AFC Notes: Patrick Mahomes, Bo Nix, Antonio Pierce, Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders

Broncos

Denver moved to 9-5 after coming back from down 10-0 in the second half. Broncos HC Sean Payton talked about how he’s able to remain confident in their chances because of QB Bo Nix even when things aren’t going their way.

“Later in that game when we needed it, he didn’t flinch,” Payton said, via Aric DiLallla of the team’s website. “There’s a maturity and a moxie about him, which I love. I think it’s contagious to the team. When you have that at the quarterback position, your team knows you’re in every game. When you don’t have it, it’s pretty difficult, because deep down in their belly they know that’s not the case. That’s something you notice with this year, especially, and with this team.”

Chiefs

Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes said he is pushing to play in Saturday’s game against the Texans after suffering a high-ankle sprain in Week 15’s win over the Browns. 

“That’s the reason why you play this game, is to push to play. So I’ll get to work in practice and try to push it to see where I can get to,” Mahomes said, via the team’s YouTube. “But at the end of the day, I’m not going to put our team in a bad position. So, if I feel like I can play and go out there and win a football game, I’ll play. And if I don’t feel like that’s the best-case scenario, I’ll let guys like Carson [Wentz] play. I mean, he’s a guy that’s won in this league as well. So, it’s just about pushing it this week, seeing where I’m at, and making the best decision then.”

Mahomes mentioned one of his criteria for playing in Week 16 is having sufficient mobility to avoid Houston’s pass rush.  In the end, the quarterback doesn’t want to negatively impact Kansas City’s game plan. 

“I want to be able to get out of the way,” Mahomes said. “I mean, this is a good pass rush, a good defense. They fly around. You don’t want to go out there and put yourself in harm’s way. Obviously, it’s football, you’re going to take hits. But you want to be able to protect yourself. So, that’ll be where I’m at. I don’t want to limit the game plan — that’s another thing for me, is I want to still be able to move around the pocket so we’re not just sitting in one spot the whole entire game and letting their D-line really get after it. So it’s about me finding that balance, seeing where I’m at. I won’t know until close to the end of this week.”

Mahomes understands they still have a two-game lead over the Bills for the AFC’s top seed at 13-1. 

“It’s not like in the AFC Championship Game where we’re playing to get to the Super Bowl. We have a little bit of room to kind of spare,” Mahomes said. “But at the end of the day, we’re trying to win — we’re trying to win the football game. And I’m a competitor — I want to go out there and play. So, I’ll push myself to get to the best place possible over these next few days and we’ll be able to make a decision then.”

Raiders 

Now that the Raiders are 2-11, Antonio Pierce said the players are still “all in” on their season and he remains confident things will eventually go their way. 

“Guys are all in. We’re just not winning,” Pierce said, via Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “I don’t know what else to tell y’all. We’re not winning. … (But) these guys are not budging. I’m not budging. We’ll keep chopping wood. And at some point, the damn thing will break and go our way.”

Raiders CB Nate Hobbs reiterated his teammates aren’t discouraged despite their poor results.

“It’s just God teaching you a lesson. You can either learn from it and it’s going to make you stronger — or not,” Hobbs said. “The amount of ‘want to’ and resilience and people coming to play every week regardless of this (losing), it’s amazing. It’s inspiring.”

Raiders QB Desmond Ridder acknowledged how they are still searching for success and feels they are on the doorstep of positive results. 

“It’s tough being in the position we are,” Ridder said. “We’re just searching. We’re searching for a win. We’re searching for positive energy. We fight every single week … but just nothing’s happening to where we can push over the edge and get a win. At the end of the day, we’ve all got to be better.”