Halfway through the NFL season, and with the Thanksgiving holiday upon us, it's fitting to focus on what Kansas City Chiefs fans have to be thankful for this year. But no matter which team you support, here's hoping that all the readers of RealFootball365.com have a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
One final glimpse of Priest Holmes
His improbable comeback only lasted a month, but just seeing No. 31 back on the field was both a treat and an inspiration for fans. While he didn't have the same breakaway speed he once had in his prime, many of Holmes' other traits - the vision, the elusiveness - showed no ill-effects from his two years away from football.
Although he never got the opportunity to display his signature arms-extended touchdown glide, Holmes did score a two-point conversion against the Green Bay Packers, leaping over the pile and into the end zone in classic "Air Priest" fashion.
Dwayne Bowe
Just 10 games into his first NFL season, it's become clear that the wide receiver from LSU is the sort of game-changing, big-play threat Kansas City has lacked for many years. Bowe is not only on pace for a 1,000-yard season as a rookie, he's well on his way to shattering every franchise record for first-year receivers.
With 11 more catches, two more touchdowns and just over 120 more yards, he'll put his name in the books as the best rookie pass catcher in Chiefs history - a list that includes names like Otis Taylor, Tony Gonzalez and Joe Horn, among others.
Jared Allen
Still disrupting opposing offenses, Kansas City's defensive end entered Week 12 tied for the league lead in sacks despite his two-game suspension to open the season. Even though he didn't register a sack on Peyton Manning in the Chiefs' 13-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts a week ago, Allen played one of the best games of his career and was a primary reason that Manning only completed 50 percent of his passes for a mere 163 yards.
Allen, who will be a free agent when the season ends, has cleaned up his act off the field and is sure to receive the long-term contract with the Chiefs he's been looking for.
Brodie Croyle
Kansas City's first homegrown starter in 20 years, Croyle nearly did the unthinkable by engineering a road win over the Super Bowl champions in his first NFL start. Ultimately, the Colts pulled out the win with a last-second field goal, but Croyle's numbers on the day - 169 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions - gave him a passer rating over 45 points higher than Manning's.
"Niiiine times"
In a well-known scene from the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," high school principal Ed Rooney delivers that classic phrase as he informs Ferris' mother of how much school her son has missed. Today, the phrase could also apply to Kansas City's streak of victories over its rival in Oakland, which stretched to nine with a win in Week 7.
On Sunday, the Chiefs can reach an unprecedented double-digit winning streak over the Raiders with a victory at home in Arrowhead. But it won't come easy - with a rookie starting at running back and a QB making just his second start, this will unquestionably be the most difficult game in this series for Kansas City since 2002.
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