November 12, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Kansas City Chiefs inside linebacker Jovan Belcher (59) on the field before playing the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 16-13 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-US PRESSWIRE

Kansas City Police spokeman Darin Snapp has released this statement regarding the murder/suicide involving Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend:

About (7:50 a.m), we got a call to a residence, in regards to a shooting, on the 5400 block of Crysler Avenue. The young woman was taken to a local hospital, where she died a short time later.

At about 8:10 a.m., we received a call to the Arrowhead practice facility in regards to a black male armed with a gun in the parking lot, and he matched the description of the shooting suspect. Officers arrived, saw a black man with a gun to his head, and some Chiefs employees. As the officer got out of his car, he heard a gunshot. It appeared the individual shot himself. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt released this statement earlier today:

The entire Chiefs family is deeply saddened by today’s events, and our collective hearts are heavy with sympathy, thoughts and prayers for the families and friends affected by this unthinkable tragedy. We sincerely appreciate the expressions of sympathy and support we have received from so many in the Kansas City and NFL communities, and ask for continued prayers for the loved ones of those impacted.

We will continue to fully cooperate with the authorities and work to ensure that the appropriate counseling resources are available to all members of the organization.

The NFL has also issued a brief statement:

Our thoughts and prayers are with Chiefs and the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this terrible tragedy. We connected Chiefs with our professional counselors to support both the team and the families. We’ll continue to provide assistance.

The Chiefs have announced they will still play tomorrow’s scheduled game vs. the Carolina Panthers.

Keep up with latest coverage of this at our Kansas city Chiefs fansided affiliate: arrowheadaddict.com.

Our thought and prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy.

The gameplan against the Chiefs was outstanding. Jay Gruden knew that the Chiefs play almost exclusively press-man coverage with two high safeties or a single high out of which they will either press or bail in man coverage.

With route combinations and an audible package suited for any option that the Chiefs threw at them, the Bengals were able to move effectively down the field. Even as the Chiefs became increasingly complicated pre-snap, Dalton was always one step ahead.

Andy Dalton checks into a run to the right after diagnosing the overload blitz to his left.

In this play on the Bengals’ first possession, Dalton sees the cornerback cheating in and the safeties beginning to roll to compensate for the corner blitz. It is not rocket science, but Dalton checked into a stretch zone run to the right, away from the flow of the defense motioning to Dalton’s left.

Although the overload blitz was successful in reaching Dalton, especially when it caused Tamba Hali to be isolated against Andrew Whitworth, he often checked into a draw or stretch play that played off the defense’s aggressiveness. While Dalton could have done a better job finding a hot receiver on a few plays, he did the smart thing against blitzes with the defense in exclusively man: he tucked the ball in and ran.

That might sound familiar from the preseason, because that is exclusively what the Aaron Rodgers did to the Bengals.

November 18, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis congratulates wide receiver A.J. Green (18) in the second half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. The Bengals won 28-6. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE

Cincinnati’s victory over the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium was significant for two reasons. The Bengals now have momentum heading into a stretch of very winnable games. The Raiders and Eagles look to have the Bengals favored, while Dallas and San Diego are not exactly intimidating.

Even more importantly, the Bengals were able to come back after a huge 31-13 against the Giants and beat the Chiefs quite handily, 28-6. No let down, no loss of focus and no playing down to an inferior competition. For the second week in a row the Bengals were playing at a high level.

Of course, not everything was perfect. Andrew Whitworth, whose technique and awareness have served him more than his deteriorating physical skills this season, was abused by Tamba Hali to the tune of two sacks. Of course, many left tackles have been, Whit surely is not the first, but Hali’s combination of speed and strength and arsenal of counter moves exposed Whitworth’s lack of lower-body power this season.

Eventually tight end Jermaine Gresham began chipping Hali to help Whit out, including one particularly great play in which Gresham bowled over Hali then released to the flat for a nice catch-and-run. After a lull in the season in which he seemed to suffer from drops and concentration lapses, Gresham has shown a consistent high level of play these past two weeks. He has shown an ability to eat up yards after the catch as well as make tough catches on post routes.

While Gresham had previously not managed to consistently use his frame to make that tough reception between the linebacker and safety, he has been boxing out smaller defenders down the seam a few times a game.

The offensive line managed to really plow the way in the running game, pushing around Kansas City’s defensive line. BenJarvus Green-Ellis ran 25 times for 101 yards and 4 YPC, while Cedric Peerman had 8 carries for 75 yards and a 9.4 average. Even if Peerman’s run for a first down on a fake punt is disregarded, which was one of the plays that really kick-started the Bengals, he still had 7 carries for 42 yards and an average of 6 YPC.

Many of those runs, including Green-Ellis’ touchdown, went directly behind rookie guard Kevin Zeitler. He and Andre Smith continue to become a strong run-blocking tandem. Trevor Robinson continued to play up and down, but the ups were more than the downs.