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Patriots vs Chiefs – Player Ups & Downs

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Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

I don’t think I’m speaking out of line when I say that following the news of Cam Newton’s positive COVID-19 test, the expectation to win last night’s game was pretty much nonexistent. But when we look back, I can’t help think we could have stolen a win last night. Here are Week 4’s ups and downs.

Ups ⬆️

Damien Harris

We were finally able to see Damien Harris lead the Patriots backfield last night, and it was promising stuff. Harris finished with 17 carries for 100 yards, his longest run being a 41 yard gain.

With Michel out for three weeks at least, Harris has a golden opportunity to stay atop of the running back depth chart, and one way to stay there is to keep having big yardage games, just a shame he couldn’t score the team any points, they needed it.

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Patriots Preview: Week 4 vs Kansas City

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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

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola

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.

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Pats Posits: It Just Keeps Going

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Another year, another heart-thumping playoff game that came down to the last play. The 2018 AFC Championship will go down in Patriots lore as one of the most impressive games of the Belichick-Brady reign.

The Chiefs made their plays, but the Patriots weathered the storm, executed their gameplan save a few breakdowns, and never blinked as the score went back and forth in the fourth quarter like we’ve seen so many times in the past 18 seasons.

This was the game Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman showed that when the chips were down they could do what no Patriots team had done since 2006 — win a playoff game on the road. And winning an AFC Championship on the road puts them in special company with just the 2001 and 2004 teams (and 1985 if we’re getting technical).

It’s even more remarkable considering how bad the Patriots were on the road all year. But when it’s counted, the rock-solid and balanced team that we saw plenty of times at home has shown up twice in the postseason.

The defense gave up a few close plays, but all things considered, they reigned in the Chiefs offense just enough, with Trey Flowers and Kyle Van Noy leading the way and solid coverage behind them all night. Pressure and coverage worked as one and it got them off the field on five of nine third downs.

And the special teams did just what they had to. No mistakes (though it sure looked like Edelman might’ve made a fatal one for a second there). No missed XPs.

They were so dominant that they overcame being -2 in turnovers!! Add in the fourth-down stop and the Pats left a number of points on the board. Those should’ve been the difference, but somehow they weren’t. Because they just imposed their offensive will like few Patriots playoff teams have consistently done.

So much to unpack from this one, let’s Posit it.

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Patriots Gameplan: AFC Championship at Kansas City Chiefs

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Another year, another AFC Championship game. I still remember when it was just exciting to be playing the best real football game of the year. Yes, the Super Bowl is the one that counts most but that’s a drawn-out exhibition. The conference championship games feature home crowds and weather. As a pure football fan, these are the games I most enjoy watching.

Our eighth-straight is every bit as exciting because it’s in a hostile environment. Most aren’t picking the Patriots to win and they’ve got poor history on this field, plus they were one of the worst road teams we’ve seen under Bill Belichick. The questions are constantly thrown around now, is this the end of Belichick and Brady?

Well it’s been clear how much fight they still have in them and there’s no doubt the Patriots will go down swinging with all they got against the Chiefs.

But yes, we’re close to the end, so it’s best to savor every second of once again being on the second-biggest stage. Here’s the gameplan for a satisfying victory and a trip to a third-straight (!!!!!) Super Bowl game.

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Patriots Film Review: Four Bad Plays

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As I wrote in my Posits, 28 of Kansas City’s second-half points came directly as a result of four bad Patriots plays. Overall, the Patriots did a pretty solid job for most of the night containing what is one of the best offenses in the NFL. An offense that on paper looked like it should have its way with a defense that has had second-level athleticism problems for a couple seasons now.

But overall the Patriots overcame those shortcomings with great downfield coverage and consistent disruption that muddied Patrick Mahomes‘ reads and threw his timing off. Having done these film reviews for going on five years now, I’ve had a close eye on the defense and this week’s film review only reinforced for me that I just like this defense a lot better than any of the recent editions.

I don’t want to put all the blame on Matt Patricia but things just simply look more coordinated between the front and bad. The pressure is better without heavy blitzing and the secondary seems almost always in sync. Maybe they’re just thinking less and executing faster? It looks that way to me, especially in these last three games despite some problem plays.

That said, and I hate to focus on the negative, but here’s a look at those four plays — two defensive, one offensive and one special teams that marred the Patriots victory and ultimately made it a last possession game when it didn’t even really have to be. Not to say the Pats were that much clearly better than the Chiefs, but these were the anomalies to near-perfect gameplan execution.

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Pats Posits: Balanced Pats Show They Can Play with Anyone

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The Patriots outlasted the Chiefs on Sunday, delivering the shootout everyone thought they saw coming with a 43-40 win. Not to toot my own horn but I feel like my gameplan was especially accurate this week, right down to the final prediction. I’ve got a good bead on the team this year and while you never want to give up 40 points, I still believe this is one of the most solid Patriots teams in recent seasons.

This is a new NFL, and all that really matters is surviving against an offense as good as the Chiefs, just as the Chiefs must’ve felt the same way about the Patriots. Defenses can’t dominate anymore. It just comes down to getting red zone stops and making the plays that matter at the end. That’s what the Patriots did last night and they continue to show great mental toughness as all Belichick teams tend to do.

The offense continues to make strides behind Sony Michel‘s running and the development of Josh Gordon. The defense had three bad plays but otherwise did everything you can ask from a defense facing such a diverse and explosive offense. The special teams were great as far as field goals go and terrible at kickoffs.

So yeah, it wasn’t all rainbows but the corrections are extremely specific and fixable. This Patriots team executed the gameplan nearly perfectly for 90 percent of the game, but even just those few plays where they messed up were enough to take the contest down to the final possession. If this team stays intact for the next few months they’re going to be right there in the hunt at the end per usual.

More on everything from the first epic regular season win of 2018 in the Posits…

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