smith-Schuster's role in the Kansas City offense seems secure at this point.

The Kansas City Chiefs will be without defensive end Frank Clark for their next two games.

ESPN's Adam Teicher reported Tuesday that Clark was suspended two games for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy. Since the Chiefs are on a bye, he will sit out their Week 9 game against the Tennessee Titans and Week 10 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero noted the suspension is for his weapons arrest in 2021.

Clark's case surrounding the arrest was resolved in September.

The Associated Press reported at the time he pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor possession of an assault weapon. In March 2021, a car Clark was riding in was pulled over because it didn't have a license plate. Clark was arrested when police recovered two loaded firearms.

The Michigan product was then pulled over three months later for a code violation, and police found another gun in the vehicle.

Clark was sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service and is required to show proof he completed the sentence when he returns to court in early 2023.

Legal issues predated the 29-year-old's NFL career.

Jack Baer of Yahoo Sports noted Clark was dismissed from the Wolverines football team in college following a 2014 domestic battery arrest. He pleaded guilty to a charge of disorderly conduct and also pleaded guilty to a separate felony home invasion charge for stealing a laptop.

The legal trouble didn't stop the Seattle Seahawks from selecting him with a second-round pick in the 2015 NFL draft. He played his first four seasons in Seattle and has been with Kansas City since the 2019 campaign.

He will be eligible to return in Week 11 when the Chiefs face the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium.

As the San Francisco 49ers were close to completing their blockbuster trade for Christian McCaffrey, it appeared fans would have to wait a week to see him in action.

“No way, man," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told general manager John Lynch when asked if he would play McCaffrey in Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs, per Peter King of NBC Sports.

Instead, McCaffrey wound up on the field for 21 snaps, according to Next Gen Stats, after contacting Shanahan and asking for a package of plays for his 49ers debut. The result was a modest 62 yards on 10 touches (eight carries, two receptions) but still far more than most expected from a player acquired in the wee hours of Thursday night.

McCaffrey will look to inject life into an offense that's been riddled by injuries. Trey Lance and Elijah Mitchell, the expected starters at quarterback and running back, are on injured reserve. Tight end George Kittle has missed two games. Perhaps more than any other team in the NFL, the 49ers have been snakebitten by injuries.

McCaffrey himself is no guarantee to stay on the field. He played a grand total of 10 games over the previous two seasons and has been on the injury report at points in 2022. Trading four draft picks for a player with his injury history is undoubtedly a risk.

That said, McCaffrey is on the short list of the league's most dynamic playmakers when he's on the field. For a team that fashions itself as a Super Bowl contender, it's apparently a risk Lynch and Shanahan found worth taking.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs made an emphatic statement in Week 7 following last week's defeat to the Buffalo Bills.

Kansas City pulled away in the second half in a 44-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Mahomes finished 25-of-34 for 423 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, with the offense as a whole putting up 529 yards and nearly averaging a first down (9.1 yards) on every play.

The final score is even more eye-popping when considering San Francisco quickly built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. Once the Chiefs offense started firing, the Niners had no answer.

It really is a joy to watch Patrick Mahomes play football.

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 23, 2022

Few things as fun as watching how Mahomes and Reid/Bieniemy come out of the half having seen what they need to see, alter what they need to alter and just unleash.

— Laurie Horesh (@LaurieHoresh) October 23, 2022

The way the Patrick Mahomes & the Chiefs spot teams two-score leads only to come back and bury them is truly a remarkable thing #ChiefsKingdom

— Mark Spillane (@MarkSpillane_) October 23, 2022

To say Kansas City's passing game is better without Tyreek Hill is a stretch. His absence has at least led to a more egalitarian approach that's basically just as difficult to stop. JuJu Smith-Schuster (124 yards) and Marquez Valdes-Scantling (111 yards) both hit the century mark Sunday.

JuJu and MVS have 100 yards, making this the first time in 22 years the Chiefs have had two WRs go over that mark.

— Adam Teicher (@adamteicher) October 23, 2022

Chiefs' attack has been as versatile as can remember this season: Hardman 3 TDs, MVS w 111 yards, Kelce 98, Smith-Schuster 65, McKinnon 34-yard catch and run on third and 20, Justin Watson a TD catch/CEH a TD run. Mahomes 23-31/364

— Vahe Gregorian (@vgregorian) October 23, 2022

Looked like Quarters coverage on the Mahomes deep ball throw to MVS. Inside receiver occupied the safety. There’s your 1-on-1 outside. CB has to win.

— Matt Bowen (@MattBowen41) October 23, 2022

Juju bout to get a quiet 1000 yards this season

— Will Blackmon (@WillBlackmon) October 23, 2022

The Chiefs averaged 9.1 yards per play today, their most in 81 games with Patrick Mahomes, including playoffs

They did it against the 49ers No. 1 total defense.

What a statement.

— Doug Clawson (@doug_clawson) October 23, 2022

The Bills put themselves in the driver's seat for the top seed in the AFC by going on the road and beating Kansas City.

By shredding a 49ers defense that was allowing an NFL-low 255.8 yards per game, the Chiefs reminded everybody they aren't going anywhere in the Super Bowl discussion.

The Kansas City Chiefs are expected to roll with rookie Isiah Pacheco as their starting running back for the team's road game against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Pacheco, a former Rutgers star selected with a seventh-round draft pick, took first-team practice reps this week, per Rapoport. He would replace third-year pro Clyde Edwards-Helaire as RB1.

However, both running backs "are expected to see significant snaps," and Edwards-Helaire is still in line for "a key role on offense," according to Rapoport.

The 23-year-old Edwards-Helaire enjoyed a productive start to his career when healthy, tallying 1,746 yards from scrimmage and 11 touchdowns in 23 appearances between 2020 and 2021.

Unfortunately, he missed a total of 10 regular-season games across his first two NFL seasons. His absences in 2021 included five games with a knee injury and two contests with a shoulder injury.

The dual-threat back has added 393 total yards and five scores in six games so far this season. He has notably rushed for 4.3 yards per carry (59 rushes, 256 yards).

Pacheco has amassed 149 rushing yards and one touchdown on 31 carries (4.8 YPC) thus far. He didn't get any pass game work until last Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, when he caught two passes for nine yards.

However, he's been an impressive and tough interior runner when given more opportunities. He posted a 12-carry, 62-yard performance against the Arizona Cardinals and a 11-carry, 63-yard outing versus the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this year.

The Chiefs have also rolled with Jerrick McKinnon at times in the backfield. He has 187 yards and one touchdown on 38 touches thus far.

The 4-2 Chiefs are first in the AFC West as the first half of the season nears its end. They'll take on a 3-3 49ers team Sunday that just added ex-Carolina Panthers star running back Christian McCaffrey to the roster via trade. Kickoff is 4:25 p.m. ET in Levi's Stadium.