Travis Kelce scored three touchdowns as the Kansas City Chiefs secured a huge 30-27 AFC West divisional victory over the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday.

Patrick Mahomes found Kelce for a 17-yard touchdown with 31 seconds remaining to earn the Chiefs the victory, after the Chargers had re-claimed the lead when Josh Palmer scored his second TD with 1:51 left. There were six lead changes across the game, including three in the final quarter.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert's desperate deep pass for Keenan Allen was intercepted by Nick Bolton on a deflection with 26 seconds remaining to end the game.

Kelce finished with three touchdowns on six receptions for 115 yards, with Mahomes throwing three TDs on 20-of-34 passing for 327 yards. The win was the Chiefs' fourth in a row and moved them to 8-2 in top spot in the AFC West, with the Chargers second at 5-5.

Herbert completed 23 of 30 passes for 280 yards with two touchdowns and an interception, while he was sacked a career-high five times. The Chargers had allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL through 10 games coming in, at 13.

The Chargers led 20-13 at half-time, with Herbert threading a 50-yard first-quarter pass for Palmer. Kelce put the Chiefs ahead early in the second quarter, capping a seven-play 75-yard drive, before Austin Ekeler restored the hosts' lead.

The Chiefs went ahead again early in the fourth when Mahomes' 32-yard pass found Kelce.

Chargers veteran Allen was guilty of a fumble but pulled off a great catch in their next drive on a 46-yard sideline shot, leading to Palmer's second TD. But the Chiefs had the last laugh, with Kelce bursting through for the decisive score on a six-play 75-yard drive.

There are no more perfect teams in the NFL, just some very good ones.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost their 100 per cent record against the Washington Commanders on Monday, and will look to bounce back in Indianapolis in Week 11.

The New York Jets return from their bye week looking to continue to surprise, though they have a tough trip to the New England Patriots to contend with, while the Minnesota Vikings host the Dallas Cowboys in another enticing clash.

Stats Perform has taken a look at some of the more interesting numbers ahead of these and other big games on Sunday.

Philadelphia Eagles (8-1) @ Indianapolis Colts (4-5-1)

Philadelphia possessed the ball for just 19 minutes and 36 seconds of game time in the loss to the Commanders. It was their lowest time of possession in a game since another loss to Washington in Week 4 of the 2015 season (18:52).

Jalen Hurts rushed for a touchdown last week, giving him 20 in his career. At 24 years and 99 days old, he became the second-youngest quarterback in NFL history to reach 20 rushing touchdowns, trailing only Cam Newton (23 years, 199 days).

Matt Ryan had a 39-yard rush in last week's win over the Las Vegas Raiders, the longest run of his career. It was the longest rushing play by a Colts quarterback since Jim Harbaugh ran for 41 yards in Week 4 of the 1994 season.

With a win, Jeff Saturday would join Jim Caldwell (2009) as the only Colts head coaches to win the first two games of their careers.

New York Jets (6-3) @ New England Patriots (5-4)

The Patriots have won 13 consecutive games against the Jets, winning every meeting since the beginning of the 2016 season. That is tied for the longest active win streak against a single opponent for any team (the Chiefs over the Broncos).

The Jets entered their bye week with a 20-17 win over the Bills in which they had 136 net passing yards. They are 5-0 this season when having 250 or fewer passing yards in a game compared to 1-3 when they have more than 250.

Players aged 23 and younger have gained 2002 yards from scrimmage for the Jets this season, the most in the NFL (next most is the Colts with 1336). That is already the most scrimmage yards for the Jets by players 23 and under since the 1990 season (2452).

Jakobi Meyers leads the Patriots with 457 receiving yards this season, one of five New England players with 200+ receiving yards this season. Only the Green Bay Packers (six) have more players with at least 200 receiving yards in 2022.

Dallas Cowboys (6-3) @ Minnesota Vikings (8-1)

Last week was the Vikings' third win this season after trailing by double digits in the fourth quarter, tying the 1980 Dolphins, 2000 Jets, 2003 Colts and 2011 Lions for the most such wins in a campaign in NFL history.

Justin Jefferson has 814 receiving yards over his last six games, the most in a six-game span in Vikings history and the most by any NFL player over a six-game span in a single season since Antonio Brown recorded 868 in 2015.

With his 81-yard rushing touchdown last week, Dalvin Cook has now had a rush of at least 65 yards in five straight seasons, level with Derrick Henry (2017-21) for the longest streak by any player since the 1970 merger.

Last week's loss to Green Bay snapped the Cowboys' streak of 195 consecutive wins when leading by 14 or more points entering the fourth quarter (including postseason), which had been the longest streak in NFL history.

Elsewhere...

The Buffalo Bills take on the Cleveland Browns having had at least 100 rushing yards and 300 total yards in 16 straight games, including postseason, the third-longest streak in the Super Bowl era behind the Seattle Seahawks (19, 2014-15) and the Vikings (18, 2002-03).

