USA Today - 17.10.2019

4C z THURSDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2019 z USA TODAY SPORTS

Chiefs (4-2) at Broncos (2-4)

TV: 8:20 p.m. ET Thursday,

NFL Network, Fox

Pregame.com line:Chiefs by 3

Chiefs’ keys:QB Patrick Mahomes,

who has thrown for at least 315

yards in five of the six games this

season, will look to attack a Denver

secondary that has been exposed

by the absence of CB Bryce Call-

ahan (foot). Callahan’s replace-

ment, Isaac Yiadom, has looked so

poor that he was benched in favor

of Davontae Harris, who started

the season as the sixth-string cor-

nerback. Kansas City needs to

harass Broncos QB Joe Flacco, who

has turned the football over seven

times in six games.

Broncos’ keys: The Chiefs are

beatable: They’ve lost their last

two games, and two of their wins

were decided by less than a touch-

down. Their defense has allowed

opposing starting running backs to

rush for at least 99 yards in five of

six games this season, so expect

the Broncos to get RBs Phillip Lind-

say and Royce Freeman involved

early. On defense, Denver needs to

keep Mahomes in the pocket.

Matchup to watch:Chiefs TE Travis

Kelce vs. Broncos LBs Alexander

Johnson and Todd Davis. Kelce has

been Mahomes’ favorite target this

season and has caught 55 passes

for 762 yards and four touchdowns

in nine games against Denver.

Kelce likely will be matched up

against a linebacker, a big mis-

match in the Chiefs’ favor.

Who wins?The last three times the

Chiefs have played in Denver, the

game has been decided by four or

fewer points. The Broncos always

seem to put up a good fight

against their AFC West Division

rivals, but Kansas City’s high-scor-

ing offense will be too much to

overcome. Chiefs, 28-

• Jon Heath, Broncos Wire

THURSDAY PREVIEW

If there’s one thing we’ve learned

about the Rams the last three years, it’s

that they don’t believe in “safe.”

“Conservative” also has no place in

the vocabularies of general manager Les

Snead and team president Kevin De-

moff.

In two aggressive offseasons, they

overhauled a once-feeble roster, giving

coach Sean McVay the pieces to contend

for a Super Bowl. They made more

moves last offseason, hoping that the

franchise can avoid the dreaded Super

Bowl hangover.

The Rams’ decision-makers are

proven wheelers and dealers.

They’ll ship off premium picks for es-

tablished veterans.

They’ll open the checkbook to pay

big-name free agents and re-sign their

own to record extensions.

So it shouldn’t have come as a sur-

prise when the Rams sprang into action

again on Tuesday. They shipped Pro

Bowl cornerback Marcus Peters to the

Ravens, then turned around and ac-

quired an even more talented defensive

back in Jalen Ramsey from Jackson-

ville.

The Jaguars’ asking price of two first-

round picks scared off many teams, but

not the Rams, who also threw in a

fourth-rounder for good measure. They

felt the need for a game-changing reme-

dy at cornerback where Peters has

yielded big plays with greater frequency

and where Aqib Talib is headed for in-

jured reserve with a rib injury.

But because of the current state of

the Rams – losers of three consecutive

games for the first time under McVay,

with the two most recent defeats com-

ing to NFC West rivals Seattle and San

Francisco, and with injuries mounting –

the Ramsey acquisition smacks of des-

peration.

Under different circumstances, this

would have been classified as yet anoth-

er aggressive and gutsy move by the

Rams’ brain trust.

But those losses did happen, and

they were preceded by an embarrassing

debacle at Los Angeles Coliseum in

which the Rams’ defense allowed the

same Jameis Winston, who threw five

interceptions on Sunday against the

Panthers, to torch them for four touch-

down passes in a 55-40 upset.

So if the move feels desperate, that’s

because the Rams are indeed.

You can argue whether the Super

Bowl hangover is real. But it’s impossi-

ble to deny that the pressure certainly is

mounting.

The Rams are 3-3 and the division

has gotten better around them. San

Francisco boasts a 5-0 record and Seat-

tle a 5-1 mark.

Blessed largely with good health the

last two seasons, the team now sudden-

ly has an ever-expanding injury report,

and it features some of their most prom-

inent players.

Rams officials know that while this

window of opportunity to contend for

supremacy in this league opened quick-

ly, it will close in similar fashion.

Having spent generously both to

bring in more talent and retain stars like

Todd Gurley, Jared Goff and Aaron Don-

ald – making each among the highest-

paid players at their positions – the

Rams now own the third-highest payroll

in the league.

And there’s only so much time before

salary cap restrictions will prohibit

them from acquiring top-level pieces at

a similarly aggressive pace.

And on top of that, the Rams still are

trying to win over a fan base in a city

that’s long been considered a college

football town. Despite their success in

2017 and 2018, the seats of Los Angeles

Coliseum still feature a large number of

out-of-town fans rather than an over-

whelming home crowd. The Rams,

along with their Los Angeles stepsister

Chargers, are opening a new $5 billion

stadium next summer, and team archi-

tects know that the best way to prevail

in the war for Los Angeles and pack out

that stadium with their own fans is to

win now, win big and win consistently.

