Seahawks wide receivers DK Metcalf (shoulder) and Tyler Lockett (knee) returned to full participation in Friday’s practice. Neither player has a designation for Sunday.
Metcalf and Lockett missed the first two practice days this week.
Metcalf has 46 receptions for 697 yards and three touchdowns, and Lockett 38 receptions for 495 yards and two.
Every player on the roster practiced Friday.
Defensive end Leonard Williams (foot), tight end Brady Russell (foot), offensive tackle Abraham Lucas (knee) and nose tackle Jonathan Hankins (rest) also returned to practice Friday.
The only players with an injury designation are Russell and Finley.
America’s Team is no longer America’s Team. But a captive audience is a captive audience.
Thursday’s Giants-Cowboys game racked up 38.5 million viewers, according to Fox.
It’s the fourth highest audience for a Thanksgiving game ever. And it gave Fox a 14-percent bump over last year’s Packers-Lions game on Thanksgiving.
The Dallas game still dropped from last year. Commanders-Cowboys on CBS drew 41.8 million.
In 2022, Giants-Cowboys on Fox attracted 42.06 million. In 2021, Raiders-Cowboys broke 40 million, at 40.8.
Last year, the three Thanksgiving Day games averaged 34.1 million viewers.
The Chiefs have far more they want to accomplish this season as they seek a three-peat, but they took a necessary first step Friday.
The Chiefs became the first team to clinch a playoff berth.
The Dolphins’ loss to the Packers on Thanksgiving Day set up the Chiefs to secure their spot Friday. They did that in an unexpected way, with a premature snap from Raiders center Jackson Powers-Johnson that bounced off quarterback Aidan O’Connell’s chest and was recovered by the Chiefs on the final play.
It is the 10th consecutive season the Chiefs are in the postseason.
The Chiefs are 3 1/2 games ahead of the Chargers in the AFC West, so it shouldn’t be long before they have a chance to clinch the division title. They have won eight consecutive division titles.
The story of the 2024 Chiefs season has been one of close escapes and Black Friday’s chapter might be the most improbable one yet.
The Raiders forced a punt down 19-17 with two minutes left to play and drove from their 8-yard-line to the Chiefs’ 32-yard line as the seconds ticked off the clock. Quarterback Aidan O’Connell spiked the ball to stop the clock on a second down with 15 seconds left and the Raiders lined up to snap the ball one more time before presumably trying a game-winning field goal.
That’s when disaster struck. Rookie center Jackson Powers-Johnson snapped the ball before the Raiders were set, the ball bounced off of O’Connell’s chest and the Chiefs recovered to seal their 11th win of the season. The win makes the Chiefs the first team in the league to clinch a playoff berth.
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce should be grilled on why O’Connell spiked the ball with so much time left on the clock and he’ll likely be questioned about using a timeout to try a 58-yard field goal with under three minutes to play. Daniel Carlson had already missed 55- and 56-yard tries and missed badly to give the Chiefs the ball near midfield. Unless Pierce was trying to hammer home his mid-week assertion that the Raiders are the worst team in the league, it’s hard to imagine making either call and making both of them really hurt the Raiders’ chances of winning the game.
The Chiefs got out to a 16-3 lead on a Justin Watson touchdown catch and three Matthew Wright field goals, but the Raiders erased it with a pair of long touchdown passes late in the third quarter and on the first play of the fourth. The Chiefs regained the lead on another Wright field goal that set the stage for the wild final moments.
O’Connell was 23-of-35 for 340 yards in his return from a right thumb injury. He was sacked three times and had a couple of passes batted down at the line of scrimmage before the ill-fated decision to try the 58-yard field goal.
Raiders tight end Brock Bowers had 10 catches for 140 yards and a score while Jakobi Myers had six catches for 97 yards and Tre Tucker reeled in a 58-yard score. They also got a good game from running back Sincere McCormick and a strong effort from their defense, so this loss will sting even more than most of the other ones on their growing list of defeats.