The Detroit Lions will need to stop Saquon Barkley, who had a career-high 35 rushing attempts for 152 yards in the New York Giants' 24-16 win over the Houston Texans last week. His 35 rushes were the most in a game by any NFL running back this season and the most by a Giant since Joe Montgomery had 38 against the Jets in 1999. 

Ahead of facing the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has completed 76.8 per cent of his passes over his last four games, the fourth-highest by any QB over a four-game span in a single season in NFL history (minimum 140 attempts, excluding overlapping spans) behind Peyton Manning (78.8) and Philip Rivers in 2013 (78.3), and Sam Bradford in 2016 (77.9).

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 2, 27-24. Since 2018, six of the nine games between the Chiefs and Chargers have been decided by seven points or fewer, tied for the third most of any matchup since then (Bears-Lions and Texans-Colts, seven each).

Arguably the best stretch of Mecole Hardman's career has been interrupted, with the Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver set to miss the next month after being placed on injured reserve on Thursday.

Hardman, 24, scored a touchdown in three consecutive games for the first time in his career, starting in Week 6 against the Buffalo Bills, before also finding the endzone against the San Francisco 49ers and Tennessee Titans.

He was listed on the injury report with an abdominal injury following the win against the Titans in Week 9, before missing the Chiefs' Week 10 win against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Unfortunately, his prospect of a quick return evaporated during the week off, with the team deciding he is far enough away from full health to warrant the use of the injured reserve.

He will be ineligible to play for at least the next four weeks, and it comes at a time when the Chiefs' top receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is under the league's concussion protocol.

Smith-Schuster is also unlikely to play in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers, which means there will be an increased responsibility for star tight end Travis Kelce, as well as an opportunity for recently acquired Kadarius Toney.

Toney, a first-round draft pick in 2021, arrived in Kansas City less than a month ago from the New York Giants in exchange for a third-round pick and a sixth-round pick.

In his second game for the Chiefs, Toney caught four passes for 57 yards and his first touchdown from quarterback Patrick Mahomes, also receiving two carries for 33 yards.

We are somehow already at Week 10 in the NFL season, all wondering where the time actually does go.

Two of the shining lights of the campaign face off in Buffalo as the Bills host the Minnesota Vikings.

History will be made in Munich as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Seattle Seahawks in the first-ever regular season NFL game played in Germany, while the San Francisco 49ers will look to continue their return to winning ways against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Stats Perform takes a closer look at the numbers behind some of Sunday's NFL clashes.

Minnesota Vikings (7-1) @ Buffalo Bills (6-2)

The Vikings have played eight games at Highmark Stadium and have held the Bills to 23 points or fewer in each one, which is the longest streak of allowing 23 points or fewer by a visiting team in the stadium's history.

Minnesota have won six straight games, all by eight points or fewer, tied for the second-longest streak of one-possession wins in NFL history, behind a seven-game streak by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020.

T.J. Hockenson boasted nine catches on his Vikings debut last week, tying the Bills' Keith McKeller (October 18, 1987) for the most receptions by a tight end on debut with a team in the Super Bowl era.

The Bills have allowed 21 points or fewer in 12 straight regular-season games, the longest streak in franchise history and the second longest by any NFL team over the last 15 seasons (Baltimore Ravens, 13 straight from 2019-20).

Buffalo are allowing just 4.6 points per game in the second half this year. No NFL team has allowed fewer than 5.0 points per game in the second half over a full season since the Carolina Panthers in 1996 (3.5).

Seattle Seahawks (6-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)

It should be a great experience in Bavaria, but the Bucs are 0-3 in games played outside the United States (all in London), having been outscored 96-51 in those games. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are 2-0 outside the U.S. (one in Toronto, one in London), outscoring their opponents, 77-20.

Pete Carroll is in his 17th season as an NFL head coach and has had at least six wins in each campaign. The only other coach to have six or more wins in each of his first 17 seasons was Don Shula, who did so in all 33 seasons of his career.

Kenneth Walker III is the first NFL rookie to rush for a touchdown and have his team win in each of his first four career starts since Robert Edwards for the New England Patriots in 1998.

Tom Brady has thrown at least 40 passes with no interceptions in seven consecutive starts. No other QB in NFL history has done that in more than four straight starts.

The Bucs have rushed for 75 or fewer yards in eight straight games, the second-longest streak in the Super Bowl wera behind a nine-game streak by the Cardinals from 1991-92.

Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) @ San Francisco 49ers (4-4)

The Chargers are looking to win their sixth-straight game against the 49ers, which would make them the first team to do so since the Seahawks (nine games from 2014 to 2018).

