VILLAGE OF LOCH LLOYD, Mo. — When a massive fire caused extensive damage to a home in the Village of Loch Lloyd, the quick actions of a Kansas City Chiefs player may have helped keep the homeowner from harm.The fire broke out late Thursday in the home on Street of Dreams in the Cass County gated community.Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel lives in a nearby house.Neighbors told KMBC 9 News that Cassel’s wife first spotted the smoke and flames coming from the home’s chimney. Cassel ran to his neighbor’s house, rang the doorbell, pounded on the front door and started to circle the house until he saw the woman who lives there come outside.The woman said she didn’t realize her house was on fire until the Cassels acted.No one was hurt in the fire. The woman’s husband was out of town when the fire started.One neighbor told KMBC 9′s Cliff Judy, “I know Matt wouldn’t want this kind of attention, but I definitely think he was a hero last night.”Late Friday night, Cassel called a neighbor and gave permission for the man to relay a message to Judy.”I wasn’t heroic at all,” Cassel said. “I just ran up to the house and alerted them. The real heroes are the firefighters.”Fire marshals said they have not determined how the fire started. Investigators said the damage to the home was significant, but they have not declared it a total loss.Cassel started the first nine games of the season for the Chiefs until he suffered a season-ending hand injury.

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By Jeremy Mauss

– Newsdesk contributor

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Nov 27, 2011 – The Kansas City Chiefs are hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night football and are a 10.5 home underdog. That number seems correct since the Chiefs are not going to have Matt Cassel who has been placed on the injured reserve with a broken hand. With Cassel out the Chiefs will be turning to Tyler Palko who is making his second career start, and being against a Steelers defense that is second in the NFL in yards allowed per game. In his first start for Cassel, Palko completed 24-of-37 passes for 230 yards, but he also threw three interceptions and no touchdowns against the New England Patriots.

Date, time: Sunday, Nov. 27, 8:20 p.m. CT

Location: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.

TV: NBC

Coverage Map: The506.com

Radio: Chiefs Radio Network.

For more on the Chiefs, head over to Arrowhead Pride and for more information on the Steelers, make sure to visit Behind the Steel Curtain.

Read More: Matt Cassel (QB – KAN), Tyler Palko (QB – KAN), Pittsburgh Steelers, Kansas City Chiefs

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Chiefs-Patriots Preview

By BRETT HUSTON

STATS Editor

(AP) — From general manager Scott Pioli and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to injured quarterback Matt Cassel, the Kansas City Chiefs have plenty of connections to the New England Patriots.

On-field success isn’t currently one of them.

Coming off a critical road victory that left them alone atop the AFC East, the Patriots return to Foxborough on Monday night to face a reeling Chiefs team that will have unproven Tyler Palko under center.

As Bill Belichick’s czar of player personnel, Pioli helped build the Patriots (6-3) into a powerhouse last decade before coming to Kansas City in 2009.

Pioli traded for Cassel – who emerged in 2008 with New England after then-Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard ended Tom Brady’s season with a hit to his knee in the season opener – and prior to 2010, hired Crennel, New England’s defensive coordinator during its run of three Super Bowl victories in four seasons.

Cassel had a Pro Bowl season in 2010 and Kansas City rode an improved defense under Crennel to a surprising AFC West title, but a repeat playoff berth is looking unlikely. After bouncing back from an 0-3 start with four straight wins, the Chiefs were outscored 48-13 in consecutive home losses to Miami and Denver.

To make matters worse, Cassel suffered what coach Todd Haley called a “significant” hand injury in last Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Broncos and could miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery Monday.

Palko, who’s thrown 13 NFL passes – 26 fewer than Cassel had when he took over for Brady in 2008 – will be under center for the foreseeable future.

“Tyler is the next in line, and he’s done a terrific job, like I said, of keeping himself ready,” Haley said. “That’s what the No. 2 quarterback has to do, because you don’t know. At a moment’s notice, you could be in there playing, just like any other position.”

Despite having been outscored 157-40 in their losses, the Chiefs (4-5) are still just a game out in the West.

