The Kansas City Chiefs were featured in the latest NFL commercial thanking fans for their continued support. Beyond simply saying “Thank You”, players from five different teams visited fans at home or work and serenaded them with “Wind Beneath My Wings”.

Starting on the field at Arrowhead Stadium to warm up, a group of Chiefs then walked into Jack Stack to sing for the kitchen staff. Owner Clark Hunt led the way and was joined by Matt Cassel, Brandon Flowers, Derrick Johnson, Dexter McCluster and several cheerleaders.

Though none of the Chiefs players would make it through to Hollywood on ‘American Idol’, you have to give them an “A” for effort.

Stealing the show was former Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Jared Allen. He was the only team representative to give a solo performance and ended the promo pumping his fist and screaming “NAILED IT!”

One of them, Matt Cassel, was ruled out early in the week following hand surgery but the other — Demorrio Williams — was absent from the injury report all week.  Williams missed last week’s game against the Denver Broncos with a groin injury and now will sit out his second straight game.

Brandon Carr, Glenn Dorsey, Brandon Flowers and Jon McGraw were limited participants in the Chiefs final practice and are all officially listed as “questionable”.  McGraw had been a full participant earlier in the week and Dorsey is expected to play, but the two Brandons will enter Monday night as the two most likely to live up to their injury designation.

Of the Patriots 18 players on the injury report, two are “out”, one is “doubtful”, 13 are “questionable” and two are “probable”.

Chiefs

Out
Matt Cassel (Hand)
Demorrio Williams (Groin)

Questionable
Brandon Carr (Ankle)
Glenn Dorsey (Knee)
Brandon Flowers (Back)
Jon McGraw (Shoulder)

Patriots

Out
Dane Fletcher (Thumb)
Brandon Spikes (Knee)

Doubtful
Devin McCourty

Questionable
Kyle Arrington (Foot)
Patrick Chung (Foot)
Dan Connolly (Groin)
Shaun Ellis (Rib)
Kevin Faulk (Knee)
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Toe)
Gary Guyton (Shoulder)
James Ihedigbo (Shoulder)
Taylor Price (Hamstring)
Matt Slater (Shoulder)
Nate Solder (Concussion)
Jeff Tarpinian (Illness)
Sebastian Vollmer (Back)

Probable
Brian Waters (Knee)
Wes Welker (Knee)

Along with Matt Cassel who is out with a hand injury, Jon McGraw joined Brandon Carr, Glenn Dorsey and Brandon Flowers as a limited participant in practice.

McGraw sat out practice leading up to the Chiefs loss to the Miami Dolphins before returning as a full participant last week before playing against the Denver Broncos.  Considering the safety was able to avoid the injury report completely at the beginning of the week, there’s no reason to believe he won’t be able to suit up Monday night.

The Patriots also added a name to their injury report, bringing their total to a league-high 18.  LB Jeff Tarpinian did not participate in practice Friday due to an illness.  The rest of New England’s report was the same.

Chiefs

Out
Matt Cassel (Hand)

Limited Participation
Brandon Carr (Ankle)
Glenn Dorsey (Knee)
Brandon Flowers (Back)
Jon McGraw (Shoulder)

Patriots

Did Not Participate
Dane Fletcher (Thumb)
Devin McCourty (Shoulder)
Brandon Spikes (Knee)
Jeff Tarpinian (Illness)

Limited Participation
Kyle Arrington (Foot)
Patrick Chung (Foot)
Dan Connolly (Groin)
Shaun Ellis (Rib)
Kevin Faulk (Knee)
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Toe)
Gary Guyton (Shoulder)
James Ihedigbo (Shoulder)
Taylor Price (Hamstring)
Matt Slater (Shoulder)
Nate Solder (Concussion)
Sebastian Vollmer (Back)
Brian Waters (Knee)
Wes Welker (Knee)

Headlining that list is obviously Matt Cassel, who will miss the game after having surgery on his injured right hand.  The other three players were all limited and their status is obviously still up in the air: Brandon Carr, Glenn Dorsey and Brandon Flowers.

Considering how poorly the Chiefs offense has played, losing Cassel won’t hurt nearly as much as being without either Brandon.  The Patriots possess one of the most potent air attacks in the NFL and Kansas City will need Carr and Flowers both on the field to chase Wes Welker around the field.

Speaking of Welker, he is one of seventeen (17!!!!) players the Patriots have on their injury report.  As with most things in New England, good luck trying to get a read on who will or won’t play for the Patriots.

Chiefs

Out
Matt Cassel (Hand)

Limited Participation
Brandon Carr (Ankle)
Glenn Dorsey (Knee)
Brandon Flowers (Back)

Patriots

Did Not Participate
Dane Fletcher (Thumb)
Devin McCourty (Shoulder)
Brandon Spikes (Knee)

Limited Participation
Kyle Arrington (Foot)
Patrick Chung (Foot)
Dan Connolly (Groin)
Shaun Ellis (Rib)
Kevin Faulk (Knee)
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (Toe)
Gary Guyton (Shoulder)
James Ihedigbo (Shoulder)
Taylor Price (Hamstring)
Matt Slater (Shoulder)
Nate Solder (Concussion)
Sebastian Vollmer (Back)
Brian Waters (Knee)
Wes Welker (Knee)

The Kansas City Chiefs continued their work with the VFW’s “Return The Favor” program on Tuesday with a trip to Whiteman Air Force Base.  The trip was led by General Manager Scott Pioli and featured the Chiefs defensive backs.