Justin Herbert was not sacked in the Chargers' recent win against the Atlanta Falcons. The Chargers have allowed the fewest sacks in the league this season (10), and have not allowed 10 or fewer sacks through eight games since the 2008 season (also 10).

Through 40 career starts, Herbert has played a part in 90 touchdowns (82 passing, eight rushing). Only Patrick Mahomes (107), Dan Marino (95) and Kurt Warner (91) accounted for more scores in their first 40 starts.

San Francisco's last five games have all been decided by at least 14 points (3-2 record). They have not had six consecutive such games since an eight-game streak in 1999.

Christian McCaffrey threw for, rushed for and caught a touchdown in San Francisco's win over the Rams. He was the first player to do so since the Chargers' LaDainian Tomlinson completed the feat in Week 6 of the 2005 season.

Elsewhere...

The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) will need a plan to deal with Chiefs (6-2) QB Mahomes, who attempted 68 passes (completing 43) in last week's win over the Tennessee Titans, both of which set single-game team records. The only player to attempt more passes in a win in the NFL since 1950 was Drew Bledsoe with 70 in Week 11 of the 1994 season.

Former Chief Tyreek Hill has 1104 receiving yards this season for the Miami Dolphins (6-3), the most by any player through his team's first nine games in the Super Bowl era. Prior to this year, there had only been 11 times a Dolphins receiver recorded 1100 yards in an entire season, and Hill will look to add to those against the Cleveland Browns (3-5).

Last week was Cooper Kupp's 20th career game with at least 100 receiving yards and a touchdown, the most in the NFL since he entered the league in 2017. The only other players with more than 15 such games in that span are Davante Adams (19) and Hill (18), and the Los Angeles Rams (3-5) will need their star to step up again against the Arizona Cardinals (3-6).

Aaron Rodgers' passer rating is at 89.0 this season after posting 111.9 in 2021. The decrease of 22.9 is the largest by a Green Bay Packers quarterback (min. five games played) since Bart Starr from 1966 to 1967 (105.0 to 64.4). With a record of 3-6, the Packers will hope he can improve that against the Dallas Cowboys (6-2).

Patrick Mahomes' extraordinary success with the Kansas City Chiefs has largely been built on his incredible rapport with tight end Travis Kelce.

On Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, it was his connection with an unheralded tight end that proved to critical for Mahomes and Kansas City.

The Chiefs fought back from a 17-9 deficit to see off the Titans 20-17 in overtime and move to 6-2.

Mahomes produced magic with his legs to help the Chiefs tie the game, a 20-yard rush on third-and-17 keeping alive a scoring drive he capped with a 14-yard touchdown run. He then added the two-point conversion on another scramble.

His 68 passes were just two shy of the all-time single-game record. Mahomes completed 43 passes, again two short of the league record, with the gap between his tally and that of Titans rookie Malik Willis (five) representing the largest between two starting quarterbacks in a game.

No completion was more important than Mahomes' 27-yard connection with tight end Noah Gray on third-and-1 from the Tennessee 49-yard line.

Under pressure from Demarcus Walker, Mahomes rolled to his right before deftly evading the defensive lineman and stepping up to fire downfield to Gray, who had uncovered from the coverage of Roger McCreary. Gray leapt to make a juggling catch over the head of McCreary, putting Kansas City on the edge of the red zone.

Though the Chiefs could not clinch the game with a touchdown, Harrison Butker converted a 28-yard field goal and the defense stopped Willis and the Titans in four plays on the subsequent series to wrap it up.

"It's funny," Mahomes said. "I think I said it in training camp: I feel like I don't target Noah enough because a lot of times plays are called either to him or he's one of the options I can give him a chance on. And it seems like I don't throw it to him.

"He's always open — and so as the season's going on and as our careers go on I want to give him more and more chances, because I think he can be a big part of this offense. 

"That whole tight end room has been great for us this season. But for [Gray] to make that catch in that moment? I mean, that was a tough catch that he made; that was a big one for us. That was probably the reason that we were able to get down there and win."

Asked about his third-down run that set the comeback in motion, Mahomes replied: "I definitely saw a lane to get it close enough that I thought we'd be able to go for it [on fourth down].

"When you're in that situation, you know that if you can get it to a fourth-and-5, fourth-and-4, coach Reid's probably going to give you a chance there.

"And then as I was running, I felt the – I think it was the safety — kind of overpursuing so I kind of shot my shot and went out there. I actually tried to get outside again which didn’t work out for me; I’m not fast enough.

"But it was a good play and like I said we just battled at the end of the day. It wasn't like we were designing it up we were just going out there and trying to make some stuff happen."

Mahomes is the NFL king of making stuff happen, and his primetime heroics in Week 9 moved the Chiefs level with the 6-2 Buffalo Bills at the top of the AFC. The Chiefs are in prime position to make another run at a Super Bowl title.

