KANSAS CITY , Mo. (AP) — joined his backup Austin Ekeler on the inactive list for their high-profile AFC West showdown against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night.Gordon and Ekeler combined for 103 yards rushing and 189 yards receiving when the teams met in Los Angeles to open the season. But after Gordon tested his injured knee in warmups, he conferred with coach Anthony Lynn and general manager Tom Telesco and shook his head, “No.”Gordon has now missed three consecutive games with the knee injury.Ekeler had already been ruled out after hurting his neck and sustaining a concussion while trying to recover an onside kick to preserve the Chargers’ victory over Cincinnati last week.The Chargers were forced to lean on rookie running backs Justin Jackson and Detrez Newsome along with Troymaine Pope, who was added to the active roster in a series of pregame moves. Pope joined the Los Angeles practice squad Nov. 28 after spending time with the Seahawks, Jets, Colts and Texans.The Chargers also placed backup cornerback Trevor Williams on injured reserve with a knee injury, waived linebacker Tre’Von Johnson and added linebacker Kyle Wilson to the active roster Thursday.Chargers nose tackle Brandon Mebane was again inactive as he deals with a family matter.Meanwhile, the Chiefs welcomed back star safety Eric Berry for the first time this season, though they also were missing top running back Spencer Ware and wide receiver Sammy Watkins.Berry tore his Achilles’ tendon in last season’s opener in New England, returned in time for offseason workouts and then developed a heel injury early in training camp. He finally returned to practice a few weeks ago and was in the starting lineup for the first time this season against the Chargers.The Chiefs had teased his return earlier Thursday in a social media posting.Ware had taken over the lead role after the Chiefs released NFL rushing champion Kareem Hunt due to off-the-field problems. He was flourishing back in the starting role before hurting his shoulder and his hamstring in last week’s overtime victory over the Ravens.Damien Williams, Darrel Williams and Charcandrick West were sharing the load in his place.Watkins , who signed a $48 million, three-year deal with the Chiefs in the offseason, was out for the third time in four games with a heel injury. Chris Conley took his place.There was some concern that Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill would be sidelined after he hurt his wrist and foot against the Ravens. But he insisted after the game Sunday that he would be available on short rest, and the speedster went through normal pregame warmups without any problems. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Seventeen years ago, Tom Brady was 24 years old and in his second NFL season when he led the Patriots to a last-second victory over the St. Louis Rams for New England’s first Super Bowl title.Four rings later, Brady will arrive in Atlanta for the Patriots’ Super Bowl matchup with the Los Angeles Rams having already established himself as the most-decorated Super Bowl quarterback in league history.But as Brady prepares to play in his ninth Super Bowl, he will have another chance to do something no other NFL player has done.If New England beats Los Angeles, the 41-year-old quarterback will break a tie with Hall of Fame defensive end Charles Haley and become the first player to win six rings.But to his coaches, teammates and admirers across the sporting world, he already stands alone.Known to Brady affectionately as “Jules ,” receiver Julian Edelman called it an honor to be a part of the quarterback’s career.“He’s a really good football player,” Edelman said. “The best. And he goes out and he consistently proves it.”Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has caught more passes fr om Brady than any other player and will play alongside him in a Super Bowl for the fourth time. He said Brady’s approach has been the same since their first practice together back in 2010.“The guy is just so precise with everything. Just the way he is out on the field, the way he prepares,” Gronkowski said. “You know every single time you’re going to get the best out of him no matter what the situations are.”After New England’s divisional-round win over the Chargers, Brady was openly miffed about what he perceived as pessimism outside of the Patriots’ locker room about their chances of reaching a third straight Super Bowl following a regular season which they started 1-2 and lost five games.“I know everybody thinks we suck and, you know, we can’t win any games,” Brady said. “We’ll see. It’ll be fun.”A week later, Brady led the Patriots on a winning drive in overtime to beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship game — his 12th such drive in the postseason in the fourth-quarter or overtime.The next day he posted a video on Instagramof himself and Gronkowski walking to the team bus after the game.Both are smiling and Gronkowski flashes his AFC championship T-shirt.It was the kind humble brag that Brady has steered away from in the past.But this postseason he has been more open with his emotions and acknowledged after the AFC title win he was “as excited as I have been in a long time.”“When you have 70,000 people cheering against you, it is pretty sweet when you win on the road ,” Brady said.On Twitter, congratulations came from all corners of sports.Among them was one from Paul Pierce , who helped lead the Celtics to the NBA championship in 2008. “There’s aliens there’s Pegasus and there’s Tom Brady,” Pierce wrote.Left tackle Trent Brown is in his first season in New England after being traded to the Patriots last April. He said sharing the huddle with Brady has lived up to his expectations.“There’s one word, G.O.A.T. That’s it,” Brown said. “He’s one of those great leaders and it trickles down to the rest of the team.”Brown is a member of a starting lineup on offense that, excluding Brady, has an average age of 27.Brady’s continued ability to lead and inspire teammates more than a decade his junior is a unique skill, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said.“He communicates well with every player,” McDaniels said. “One of the things that’s always impressed me is how he’s one of the first guys in the building to know a new person’s name, which speaks to how important that is to him , to introduce himself to somebody and also get to know that person, whether it be a practice squad player, a rookie, whatever it is.”Brady’s introductions to new players is always the same. At some point after they arrive Brady seeks them out, walks up and says plainly, “Hi, I’m Tom Brady.”Linebacker Kyle Van Noy said he still remembers his reaction to hearing those words.It was October 2016 and Van Noy, following a trade from Detroit, arrived at the team facility about 5:30 a.m.. Hours later while on a restroom break from a meeting, he turned and saw an outstretched hand.“Tom comes up and kind of shakes my hand like, ‘Hi , I’m Tom Brady.’ And I’m like, ‘You’re an idiot.'” Van Noy said.But he said the moment was emblematic of a player he has no doubt will be at his best on Super Bowl Sunday.“Those little things are why he’s wh ere he’s at,” Van Noy said. “Those little things that people don’t pay attention to, those detailed things, that just separates him. He’s really good at what he does. … That’s what makes him Tom.”