The Raiders have been officially eliminated from playoff contention. They will be in Tampa next weekend.
The Chiefs struggled to protect Patrick Mahomes all game and moved left guard Joe Thuney to left tackle to replace Wanya Morris down the stretch. It didn’t do much to help and the team will likely be working overtime to get the recently signed D.J. Humphries ready to go.
Next Sunday night brings a home date with the Chargers that will carry a lot of significance in the AFC playoff picture. Given their weekly issues, it’s hard to imagine the Chiefs patching everything together by then but signs that it can happen would be welcome.
The Chiefs became the first team to clinch a playoff berth on Black Friday. Here’s how the rest of the NFL playoff picture looks for Week 13 heading into Black Friday:
NFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Detroit Lions (11-1): Held on to beat the Bears.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (9-2): 2.5-game lead in the NFC East.
3. Seattle Seahawks (6-5): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Falcons and Cardinals.
4. Atlanta Falcons (6-5): One-game lead in the NFC South.
WILD CARDS
5. Minnesota Vikings (9-2): Lost at home to the Lions.
6. Green Bay Packers (9-3): Lost at home to the Lions and Vikings.
7. Washington Commanders (7-5): Need to reverse their recent slide.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Arizona Cardinals (6-5): Sunday’s loss to the Seahawks was big.
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-6): Own the NFC record tiebreaker over the Rams.
10. Los Angeles Rams (5-6): Own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the 49ers.
11. San Francisco 49ers (5-6): Preseason NFC favorites are at risk of missing the playoffs.
12. Dallas Cowboys (5-7): Thanksgiving win kept them alive.
13. New Orleans Saints (4-7): Two games out in the division.
14. Chicago Bears (4-8): Deep in last place in the NFC North.
15. Carolina Panthers (3-8): Playing much better football of late.
16. New York Giants (2-10): Mathematically eliminated.
AFC Playoff Picture
DIVISION LEADERS
1. Kansas City Chiefs (11-1): Clinched a playoff berth.
2. Buffalo Bills (9-2): If they can catch the Chiefs in the standings, they’ll have the head-to-head tiebreaker.
3. Pittsburgh Steelers (8-3): Beating the Ravens head to head was big.
4. Houston Texans (7-5): They’re not playing well, but they should win the AFC South by default.
WILD CARDS
5. Baltimore Ravens (8-4): Big win over the Chargers on Monday night.
6. Los Angeles Chargers (7-4): Big loss to the Ravens on Monday night.
7. Denver Broncos (7-5): Bo Nix has led them to a two-game lead in the wild card race.
OUTSIDE LOOKING IN
8. Indianapolis Colts (5-7): Catching the Texans in the AFC South will be a long shot.
9. Miami Dolphins (5-7): Losing to the Packers on Thanksgiving hurt any hopes they had of making a late-season run.
10. Cincinnati Bengals (4-7): Probably need to run the table to get to the playoffs.
11. Cleveland Browns (3-8): Deshaun Watson dug a hole that Jameis Winston won’t be able to dig the Browns out of.
12. New York Jets (3-8): The Aaron Rodgers experience is trending toward disaster.
13. Tennessee Titans (3-8): A big upset over the Texans on Sunday.
14. New England Patriots (3-9): Drake Maye is showing promise, but this team is a long way from contention.
15. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9): Doug Pederson is on the hot seat.
16. Las Vegas Raiders (2-10): Antonio Pierce is on the hot seat.
Clinching scenarios
Buffalo Bills (9-2) vs. San Francisco 49ers (5-6); Sunday night, 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC
Buffalo clinches AFC East division title with:
- BUF win
NFC
Detroit Lions (10-1) vs. Chicago Bears (4-7); Thursday, 12:30 p.m. ET, CBS
Detroit clinches a playoff berth with:
- SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + TB loss or tie
- SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + TB loss or tie
- SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
- SF loss or tie + ARI loss or tie + SEA loss + WAS loss + ATL tie
- SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss or tie + ATL loss
- SF loss or tie + ARI loss + SEA tie + WAS loss + ATL tie
Note: There are additional scenarios in which Detroit can clinch a playoff spot with a tie and other outcomes that involve the Lions clinching the strength of victory tiebreaker.