Patrick Mahomes' extraordinary success with the Kansas City Chiefs has largely been built on his incredible rapport with tight end Travis Kelce.

On Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, it was his connection with an unheralded tight end that proved to critical for Mahomes and Kansas City.

The Chiefs fought back from a 17-9 deficit to see off the Titans 20-17 in overtime and move to 6-2.

Mahomes produced magic with his legs to help the Chiefs tie the game, a 20-yard rush on third-and-17 keeping alive a scoring drive he capped with a 14-yard touchdown run. He then added the two-point conversion on another scramble.

His 68 passes were just two shy of the all-time single-game record. Mahomes completed 43 passes, again two short of the league record, with the gap between his tally and that of Titans rookie Malik Willis (five) representing the largest between two starting quarterbacks in a game.

No completion was more important than Mahomes' 27-yard connection with tight end Noah Gray on third-and-1 from the Tennessee 49-yard line.

Under pressure from Demarcus Walker, Mahomes rolled to his right before deftly evading the defensive lineman and stepping up to fire downfield to Gray, who had uncovered from the coverage of Roger McCreary. Gray leapt to make a juggling catch over the head of McCreary, putting Kansas City on the edge of the red zone.

Though the Chiefs could not clinch the game with a touchdown, Harrison Butker converted a 28-yard field goal and the defense stopped Willis and the Titans in four plays on the subsequent series to wrap it up.

"It's funny," Mahomes said. "I think I said it in training camp: I feel like I don't target Noah enough because a lot of times plays are called either to him or he's one of the options I can give him a chance on. And it seems like I don't throw it to him.

"He's always open — and so as the season's going on and as our careers go on I want to give him more and more chances, because I think he can be a big part of this offense. 

"That whole tight end room has been great for us this season. But for [Gray] to make that catch in that moment? I mean, that was a tough catch that he made; that was a big one for us. That was probably the reason that we were able to get down there and win."

Asked about his third-down run that set the comeback in motion, Mahomes replied: "I definitely saw a lane to get it close enough that I thought we'd be able to go for it [on fourth down].

"When you're in that situation, you know that if you can get it to a fourth-and-5, fourth-and-4, coach Reid's probably going to give you a chance there.

"And then as I was running, I felt the – I think it was the safety — kind of overpursuing so I kind of shot my shot and went out there. I actually tried to get outside again which didn’t work out for me; I’m not fast enough.

"But it was a good play and like I said we just battled at the end of the day. It wasn't like we were designing it up we were just going out there and trying to make some stuff happen."

Mahomes is the NFL king of making stuff happen, and his primetime heroics in Week 9 moved the Chiefs level with the 6-2 Buffalo Bills at the top of the AFC. The Chiefs are in prime position to make another run at a Super Bowl title.

The Kansas City Chiefs came from behind to defeat the Tennessee Titans 20-17 in overtime on Sunday thanks to more Patrick Mahomes' heroics.

Despite Mahomes proving to be the difference late, he was bottled up early by a sharp Titans defense, holding the Chiefs to just nine points in the first three quarters.

On the back of their strong defense, the Titans built a 14-9 lead at half-time as superstar running back Derrick Henry bulled his way into the endzone for two touchdowns.

Mahomes completed a first-half touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman, but a third-quarter field goal from the Titans had them trailing 17-9 heading into the fourth period.

With the game on the line, needing a touchdown and a two-point conversion to tie, Mahomes manufactured a 13-play, 93-yard drive, culminating in a 14-yard rushing touchdown from the Chiefs quarterback to convert on third-and-nine. He then also ran in the two-point conversion.

Mahomes completed passes to four different players in his one overtime drive, highlighted by a 27-yard jump-ball to Noah Gray to convert a third-and-inches and move into the redzone, before also converting a fourth-and-one to JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Ultimately they settled for a field goal, forcing Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis to at least mount his own field-goal drive to keep the game alive, but the Chiefs defense rose to the occasion for the game-winning stop.

Mahomes ended up completing 43 of his 68 pass attempts for 446 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while also leading the Chiefs in rushing with six carries for 63 yards and a score to tie the game at 17-17.

That was in stark contrast to what the Titans asked Willis to do, as he finished five-of-16 for 80 yards. Henry was the star for Tennessee, rushing 17 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns, giving him nine touchdowns from eight games this season.

After a busy NFL trade deadline, the focus is back on the field this weekend.

Josh Allen faces Zach Wilson as the New York Jets confront a major test of their defense against the soaraway Buffalo Bills, while the Los Angeles Rams will look to keep up their remarkable record against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Could Derrick Henry have another monumental game in him after last week's big effort, and after he dispelled worries about a foot problem?

Stats Perform has taken a look at the numbers ahead of Sunday's games, beginning with the travails of the Brady bunch.

Los Angeles Rams (3-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)

The Buccaneers are on the slide, and the Rams are just about the nightmare opponents this weekend, judging by recent games between the teams.

