should change after South Carolina remained unbeaten with

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The bend-but-dont-break defense of the Kansas City Chiefs has so far done an exceptional job of making coach Andy Reid rip out whatever red-tinted fuzz is left of his hair.You see, the Chiefs are masters of giving up yards when it doesnt matter.Theyll give up passes under their coverage, long runs between the tackles, quick crossing routes as opponents drive downfield.When they get close to the end zone? Its a whole different story.The Chiefs have become one of the best teams in the NFL when it comes to red zone defense, a big reason why theyre off to a 2-1 start .Not only do they usually hold opponents to field goals rather than touchdowns, they also have forced a slew of turnovers.We do a good job with that. I dont know why, Reid said. You always talk about the 12th man there, the end zone. Our guys know how to space it out. We worked hard on it at training camp.There was reason for the emphasis. The Chiefs gave up a touchdown on three of every five trips opponents made inside their 20-yard line last season, putting them in the bottom third of the league.Through three games this season? Just three touchdowns on 13 trips.The Chiefs red-zone touchdown rate of 23.1 percent is best in the NFL, just ahead of the New York Giants -- a crucial mark considering only New Orleans and Oakland have allowed more red-zone scoring opportunities.Thats not just bend-but-dont-break. Thats Gumby doing yoga.Reid may not know exactly why Kansas City has become so adept at defending the end zone, but he is willing to hazard a guess. And for a guy who made his bones in the NFL on inventive schemes, studying trends and dissecting film, it only makes sense that he offered an Xs and Os solution.So much of that is just eliminating the seams in there, he said, because theyll just try to pull you apart. You only need a small area to deliver on. Teams will try to pull you apart and test your discipline. Everything is going a little faster down there. Your weaknesses are going to be exploited; your strengths are going to show up.So far, the Chiefs biggest weakness is getting pressure on the quarterback, a problem that could be alleviated later this season if star pass rusher Justin Houston returns from knee surgery.Otherwise, there are a whole bunch of strengths.The defensive front of Dontari Poe, Jaye Howard, Allen Bailey and Chris Jones has been able to plug up the run near the goal line, forcing teams to the air.And when they put it up, one of the most opportunistic secondary groups in the NFL has had a penchant for picking off passes.Three of the six interceptions thrown by the Jets Ryan Fitzpatrick last week were in the end zone.It was all about executing the game plan to a `T, said cornerback Marcus Peters, who had two picks and one of those in the end zone . We dotted our Is and crossed our Ts. We let our pass rush get there, we played underneath, we let our safeties play over the top and we made plays.As a result, the Chiefs have not allowed a touchdown in more than seven quarters.Building on that impressive streak should be a challenge Sunday night, when the Chiefs visit Pittsburgh and a prolific offense led by Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and recently returned LeVeon Bell.The Steelers are fifth in the NFL in percentage of touchdowns scored in the red zone.Our guys, Ill tell you right now, are staying disciplined, Reid said. This will be a good challenge for them because they are good in the red zone. You have to know how to space the field, particularly in the pass game, and then you have to trust it.Game notes CB Marcus Peters, the AFC defensive player of the week, missed practice for the second straight day. He has the flu. ... CB Phillip Gaines was held out of practice because of a knee injury. He was limited in Wednesdays workout. ... OL Jah Reid (knee) and RB Charcandrick West (ankle) also did not practice.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Clearance Air Max 97 Online . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Cheap Nike Shoes China . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. http://www.airmax97discount.com/ . Kuznetsov, who was selected by the Capitals in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has been playing for his hometown team Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL. Discount Air Max 97 Shoes . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Cheap Air Max 97 From China . