Another big test for this Patriots team awaits in Missouri, I’m just glad it’s on at 21:25 UK time so I can watch the showdown! This Sunday, the 2-1 New England Patriots travel to the 3-0 Kansas City Chiefs.
Date: Sunday, October 4, 2020
Game Time: 4:25 PM EST
Venue: Arrowhead Stadium, MO
Network: CBS
All-time record: Chiefs lead series 19-16 (including playoffs) 3 Ties
When They Last Met…
Patriots 16-23 Chiefs
December 8, 2019
In a game that is remembered by the official’s decision not to award N’Keal Harry an obvious touchdown covered the Patriots somewhat in what was a lackluster performance by the defending Super Bowl champions.
The Patriots delivered the first blow inside the opening five minutes when Tom Brady handed the ball off to Sony Michel. Michel, after advancing a couple of yards downfield, turned around and tossed the ball back to Brady who then delivered a 37-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman.
The Patriots start to the game got even better when J.C. Jackson picked off a poor throw by Patrick Mahomes, but the Pats weren’t able to turn it into points. The Chiefs got on the board after a 48-yard field goal by Harrison Butker.
Then, things started to turn south for New England, Nick Folk had a field goal blocked, then, the quarter of terror started. Mahomes converted a 2nd & 25 at midfield, into a 48-yard dime to Mecole Hardman for the score. Brady then made a poor throw that was picked off by Bashaud Breeland.
The turnover led to Kansas driving down to the Patriot goal line, ending with a direct snap to Travis Kelce, who ran it in for the touchdown. The Pats drove into Chiefs territory but stalled, electing to go for it on 4th & 7, Brady’s pass to Edelman was wide of the mark.
Kansas managed to get into field goal range just before the end of the half and Butker sailed the resulting kick through with ease. Halftime- Patriots 7-20 Chiefs.
Butker nailed his third field goal of the night from 41-yards to make it 20 unanswered points by the Chiefs. The Pats showed some spark shortly afterward when Nate Ebner blocked a Chiefs punt, allowing Brandon Bolden to run it in for a 10-yard score on the following drive. The conversion failed, the Patriots trailed by 10 heading into the fourth.
The Patriots got the ball back and moved into Kansas territory once more, Brady dumped it off short to Harry who broke a couple of tackles and weaved his way along the sideline into the end zone, but the officials called him out at the three-yard line.
The replay clearly showed that Harry stayed inbounds and it was a score, however, as the officials didn’t call it a touchdown, the play wasn’t automatically reviewed and the Patriots were out of timeouts to challenge the ruling.
The drive ended in a field goal and so did the scoring. Final- Patriots 16-23 Chiefs.
Performances
NE
QB Tom Brady 19/36 – 169 YDS – 1 TD – 1 INT
WR Julian Edelman 8/12 – 95 YDS 1 TD
CB J.C. Jackson 1 INT
KC
QB Patrick Mahomes 26/40 – 283 YDS – 1 TD – 1 INT
TE Travis Kelce 7/9 – 66 YDS – RUSH – 1 ATT – 4YDS – 1 TD
WR Mecole Hardman 1/1 – 48 YDS – 1 TD
CB Bashaud Breeland 1 INT
K Harrison Butker FG – 3/3 – XP – 2/2
Key Matchups – Offense vs Offense
Since Mahomes has become the face of the Chiefs franchise, the Patriots have had to focus on outscoring his offense each time they’ve met, this Sunday won’t be any different.
Mahomes, in only his third season as Chiefs starting quarterback, has already amassed over 10,000 passing yards. Andy Reid has built him a scary-fast offense including the likes of Tyreek Hill, Mecole Hardman, Travis Kelce, Sammy Watkins, and rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire, to name a few.
They’ve got the ability to put the game out of a team’s reach inside one quarter, so the Patriots are going to have to out offense the Chiefs offense.
Well, it’s not as important as scoring points. I mean, ultimately, the game is going to be decided by which team has the most points, not who has more first downs or who has more time of possession or whatever other stats you want. You know, all that plays into it, but scoring is really the name of the game. So, our goal is to move the ball and score points offensively, same as it is every week. If that’s a long drive or a short drive or whatever it is, then that’s really what we need to do.
Bill Belichick on the Chiefs offense during his conference call today
The Patriots offense led by Cam Newton has flexed their scoring potential in the opening three games, almost outscoring Seattle. But I feel the Chiefs offense is just a slight bit more explosive than Seattle, but, if the Pats execute like we know they can, I have faith they can win this game with a strong offensive outing.
Player Spotlight – Rex Burkhead
Boy, what a performance last Sunday by Rex Burkhead, he amassed 98 total yards and three touchdowns which helped the Patriots to their second win of the season.
After being signed by the Bengals in the sixth round of the 2016 draft, Burkhead was only active in one game of his rookie season due to a hamstring injury.
Following four constructive seasons in Cincinnati, Burkhead signed a one-year deal with the Patriots in 2017. He has since become a key part of the backfield workforce and has produced big for the team when they needed him the most. Most notably, his game-winning touchdown in overtime against Kansas City in the 2018 AFC Championship Game.
Questions about his future with the team were dashed during the offseason when he signed a restructured deal in July.
The Patriots backfield is stacked right now, which can never be a bad thing, but I think we might see Burkhead have a few more big games yet this season.
Familiar Faces
Just one former Patriot will be on the opposite sideline for Week 4.
Coaching Staff
D Line – Brendan Daly
Did you know?- Daly won three Super Bowls whilst he was a Patriots defensive coach before joining Kansas City. (Super Bowl XLIX, LI and LIII)
Broken Records
Here’s some key milestones that could be surpassed on Sunday.
Cam Newton
-Needs 245 passing yards to become the 48th quarterback in history to reach 30,000 passing yards.
-Needs 45 rushing yards to join Michael Vick as the only quarterbacks to reach 5,000 rushing yards in NFL history.
WR Julian Edelman
-Needs one touchdown reception to tie Wes Welker (36) as sixth all-time in Patriots history for touchdown receptions.
Devin McCourty
-Needs one interception to tie Mike Haynes (28) as sixth all-time in Patriots history for interceptions.
James White
-Needs two touchdown receptions to tie Larry Garron (26) as most all-time in Patriots history for touchdown receptions by a running back.
Sony Michel
-With his next rushing touchdown, Michel will tie Carl Garrett for his 15th career regular-season rushing touchdown, 17th most in team history.
Score Prediction: Chiefs 33-38 Patriots
Now I may be a little optimistic here, this Chiefs side look pretty unstoppable in the opening three weeks. But the Patriots still look like the Patriots, and I back them to get the W on Sunday. L F G.
Keep an eye out for the injury report updates through-out the week!