Including Los Angeles' win in last season's Divisional Round, the Rams are 9-1 in their last 10 games against the Bucs, and that includes a 5-0 streak in Tampa.

This game is big for both, and for the Bucs it offers a chance to halt a losing sequence of three. They were beaten 27-22 by the Baltimore last week and are on their longest single-season losing run since a dismal four-game run in the 2019 season.

It remains to be seen whether Tom Brady can get them out of this mess. Brady threw for 325 yards and zero interceptions in last week's loss to Baltimore. Across his stellar career, he is 54-7 when throwing 300 yards and no interceptions, but this season he is 1-2 in such games.

Brady might fancy the job against a Rams team who have scored 14 or fewer points and lost by double-digits four times already this season, including last time out in a 31-14 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers.

Rival quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 187 yards last week on 33 attempts. His team are 2-9 in games where Stafford has thrown the ball at least 30 times and finished with fewer than 200 passing yards.

Buffalo Bills (6-1) at New York Jets (5-3)

The Buffalo Bills are 6-1 for the first time since 1993, the season they last made it through to the Super Bowl. This weekend they go after a fifth win in a row after getting the better of the Green Bay Packers last time out.

What's more, they have strung together a four-game winning streak in road games against the Jets, second only in franchise history to a seven-game streak from 1987 to 1993.

The Bills have outscored this season's opponents by 105 points (203-98) so far, the widest differential in the NFL.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen has urged the Jets to show patience with his struggling counterpart Zach Wilson, who has completed just 54.9 per cent of passes this season, the second-worst rate in the NFL heading into Week 9. Wilson has thrown for 1,048 yards across five games, with three touchdowns and five interceptions, compared to Allen's 2,198 yards for 19 TDs and six interceptions from seven games.

Stefon Diggs has at least 100 yards and a receiving touchdown in three straight games, the longest streak of the Bills wide receiver's career and tied for the longest streak in team history with Elbert Dubenion (1964). The last NFL player with a longer streak was Adam Thielen in 2018 (five). How Diggs fares against Jets rookie cornerback Sauce Gardner will be a factor.

The Jets have already topped last season's four wins, but they are 8-30 against divisional opponents since 2016, the worst record in the NFL.

Tennessee Titans (5-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)

What does Titans running back Henry have in store for an encore? Henry last week recorded his sixth career 200-yard rushing game, with 219 yards and two touchdowns against the Texans, tying Adrian Peterson and O.J. Simpson for the most all-time. All other active players have combined for just four such games.

The Chiefs will be wary of that threat, and will look to their own WR, JuJu Smith-Schuster, to make his own impact. After failing to reach 90 yards or find the endzone in his first five games this season, Smith-Schuster now has back-to-back games with at least 100 yards and a touchdown. He had not had such a game since Week 8, 2019 and now has eight such games in his career.

The Titans have won four straight regular season matchups with the Chiefs but lost in the 2020 AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.

Their respective 5-2 records this season disguise the fact each of those wins has been relatively close. The Titans and Vikings have only won by single digits this season. Only five teams in NFL history have seen such a streak reach six games – the 2020 Chiefs, 1997 Vikings, 1994 Giants, 1988 Saints and 1986 Giants. Of those, only the Chiefs' streak reached seven.

Elsewhere...

The Miami Dolphins (5-3) will be looking for a fourth consecutive road win against the Chicago Bears (3-5), which would make the Dolphins the first AFC team since the conference came into being in 1970 to have such a streak in Chicago. Miami's Tyreek Hill has gone 52 consecutive receptions without a receiving touchdown. That accounts for the longest streak of his career, nearly doubling his previous career-long streak (27, twice).

Memories of a record-setting 2014 game between the Carolina Panthers and the Bengals will be stoked when the teams meet in Cincinnati on Sunday. The last time these teams met at the home of the Bengals it finished in a 37-37 tie, and entering Week 9 in 2022 that remains the highest-scoring tie in an NFL game since the NFL and AFL merged in 1970.

The New England Patriots are 4-4 for the fifth time in the Bill Belichick era (since 2000) as they approach a home game against the Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1). The other four times the Patriots started 4-4 under Belichick, they made the playoffs three times (2001, 2005, 2021) and missed the playoffs once (2002). Between the regular season and playoffs, Belichick owns an 18-9 career record against the Colts, with only Don Shula (36 wins as coach of the Dolphins from 1970 to 1995) having achieved more such wins.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a bye this week but the team is staying busy, acquiring wide receiver Kadarius Toney from the New York Giants.

The Chiefs sent a 2023 third-round pick and a sixth-round pick in next year's draft to the Giants to complete the trade.

Toney was the 20th overall pick in the 2021 draft by New York, but his career has been marred by injuries so far.