The Eagles added linebacker Ben VanSumeren to the injury report Friday.
He was listed as limited with a knee injury but ruled out.
VanSumeren, it turns out, will miss the rest of the season, too.
Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports VanSumeren’s injury at Friday’s practice is season-ending.
VanSumeren is listed at linebacker, but he has not played any snaps on defense. He has played 22 snaps on offense as a fullback, and he was a core special teams player with 213 snaps in 11 games.
VanSumeren has three tackles this season after making 13 in nine games last season.
The Buccaneers placed safety Jordan Whitehead on injured reserve Friday, the team announced.
Whitehead tore a pectoral muscle during Sunday’s win over the Giants, but the Bucs are hoping he can return this season. He will miss at least the next four games.
Mike Edwards replaced Whitehead in the lineup.
Whitehead has 76 tackles this season, one behind team-leader Lavonte David, along with two tackles for loss, one quarterback hit and three passes defensed.
The Bucs signed linebacker Vi Jones to the 53-player roster from the practice squad in a corresponding move.
Jones has appeared in the Buccaneers’ past three games and thus was out of practice squad elevation options.
He has played 13 snaps on defense and 43 on special teams. He has one tackle assist on defense. Jones also played three games for the Seattle Seahawks in 2022.
It took the Raiders nearly 45 minutes to find the end zone on Friday afternoon, but it didn’t take nearly as long for them to take a second trip.
After cutting the Chiefs’ lead to 16-10 with a Brock Bowers touchdown with 100 seconds left in the third quarter, the Raiders forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball back. On the first play of the fourth quarter, quarterback Aidan O’Connell hit wide receiver Tre Tucker in stride for a 58-yard score.
The extra point gave the Raiders a 17-16 lead.
Letting teams hang around has been a familiar script for the Chiefs this season and they are doing it again on Sunday. They’ve pulled out their previous flirtations with lesser opponents and we’ll see if they do the same this week.
The Raiders are back within one score late in the third quarter of Friday’s road game against the Chiefs.
Quarterback Aidan O’Connell floated a pass to tight end Brock Bowers for a 33-yard score with 1:40 to play in the third quarter. Daniel Carlson’s extra point cut the Chiefs’ lead to 16-10.
The Raiders took over on the Chiefs’ 26-yard-line thanks to a 69-yard kickoff return by Ameer Abdullah and then moved back due to their seventh penalty of the afternoon.
Bowers has six catches for 94 yards on the day and O’Connell is 12-of-20 for 205 yards overall.
The Chiefs moved the ball fairly well on their first two possessions of the second half. The running game has not been effective, however, and the Raiders pass defense has tightened up in the red zone, which led to two Matthew Wright field goals that extended the lead to 13 points rather than putting the game away.
The 49ers are set to have quarterback Brock Purdy back in the lineup this weekend.
Purdy missed last Sunday’s loss to the Packers with a right shoulder injury, but he was a full participant in practice on Friday. While the 49ers listed Purdy as questionable on their final injury report, head coach Kyle Shanahan said that the team expects him to start against the Bills.
The quarterback won’t have left tackle Trent Williams or left guard Aaron Banks blocking for him, however. Williams has been ruled out for the second straight game with an ankle injury while Banks is in the concussion protocol.
Defensive end Nick Bosa (hip, oblique) is also out for the second week in a row. Cornerback Deommodore Lenoir (knee), and defensive tackle Jordan Elliott (concussion) have also been ruled out for the Niners.
