Of course, New England went on to win the Super Bowl past year, while Kansas City struggled to a 9-7 finish, missing the postseason.
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For starters, Chandler Jones had quite the weekend. Suddenly, the defending Super Bowl champions were back on defense. They have a lot of good players, great defensive front, great group of linebackers, as good as any team we’ve faced in the secondary.
When asked about the impact on this game, Belichick said “I can just xerox you a copy of the game plan, you can just send it to Kansas City. We issued a statement, that’s it”. Prior to last week’s win over Houston, they hadn’t played a team that finished with a winning record since Week 10 against the Broncos. And it’s hard to doubt them, after what they have gone through over the last 12 months and beyond. Even before a league investigation found them guilty, the Patriots plugged their ears and dug in their heels.
It’s win or go home.
Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has knee and back injuries that have limited his ability to practice. “But every year is different, every team is different, and I think we’re just fortunate and excited about being in the position that we’re in at this point”. “For us it’s just how we’re going to be able to execute at a higher level. So that’s what we’ll try to do”.
The Chiefs 47 sacks, which ranked fourth in the National Football League, helped lead to 22 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.
Rodgers and his Packers mates did flip the switch last week in Washington, but that was Washington, a mediocre to poor team. Chiefs are first National Football League team to have 10-game winning streak and five-game losing streak in same season…. “There are not a lot of things that they haven’t been doing well”.
With the likes of LeGarrette Blount and Dion Lewis on the sidelines for the rest of the season, Edelman’s return gives Brady a reliable receiver who knows how to get a first down.
Belichick acknowledged this week that last year’s loss is a factor in how the Patriots prepare for the Chiefs. “(Josh) Mauga’s interception kind of sealed it, I thought, in a sense, even though there was time left. “The last two or three weeks have been a whirlwind”.
That said, the Chiefs are finding great success out of a three-tight end set that adds blocking beef in the read-option game and serves to isolate TE Travis Kelce as a receiver.
There are two Kansas City games on Bill Belichick’s mind right now. It will be tough for the Patriots to escape all of what is going on but fortunately, Belichick has a game plan in place. “All that other stuff (is a) distraction”. The teams surprisingly have never met in the post-season.
This weekend the Kansas City Chiefs face off against New England Patriots. Afterward, fans wondered openly whether the then-37 year-old quarterback was no longer effective.
“It has relevance”, he said. Neither tackle Laurent Duvernay-Tardif nor center Mitch Morse have passed the concussion protocol.
Meanwhile, Kansas City has key injury concerns on offense now in wide receiver Jeremy Maclin and running back Spencer Ware.
Tom Brady practiced fully after suffering a sprained ankle in the Patriots’ final regular season game against the Dolphins, assuring the team that its best player will be on the field against the surging Chiefs, who have won 11 straight games, including last week’s AFC wild card game in Houston. “It looked (bad) on the test, but it all worked out”.
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“I was happy for the kid”, he said.