A hamstring issue has sidelined him since Week 2 this season, while oblique and shoulder injuries limited him to just 10 games as a rookie last year.

When healthy, however, the 23-year-old has proven to be a dangerous receiver and should provide Patrick Mahomes with another weapon at his disposal.

In 2021, he hauled in 39 receptions for 420 yards, averaging 6.1 yards after the catch. He has just two catches for zero yards this season.

The Chiefs next play on November 6 against the Tennessee Titans and it is still uncertain when Toney will be able to make his Kansas City debut due to his ailing hamstring.

When Toney does suit up, he will be joining a talented pass-catching corps with receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Mecole Hardman and tight end Travis Kelce.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Frank Clark has been handed a two-game suspension, the NFL announced on Tuesday, after the three-time Pro Bowl selection pled no contest to two misdemeanour weapons charges from 2021.  

The news came as the Chiefs begin their bye week, so Clark will miss home games against the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars and will be eligible to return on November 20 against the Los Angeles Chargers.  

One charge originated from a March 2021 traffic stop in Los Angeles, when Clark was a passenger in a car with no licence plate. An officer recovered two loaded weapons from that stop.  

Three months later, officers discovered another weapon in Clark's vehicle during another traffic stop.  

Clark pled no contest to two counts of misdemeanour possession of an assault weapon in California and was sentenced to one year of probation and 40 hours of community service.  

The 29-year-old pass rusher has been limited this season by illnesses, holding him to 15 tackles and three sacks in seven games.  

Clark has 21.5 sacks since joining the Chiefs in 2019. During Kansas City's postseason run to the 2019 Super Bowl title, he had five sacks in three games.  

The Chiefs reworked Clark’s contract last offseason to keep him on a defense that ranked 29th with 31 sacks in 2021.  

Kansas City has 19 sacks this season, tied for seventh in the NFL, led by Chris Jones' five.  

By stunningly trading Tyreek Hill in the offseason, the Kansas City Chiefs parted with a player whose unparalleled speed consistently served as their easiest avenue to explosive plays.

Juju Smith-Schuster may have initially seemed a curious fit as his replacement but, after back-to-back 100-yard receiving performances, he is proving to be the ideal number one wideout for the Chiefs to attack how defenses are attempting to defend them in 2022.

While tight end Travis Kelce is Patrick Mahomes' unquestioned top target in the post-Hill era, Smith-Schuster is rapidly developing an increasingly potent rapport with a quarterback who is in a seemingly ceaseless battle with Josh Allen for the title of the league's most frightening signal-caller.

The San Francisco 49ers will spend the early part of the week before Halloween trying to learn the lessons from their previously top-ranked defense's nightmare showing against the Chiefs, one in which Smith-Schuster produced another demonstration of his increasing comfort level in an offense that has designs on overcoming the loss of Hill to right the wrongs of their playoff disappointments in the previous two seasons.

A serial separator

Having caught all five of his targets for 113 yards and a touchdown in the Chiefs' narrow defeat to the Buffalo Bills last week, Smith-Schuster enjoyed another sensational display at Levi's Stadium.

He finished with seven catches on eight targets for 124 yards and a touchdown that was the knockout blow in the Chiefs' 44-23 win over the 49ers.

Smith-Schuster produced a burn, which is when a receiver wins his matchup on a play where he is targeted, on seven of his eight targets against San Francisco and averaged 15.5 burn yards per target. Among receivers targeted at least five times in Week 7, only Jaylen Waddle and Tyler Boyd averaged more as of Sunday.

Those numbers are a continuation of a theme from the Week 6 meeting with the Bills, in which Smith-Schuster registered a burn on each of his targets and averaged 22.6 burn yards per target.

For the season, Smith-Schuster now has a burn rate of 72.3 per cent, which is third among wide receivers with at least 25 targets.

In other words, he is creating separation at an elite level and, as he displayed versus the 49ers, he is doing so regardless of the coverage he is facing.

Smith-Schuster was outstanding in Week 7 when attacking both man and zone coverage.

Against man, he used his physicality and his 215-pound frame to win his matchups with the 49ers' cornerbacks.

He ran a pivot route on third down and relied on his superior bulk to get free of Deommodore Lenoir and convert with a five-yard gain to set up the Chiefs' first touchdown to Mecole Hardman.

Smith-Schuster then converted on second down on a six-yard slant, getting physical with former Chief Charvarius Ward to keep Kansas City out of a third down situation on a drive that ended with another touchdown for Hardman.

The former Pittsburgh Steeler ended the first half with a 19-yard reception on a back shoulder throw, which he brought in by easily beating backup corner Ambry Thomas at the catch point.

In the second half, though, Smith-Schuster thrived through his ability to exploit zone coverage.

The Chiefs proved near-unstoppable on third down, and Smith-Schuster came up with a key conversion on 3rd-and-2 that eventually culminated with a Mahomes strike to Justin Watson to put them up 28-16.

