To start this season, that wave of Seahawks has dwindled to only

Last season Authentic Aaron Donald Jersey , the Seattle Seahawks led the league when it came to the number of players willing to make a statement while the national anthem played. two players.Linemen Duane Brown and Quinton Jefferson walked off the field and waited in the tunnel while a field-sized American flag was unfurled and the national anthem played before their season opener Sunday in Denver.In a league where more than 200 players once took some sort of action to protest police brutality and social injustice in America during the anthem, The Associated Press counted fewer than 10 across the league who did so on the NFL's opening Sunday. Only two of them — Albert Wilson and Kenny Stills of the Dolphins — kneeled while the "Star-Spangled Banner" played.None of which bothered Brown much. He says he's committed to what he's doing."I made my decision," he said. "That was my decision. I wasn't paying attention to what other teams or other players are doing."The lower numbers might reflect a new strategy many players are embracing to draw attention to the issues Colin Kaepernick raised when he began kneeling for the anthem in 2016. The then-San Francisco 49ers quarterback was looking to shine a light on issues impacting African American communities.Since then, a group of NFL players have formed the Players Coalition . They want to move the focus away from the anthem, which has become a lightning rod, in part because of President Donald Trump's continued criticism of players who don't stand during the anthem."We're trying to move past the rhetoric of what's right or what's wrong in terms of the anthem, and really focus on the systematic issues that are plaguing our communities," said Malcolm Jenkins of the Eagles, one of the group's co-founders, who is no longer protesting during the anthem.And yet, if Kaepernick is on board with all of that, it wasn't clear Sunday. He took to twitter to praise Wilson and Stiles ."My Brothers (Stills) and (Wilson) continue to show their unwavering strength by fighting for the oppressed," Kaepernick said in his tweet. "They have not backed down, even when attacked and intimidated. ... Love is at the root of our resistance."Kaepernick's message got through to his friends in Miami."I know he has our back Womens Ndamukong Suh Jersey ," Stills said. "Really, there has been a huge difference between when we first started protesting and now. A lot of people are reaching out and supporting us, so I really appreciate that. To everybody out there ... let's keep doing our best to make positive change and have these conversations and make our country a better place."Since opting out of his contract after 2016, Kaepernick has been unable to land a job with an NFL team and is suing the league for collusion.But his voice is still being heard. Last week, Nike introduced an ad featuring the quarterback and his message: "Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything."Other than Stills, Wilson and the two Seahawks, Dolphins defensive lineman Robert Quinn raised his fist during the anthem. Niners receiver Marquise Goodwin did the same at San Francisco's game at Minnesota. In Los Angeles, Chargers left tackle Russell Okung raised his fist. And back in Denver, Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas and linebacker Brandon Marshall retreated to their tunnel while the anthem played.Marshall sent out a statement touting a charity designed to help people who are on the verge of homelessness."It is time that we build social currency by way of empowering our future generations," Marshall said. "This begins by addressing the most fundamental needs — by feeding the minds and bodies."This came hours after Trump opened the day with a tweet that took digs at the NFL, linking low ratings for Thursday night's opener between Atlanta and Philadelphia (lowest for an opener since 2008) to players who refuse to stand for the anthem."If the players stood proudly for our Flag and Anthem, and it is all shown on broadcast, maybe ratings could come back? Otherwise worse!" he tweeted.CBS and Fox, which carried Sunday afternoon's games http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/michael-brockers-jersey , did not televise the anthem.However, NBC did show the anthem Thursday night (but not before Sunday night's Bears-Packers game), and no players kneeled or protested in other ways.But while the tumult over the anthem appears to be dying down, the NFL still hasn't collaborated with the players union to come up with a definitive solution.In May, the league briefly put a policy in place, but rescinded it after the union filed a grievance. The union and league are still negotiating. Brown, of the Seahawks, said he has not received any message from the union to tamp down the protest."I don't think that would be the best idea to try to get people to move on from it," he said. "The country hasn't moved on from it, so I'm not going to move on from it either." The Kansas City Chiefs walked out of Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles late Monday night confident that they could beat the Rams if they should get a rematch in the Super Bowl.If only they don't have to beat themselves, too.For all the positives the Chiefs did during their 54-51 shootout loss to the Rams 鈥?and there were plenty 鈥?the glaring mistakes overshadowed them. Patrick Mahomes tossed a trio of interceptions, lost a pair of fumbles and was sacked three times. The defense gave up too many big plays. Harrison Butker missed an extra point. And the Chiefs were penalized 13 times for 135 yards.Yet the Chiefs still led the Rams in the fourth quarter in a record-setting, back-and-forth offensive bonanza. They still had a chance to beat one of the NFL's top teams on the road.So yes, they walked away with a loss. But also with a lot of confidence."I mean, the fact that we were in this game with three scoring turnovers Authentic Todd Gurley II Jersey , we gave them 21 points off turnovers and they're a good team," Chiefs wide receiver Chris Conley said."If we can eliminate those penalties, and those turnovers, this game is a different game. If we can score off those drives, it's a different game. It all comes down to being disciplined and executing."The Chiefs (9-2) had done that most of the season. They only had eight turnovers over their first 10 games, and while penalties have been a constant problem, they had been able to overcome them.That all changed under the bright Monday night lights.Los Angeles linebacker Samson Ebukam returned Mahomes' first fumble for a touchdown in the second quarter. He returned an interception 25 yards for another score in the third. And two interceptions in the final minutes scuttled any chance of setting up Butker for a tying field goal."You go back in a game like this, heck, I wish I would have called some different plays. We can all do better," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said."We can learn from this in a lot of different ways. We've got to look at it individually, even though we talk team, and that helps us become a better team when we do that and be real with ourselves."The Chiefs will have a bit of extra time for that self-assessment. They returned to Kansas City for their bye week, giving them an opportunity to reflect and recover.There were plenty of positives to reflect upon in Los Angeles, too.鈥?Mahomes threw for 478 yards, the second-most in franchise history Authentic Jared Goff Jersey , and matched his own club record with six touchdown passes. His quarterback rating just edged that of Rams counterpart Jared Goff, while his TD total set a record for a game on Monday night.鈥?Tyreek Hill had a career-high 10 catches for 215 yards and two TDs. It was the second-highest yardage total in Chiefs history, trailing only Stephone Paige's 309 yards against San Diego in 1985.鈥?Tight end Travis Kelce also had 10 catches for 127 yards and a score, extending his streak of games with a reception to 74 鈥?the third-longest in franchise history.鈥?Kareem Hunt ran for 70 yards while catching three passes for 41 yards and a score. That made him the first player since Lenny Moore of the Baltimore Colts in 1961 to have seven touchdowns through the air and on the ground in his team's first 11 games.There are dozens more statistical superlatives from Monday night's game, and indeed, from the first 11 games of the season.But perhaps the most important fact is that Kansas City's two losses have come on the road against powerhouses in the Rams and Patriots, the Chiefs remain on top of the AFC West and have the No. 1 seed in the playoffs still firmly in their sights.If the Chiefs want that rematch with the Rams in the Super Bowl, the one they are confident they can win, earning a playoff path through Arrowhead Stadium will be paramount down the stretch."You wanted to go win that game going into the bye week against a good team like that, a playoff team. But at the same time we still control our own destiny," Mahomes said."We can go out there and win football games after the bye week. It's kind of like that reset, get your body right and come back with that mentality that we're gonna win and we can still get home-field advantage hopefully."