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. NEW YORK -- South Carolina coach Frank Martin savored his teams victory over No. 25 Michigan and then went straight to the videotape.While his team enjoyed a flight to New York, Martin watched film of his last game at Kansas State -- a loss to Syracuse in the 2012 NCAA Tournament. He discovered everything his former team did wrong against the Oranges zone defense and vowed the Gamecocks would not repeat those miscues.They didnt and sprinkled in some dominating defense.Sindarius Thornwell scored 16 points as South Carolina had enough offense to go along with its defense and never trailed in its 64-50 victory over No. 18 Syracuse on Saturday in the Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational at Barclays Center.I slept on it and I said `Ive got to change what I did and you saw we ran the bigs kind of up to the elbows, Martin said. We needed to lift the big up to the zone rather than try behind it. Once we lift the zone then find the cracks behind it so we can have space to shoot.Credit our guys. I dont claim to be Einstein. I just try to do my job. They listened, they were in tune (and) they executed.South Carolina shot 45 percent and scored 30 points in the paint. The Gamecocks scored most of their points after frequently getting defensive stops via 12 steals and 17 Syracuse turnovers.Every game we come out and guard, thats what our coaching staff and our team prides itself on, defense, South Carolina guard PJ Dozier said. We make our offense out of our defense.The Gamecocks effectiveness at getting through Syracuses zone and forcing turnovers resulted in their second win in three seasons against a Top 25 team in Brooklyn. On Jan. 2, 2014, South Carolina had a 64-60 victory over No. 9 Iowa State.Thornwell made 9 of 10 free throws. He also had six rebounds, five assists, three steals and was named the MVP of the Invitational.Maik Kotsar also had 16 points for South Carolina (6-0) while Dozier added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Gamecocks, who gave up 12 of the first 18 rebounds but finished with a 37-30 margin on the glass.Tyler Lydon led the Orange (4-1) with a season-high 18 points. Andrew White III and Frank Howard added 10 points apiece as Syracuse shot 31.8 percent.They were just really good defensively, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. They pressured you, they got in the lane. They just really are a good defensive team. We knew that because we saw the Michigan game and Michigan is probably as good an offensive movement team as anybody against man-to-man in the country and they coulldnt get anything.ddddddddddddLydon hit a 3-pointer with 17:05 remaining to get Syracuse within 40-32. Following a defensive stop, Lydon had another basket forcing South Carolina to call time out.Two free throws by White cut the deficit to 47-43 with 11:39 remaining but the Orange went nearly 5 minutes without a point while Howard missed four free throws and Lydon missed an open 3-pointer.The drought ended when White hit a 3-pointer to make it 51-46 with about 6 1/2 minutes left.Following Whites 3-pointer, the Gamecocks gradually restored the double-digit lead they held late in the first half. South Carolina took a 57-47 lead on a basket by Kotsar with about 3 minutes left and finished off the win at the free throw line.BIG PICTURE:South Carolina: South Carolinas defense continued to hold teams to low shooting percentages and it could make the Gamecocks difficult to play against for other SEC teams. The Gamecocks have held teams under 40 percent in each of their six games.Syracuse: Lydon can take over at times and did not disappoint for at least the two NBA scouts in attendance to watch him.OFFENSIVE WOES:How bad was Syracuses offense? The Orange were outscored by their football counterparts who lost 76-61 to Pittsburgh on Saturday.POLL IMPLICATIONS:The Gamecocks were not one of 16 teams to receive any Top 25 votes last week. That should change after South Carolina remained unbeaten with wins over No. 25 Michigan and No. 18 Syracuse.Syracuse will likely stay in the poll though it is unlikely the Orange will remain at No. 18. Out of the teams behind them in the poll, Baylor and Iowa State remained undefeated and likely will move ahead of the Orange in the next poll.HONORING PEARL WASHINGTON: Before the national anthem, there was a moment of silence of former Syracuse guard Dwayne Pearl Washington, who died of brain cancer on April 20. Syracuse is the midst of a 31-day campaign to honor Washingtons memory. The campaign culminates Dec. 17 when Syracuse hosts former Big East rival Georgetown. Before his three seasons at Syracuse from 1983 to 1986, Washington attended Boys and Girls High School, which is located about 2 1/2 miles east of Barclays Center.UP NEXT:South Carolina hosts Vermont on Dec. 1.Syracuse is at No. 16 Wisconsin on Tuesday in ACC/Big Ten Challenge.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. ' ' '