San Francisco rotated to a two-deep safety zone coverage at the snap, but it was they who were fooled by Mahomes, who never turned his eyes to Smith-Schuster until the last second, the Chiefs quarterback and a route by tight end Travis Kelce holding nickel defender Jimmie Ward and creating a big hole in the zone into which Smith-Schuster ran an out-breaking route.

Smith-Schuster broke his route to the outside at the perfect depth to ensure safety Tashaun Gipson had too much ground to make up, with Mahomes putting the ball high where only his receiver could get it as they connected for a 15-yard gain.

Mahomes was able to hold the defense with his eyes because of obvious faith Smith-Schuster would be in the right spot to make the play, and that confidence in the Chiefs' new top wideout will keep blossoming if he continues to make plays after the catch, on which he has racked up 210 yards so far this season -- 13th most in the NFL.

He did so on the drive that set up Hardman's third and final touchdown, Mahomes settling for a short throw to Smith-Schuster on an underneath crosser against the 49ers' Cover 6 look protecting the endzone. Smith-Schuster broke one-tackle and gained 20 yards to put the Chiefs on the three-yard line.

The final scoring drive was dominated by Smith-Schuster, who on a second-and-20 got the Chiefs in position to convert on third down, gaining more yards after the catch on a 14-yard completion from Mahomes on a stop route. Corner Charvarius Ward was again playing zone, but dropped deep to guard against a corner route from Hardman, giving Smith-Schuster an easy reception.

His defining contribution came on the next play on another routine catch that Smith-Schuster turned into a long touchdown, capitalising on a zone coverage bust to surge 47 yards into the endzone. Smith-Schuster was left alone to settle into a huge void in the middle of the field. That space should have been occupied by All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner, but he had vacated the area to cover Kelce, leaving Smith-Schuster free to cap a dominant day for the Chiefs' offense in style.

Hardman's three touchdowns and Mahomes' 423-yard day may have attracted more attention, but it is the astute acquisition of Smith-Schuster that is unlocking this latest version of Andy Reid's offense.

Smith-Schuster offers Mahomes a receiver who excels attacking zone coverage and who can consistently turn short throws into plays that wear down a defense even when it has succeeded in forcing him to take the underneath option through the use of the two-high zones that have become the default reply to the Chiefs' attack.

Despite not having top-end speed, Smith-Schuster can critically also win against man when defenses take a more aggressive approach to the persistently infuriating challenge of trying to stop Mahomes. He could scarcely be a more different receiver to what Mahomes had when Hill was his number one wideout, but Smith-Schuster's skill set is one that gives the Chiefs answers to the variety of tests defenses are throwing at them.

And, as the burgeoning chemistry between Mahomes and Smith-Schuster grows, it will once again be defenses who are left desperately searching for a solution.

The Kansas City Chiefs' offense fired on all cylinders against a vaunted San Francisco 49ers defense on Sunday, and Juju Smith-Schuster had an interesting explanation for their success.

Kansas City recovered from an early 10-0 hole to prevail in Week 7, the Chiefs exploding and pulling away in the fourth quarter in a 44-23 triumph.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes shredded the Niners for 423 yards and three touchdowns, bouncing back in emphatic fashion after his interception on the Chiefs' first drive set up San Francisco's opening touchdown.

Smith-Schuster and Marquez Valdes-Scantling both went over 100 yards receiving and tight end Travis Kelce had 98, while Mecole Hardman found the endzone three times, twice as a rusher and once as a receiver.

San Francisco entered the game as the NFL's top defense, allowing only 255.8 yards per game, and the Chiefs were coming off a Week 6 game in which they were frustrated and held to 20 points in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.

But instead of those point-scoring issues carrying into another tough matchup, the Chiefs found the explosiveness they needed, with Smith-Schuster crediting an online gaming session between Mahomes and his pass-catchers for their devastating display.

"I'm gonna tell you what got us the chemistry when we needed this game," Smith-Schuster told a press conference. 

"So, I think it was Friday night. It was me, Pat, Travis and MVS. We were playing Call of Duty together, we were playing Warzone, and we played three games, and we won three games, back-to-back.

"We got off, and we were like, 'damn'. It's really hard to win a game in Warzone. 

"You could just... the communication between all of us, and then the chemistry? It was like we were in the game. It kind of just led into this game, and it kind of just showed on the field."

Christian McCaffrey was disappointed to suffer defeat on his San Francisco 49ers debut after a "weird week", but wants to focus on what he can control.

McCaffrey only joined the 49ers at the end of last week in a trade from the Carolina Panthers, and was thrown straight into the action against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

The Chiefs ran out 44-23 winners at Levi's Stadium, with McCaffrey only involved in 21 snaps, making 38 yards from eight carries.