Chiefs players were more than happy to sign autographs for the brave men and women at the base (as you can see in the picture) as the team once again got to know the fine folks at Whiteman.

This summer head coach Todd Haley got personnel from the base involved in a practice and last year the Chiefs quarterbacks and running backs spent time the day at Whiteman.

As we all get worked up about the Chiefs loss last weekend, it’s important to remember that at the end of the day it’s just a game.  These men and women — and all of those serving — deal with life and death situations and should always be thanked for their service.

Great to see the Chiefs continue with their fantastic track record of giving back to those that sacrifice so much.

It was the first time the cornerback earned the honor, but he was more than happy to give all the credit for the big plays on defense to LB Derrick Johnson.

“He did all of the dirty work,” Flowers said (via KCChiefs.com).  “Quarterbacks, receivers and cornerbacks get all of the glory, but guys like Derrick Johnson saved a lot of touchdowns for us and put them in a position that made them one-dimensional.”

Johnson received our game ball on defense after being credited with 13 tackles, most notably several momentum saving tackles on the goal line to preserve a 14-0 Chiefs lead in the second quarter.  After the huge stop, the Raiders offense wouldn’t ever get close to putting points on the board the rest of the way.

The league opened Pro Bowl voting this week and if Johnson needs to be near the front of the pack when the first batch of results are released.

The Kansas City Chiefs defense carried the team to a victory last week over the Oakland Raiders with a performance filled with big plays.  When we handed out our game balls, it was Derrick Johnson that represented the unit, but the NFL decided it was Brandon Flowers that was the best player on defense in the conference.

Flowers was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, the first time in his career he’s earned the honor.  The cornerback had two interceptions, including one returned 58 yards for a touchdown that drew more than a few middle fingers from the Raider fans in the black hole.

His performance against the Raiders was a nice bounce back for Flowers, who has struggled at times this season after being one of the best corners in the league for most of last season.

The Kansas City Chiefs intercepted Oakland Raiders quarterbacks six times on Sunday on their way to a 28-0 victory.  Two of those were courtesy of CB Brandon Flowers, who had the pleasure of picking off both Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer.

After being shaken up late in the first half with what looked like a shoulder injury, I wondered if the Raiders would try to pick on Flowers in the second half.  Try they did, but the picking was done by Flowers as he took his second interception of the day back to the house, untouched.

Flowers celebrated by putting his foot up on the football and flexing.  Using the football as a prop drew a 15-yard penalty, but it was well worth it considering the game was well in hand and it came at the expense of taunting the fans in the black hole.

Earlier in the game, Dwayne Bowe thought he scored a touchdown and did his “Bowe Show” celebration an arms reach away from the fans and was doused with inaccurately thrown beer.  Flowers was smarter and stayed in the end zone so the only way the fans could abuse him was with their words and fingers.

See if you can pick out just how many middle fingers this small section of fans are flashing at Flowers.  I think I see four, with at least two potential birds cut off at the top of the photo.

Fantastic.

QB Ricky Stanzi, S Jon McGraw, OT Steve Maneri, WR Jerheme Urban, WR Jonathan Baldwin, DL Brandon Bair, NT Jerrell Powe.

The Chiefs had two game time decisions — CB Brandon Flowers and McGraw — and the more important of the two will be playing for Kansas City.  With a lack of depth at safety, it hurts losing anyone, but the Chiefs can make up for the loss of McGraw much easier than their best corner in Flowers.

Overall, the Kansas City inactives are exactly the same as they were last week against the San Diego Chargers with S Reshard Langford being swapped for McGraw as the only exception.

It should once again be noted that Urban is a complete non-factor within the Chiefs offense.  For a team searching for a spark at wide receiver, it’s a terrible sign that the veteran is still unable to find his way onto the active roster.  Once Baldwin is playing — next week seems like a safe bet — there will be no reason to keep Urban on the roster.

Baldwin started to make enough progress early in the week that some thought he was on pace to hit the field this week, but never got over the hump while trying to overcome the thumb injury he suffered during training camp in a fight with Thomas Jones.  With four games missed, it’s looking like more and more of a mistake by the team not putting Baldwin on the PUP list.

Unlike Baldwin, Flowers looked like a guarantee to miss Sunday’s game after hurting his ankle against the San Diego Chargers.  however, he’s been practicing and, as Adam Teicher noted today, looked ready to get right back out and play against the Vikings.

By definition, Questionable means a player has a 50/50 chance of playing.  If Flowers can get on the right side of those odds and play against Minnesota, it would be a huge lift for the the struggling Chiefs.

Chiefs

Out

Jonathan Baldwin (Thumb)

Questionable

Brandon Flowers (Ankle)
Jon McGraw (Shin)

Probable

Brandon Bair (Illness)

Vikings

Questionable

Jamarca Sanford (Thigh)
E.J. Henderson (Knee)

Probable

Asher Allen (Toe)
Chris Cook (Groin)
Kevin Williams (Foot)
Tyrell Johnson (Hip)
Jim Kleinsasser (Elbow)
Adrian Peterson (Calf)