A return to the Super Bowl, and win-

ning it, would go a long way to helping

the Rams further establish themselves

in the city.

That’s why with Talib hurt and Peters

struggling, they felt pressure to make

this move for Ramsey.

According to a person with knowl-

edge of the situation, the team had a de-

gree of interest in the fourth-year cor-

nerback weeks ago when he made his

initial trade request. However, Jaguars

ownership really didn’t want to trade

Ramsey (the fifth overall pick of the 2016

draft) and placed a high asking price on

him.

The Rams initially hesitated, accord-

ing to the person, who spoke on condi-

tion of anonymity because they weren’t

authorized to speak on the matter. But

when Talib got hurt, and with Baltimore

willing to take Peters off their hands, the

Rams felt like it was time to make a

move.

But the Ramsey acquisition does

come with risks.

Although regarded by many as the

best cornerback in the game, Ramsey

has not played at that same elite level

this season because of injuries. Critics

suspected that he sat out the last three

games as a move to expedite his exit

from Jacksonville. But the back injury is

indeed real.

The Rams hope that Ramsey can

quickly regain full health so he can give

them a proper return on their invest-

ment.

But then there’s this: Ramsey comes

to Los Angeles with only 1^1 ⁄ 2 years left on

his contract and there’s no guarantee

that he sticks around for the long term.

Although he has this season and next

year’s fifth-year option on his rookie

contract remaining, Ramsey reported

for training camp in search of a long-

term contract from Jacksonville that

would have made him the highest-paid

cornerback in the league. He still wants

that big payday. However, according to a

person familiar with his thinking, he’s

unsure about signing a multiyear deal

with the Rams. He would prefer to keep

his options open while evaluating the

best situation for his family.

On top of Ramsey’s uncertainty, the

Rams also will have to work hard to find

the money to keep him because they

also need to re-sign other key players

like pass rusher Dante Fowler Jr. and

Michael Brockers.

The Rams might have paid two pre-

mium picks for a 1^1 ⁄ 2 -year rental. Howev-

er, the team’s decision-makers deemed

the acquisition a risk worth taking.

If healthy, Ramsey certainly up-

grades Los Angeles’s secondary.

But he can’t help cure Gurley’s ailing

quad and ongoing knee issue.

He can’t fortify a line that’s strug-

gling with chemistry and performance

issues following the offseason depar-

tures of guard Rodger Saffold and center

John Sullivan.

And he can’t help Goff get his groove

back.

That laundry list still needs address-

ing by McVay, Snead and Demoff.

But roughly two weeks remain before

the NFL’s trade deadline.

As Tuesday showed, the Rams have

no problem taking risks, so the block-

buster move for Ramsey might repre-

sent only the start of another aggressive

push.

The Rams acquired fourth-year cornerback Jalen Ramsey from the Jaguars for

two first-round picks and a fourth-round selection. REINHOLD MATAY/USA TODAY SPORTS

Mike Jones

Columnist

USA TODAY

Rams’ blockbuster Ramsey

trade seems a bit desperate

NFL owners on Wednesday wrapped

up their fall meetings in Fort Lauder-

dale, Florida, and as he addressed re-

porters to conclude the day, commis-

sioner Roger Goddell conveyed a sense

of encouragement over the status of dis-

cussions on the collective bargaining

agreement.

Negotiations between the league and

the players union will continue in the

coming weeks, and Goodell expressed

optimism that the sides can reach their

goal of hammering out a new deal before

the NFL faces the risk of a work stop-

page following the 2020 season.

“We’re hopeful that we all see the

benefits of doing something earlier and

getting something done,” Goodell told

reporters.

Goodell confirmed that one of the el-

ements discussed in the meetings in-

volved the expansion of the regular sea-

son to 17 games.

However, according to two people

with knowledge of the discussions

among owners during the meetings

Tuesday and Wednesday, there’s a sig-

nificant rift on the matter of extending

the season. The people spoke to USA

TODAY Sports on the condition of ano-

nymity because of the sensitive nature

of the talks.

The potential of an 18-game regular

season was met with strong opposition

among owners, so the focus shifted to a

17-game slate.

However, nearly half of the team

owners oppose that setup as well and

would prefer to continue playing just 16

games.

A 17-game season isn’t dead, but the

owners need to hash out more details on

such a setup.

Beyond maintaining the usual Labor

Day weekend start date and playing fur-

ther into February, there are currently

few concrete ideas on how the league

would make a 17-game regular season

work.

Questions during the owners’ discus-

sions involved how they would deter-

mine if that 17th game would represent

an extra home game for half the teams

or if it would be an international game.

Shortening the preseason by a week

also could come into play.

And the matter of implementing an

additional bye week also was discussed.

However, the owners reached no real

resolutions.

From the players’ standpoint, there

is a level of reservation of playing an

extended regular season because of

questions involving the additional

physical toll it would subject them to

and how a 17-game slate would affect

their salaries.

17-game NFL season idea still presents hurdles

Mike Jones

USA TODAY

Commissioner Roger Goodell gave an update Wednesday on the collective

bargaining agreement talks. The CBA expires after the 2020 season.AP