The 26-year-old All-Pro was clearly still getting used to the idea of swapping Carolina for San Francisco, but said after the game he wants to get up to speed quickly.

"This was a weird week for me and for [the team]," he told reporters. "I didn't know what to expect. I know I had a certain list of plays that were up.

"For me, mentally, this was just 'focus on everything I can control and get rolling'. Obviously losing's frustrating, but I'm still getting to know these guys, I gotta do my job, I gotta make a few more plays here and just learn the offense as quick as possible.

"I'm just trying to control what I can control right now and get going."

The Niners are 3-4, having lost their last two games, and tight end George Kittle warned that McCaffrey cannot be expected to "be the saviour".

"He's not going to be the saviour, but he's definitely going to help us out," Kittle said. "I think these next two weeks are going to be huge for Christian to understand our offense and be comfortable out there not to think at all, just go out and run because that's what he's really good at.

"Like I said, penalties, turnovers, giving up big plays on defense, we've got to be better than that. We weren't today. That's how you lose football games."

The Kansas City Chiefs are the highest scoring team in the NFL through Week 7 after a convincing 44-23 road win against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.

San Francisco were in the headlines this week after pulling the trigger on a big trade for superstar running back Christian McCaffrey, but it was Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes controlling the contest.

Mahomes threw an interception on the Chiefs' first drive, but turned things around quickly and ended up completing 25 of his 34 passes for 423 yards and three touchdowns.

He tossed second-half touchdown passes to Justin Watson and JuJu Smith-Schuster, and his first touchdown pass to Mecole Hardman was the beginning of a memorable day for the speedy receiver.

After getting on the end of an eight-yard score from Mahomes in the first quarter, Hardman then took a jet-sweep 25 yards down the sideline in the second quarter for the first rushing touchdown of his career. 

Not done yet, Hardman added his second rushing touchdown and third overall score for the game with a three-yard run in the fourth period. He finished with two carries for 28 yards and two rushing TDs, with four catches for 32 yards and a receiving TD.

For the 49ers, Jimmy Garropolo was not to blame for the loss as he finished 25-of-37 for 303 yards, two touchdowns and an interception – with touchdown passes to George Kittle and Ray-Ray McCloud III.

McCaffrey carried the ball eight times for 38 yards, and caught both of his targets for 24 yards through the air.

Seahawks move above .500 with upset in Los Angeles

The Seattle Seahawks rode a spectacular performance from rookie running back Kenneth Walker III to a 37-23 upset win on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers.

Walker rushed 23 times for 168 yards and two touchdowns, capped by a 74-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to put the game to bed.

Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was solid, completing 20-of-27 passes for 210 yards and a pair of touchdown passes to Marquise Goodwin as he assumed a major role following a knee injury to key wide receiver D.K. Metcalf.

Chargers star Austin Ekeler remains the top running back in fantasy football, rushing for 31 yards and a touchdown, as well as catching all 12 of his targets for 96 yards and a second score.

Christian McCaffrey is expected to make his debut for the San Francisco 49ers against the Kansas City Chiefs.

Former All-Pro running back McCaffrey was traded to the 49ers from the Carolina Panthers on Thursday for second, third and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024.

The tight turnaround initially made it look unlikely McCaffrey would be overly involved in a rematch of Super Bowl LIV from the 2019 season.

However, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, McCaffrey will play and the 49ers will have a package of plays ready for him.

The Chiefs will have a new lead runner in their backfield, with rookie Isaiah Pacheco set to get the bulk of the carries over 2020 first-round pick Clyde Edwards-Helaire.

Kansas City's closest rivals in the AFC West, the 4-2 Los Angeles Chargers, face NFC West opponents themselves in the form of the Seattle Seahawks.

They had hoped to have wide receiver Keenan Allen back from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since Week 1, but his status was still up in the air heading into Sunday.

Star Seahawks wideout Tyler Lockett is set to play having been listed as questionable with a hamstring injury of his own.

The Baltimore Ravens, another prospective AFC contender, have been boosted with tight end Mark Andrews (ankle) and Rashod Bateman (knee) both active for their meeting with the Cleveland Browns. 

The Dallas Cowboys will not have to defend D'Andre Swift in Dak Prescott's return to action. Detroit Lions running back Swift is once again inactive because of ankle and shoulder injuries.

Detroit's division rivals the Green Bay Packers are looking to end a two-game losing run and get their offense back on track against the Washington Commanders.

Yet they will be without oft-injured left tackle David Bakhtiari because of a flare-up in his knee. The Packers have remodelled a struggling offensive line, shifting Elgton Jenkins from right tackle to left guard. Yosh Nijman takes over at right tackle, with rookie Zac Tom filling in for Bakhtiari.

Wide receiver Sammy Watkins will return from a knee injury as Aaron Rodgers desperately searches for targets he can trust.