The Patriots, meanwhile, have first place in the East all to themselves – a reality that was tough to imagine after back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and the New York Giants left them tied with Buffalo and the New York Jets.

Facing the possibility of the franchise’s first three-game skid in a decade, New England responded last Sunday night as Brady threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-16 victory over the Jets.

“No matter what happened last week, whether we won, lost, at home or on the road or in London, it doesn’t matter. Once that game is over we have to put it behind us,” Belichick said. “Now it’s about preparing for Kansas City, what they do, what their schemes are, what their players are, what their tendencies are in certain coaching decision situations that we’ll have to make.”

This will be the first time Brady has faced the Chiefs since the 2008 opener, and only his second meeting against Crennel. Brady threw for 265 yards and three TDs in a 34-17 win over Cleveland in 2007, when Crennel was the Browns head coach.

“It’s a very good group and because they’re very well coached they’re rarely in a bad position,” Brady said of a Chiefs team that ranks 22nd in total defense allowing 364.3 yards per game. “In order to make plays, you have to run good routes, you have to make good throws, you have to pass protect against one of the best pass rushers that we face in (Tamba) Hali.”

Hali has six of Kansas City’s league-low nine sacks, but even if the Chiefs can get outside pressure, Brady should be able to find his tight ends. Rob Gronkowski has 16 catches for 214 yards and three TDs the past two weeks, while Aaron Hernandez remains another of Brady’s favorite targets.

While the ability of the Patriots’ offense to score has rarely been in question, the NFL’s lowest-ranked defense’s chances of stopping anyone certainly were before facing the Jets.

But New England’s front constantly pressured Mark Sanchez – defensive end Andre Carter had four sacks – and helped take some of the heat off a makeshift secondary.

That unit, however, will likely be without its top player for a few games. Cornerback Devin McCourty suffered a right shoulder injury against the Jets and could miss a few weeks, while safety Patrick Chung is questionable after sitting out last Sunday with a foot injury.

Those injuries could leave the Patriots with few answers against Chiefs wideout Dwayne Bowe, whose 19 receiving TDs since the start of 2010 trail only Detroit’s Calvin Johnson (23).

Bowe, however, has gone four games without finding the end zone, a drought that could continue with the inexperienced Palko taking the snaps.

That’s not something Belichick is counting on.

“I think that Palko can do everything that he needs to do from what Matt has done,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect them to deviate too far from what they like to do.”

The Patriots, who have won four straight against the Chiefs in Foxborough, are trying to avoid their first consecutive home losses with Brady under center since November 2006.

Updated November 16, 2011

Read More: Demorrio Williams (LB – KAN), Jon McGraw (S – KAN), Tom Brady (QB – NEP), Matt Cassel (QB – KAN), Tyler Palko (QB – KAN), Brandon Carr (CB – KAN), Glenn Dorsey (DE – KAN), Brandon Flowers (CB – KAN), Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots

Arrowhead Pride has updated the rather lengthy injury report for the Kansas City Chiefs as they head into tonight’s game with the New England Patriots. Quarterback Matt Cassel is officially out (surgery on his hand), as is linebacker Demorrio Williams (groin). 

Four players are listed as questionable for tonight – CB Brandon Carr (ankle), DE Glenn Dorsey (knee), CB Brandon Flowers (back) and S Jon McGraw (shoulder). According to AP, the list of six players is the longest injury report of the year for Kansas City. But hey, Tom Brady’s kinda injured, too! (kinda).

While a potential loss of Flowers and/or Carr would be felt, the loss of Cassel will be the focus of the game. The Chiefs’ official site has a piece on replacement Tyler Palko’s first start, while the Arrowhead Pride guys break down the possible beginning of the “Palko Era” in Kansas City:

The Patriots defense may make Tyler Palko look better than he actually is, as they’re at the bottom of the league for a reason. They give up 308 yards per game against the pass, and that’s not very good. If Tyler Palko throws for 250 yards, it might be attributed to the fact that the Patriots pass defense is non existent.

For a first timer, this is a decent situation to be in.

For more on tonight’s game, check out Arrowhead Pride, and the SB Nation NFL page.