Pats-chiefs set for Monday
Game delayed one day after positive COVID-19 tests
The Patriots-chiefs game was postponed until Monday due to positive coronavirus tests.
Patriots quarterback Cam Newton and Chiefs practice squad quarterback Jordan Ta’amu are so far the only ones to return positive tests, but both teams are doing additional screening. In the mean time, the Chiefs shut down their facility Saturday and are looking ahead to playing their showdown with the Patriots.
“It’s a pandemic, so things can happen,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said this week, when news emerged from Tennessee about an outbreak with the Titans, which has forced their game against Pittsburgh to be postponed. “But you’ve got to take as many precautionary measures as you can and try to stick with them, and if something happens like that, then you’ve got to work through that. We’ve all been coached up on it, and we’re all trying to do the best we possibly can with it.”
The Patriots had planned to visit Arrowhead Stadium behind a quarterback who can run at any time and a backfield that ran roughshod over the Raiders last weekend. But now the Patriots will likely go with Brian Hoyer or Jarrett Stidham, which should be good news to a Chiefs team that has historically struggled against the run.
The Patriots still have plenty of threats in the backfield. Sony Michel needed just nine carries to pile up 117 yards, Rex Burkhead reached the end
zone three times and the Patriots totaled 250 yards rushing in their win over Las Vegas.
Now, the first order of business any week may be to stop the run — something the Chiefs (3-0) did quite well against the Ravens last Monday night. But the challenge is even more important when the Patriots (2-1) have shown such a propensity for
grinding out yards on the ground. They lead the league in rushing through the first three weeks.
The Chiefs are 27th at defending the run.
The Pats also hope their running game allows them to control the clock, shortening the game and thereby keeping record-setting QB Patrick Mahomes and the dynamic Chiefs’ offense off the field.