Best & Worst

of last night’s game

BEST DO-OVER: Two plays after his 2-yard touchdown run was negated by penalty, Patriots running back Mike Gillislee made the most of his second opportunity, scoring from the same spot on the field to give the Patriots an early 7-0 lead. WORST OPENING MOMENT: Kareem Hunt fumbled on his first carry as the Chiefs' featured back and safety Devin McCourty recovered on the Kansas City 32-yard line. BEST USE OF HANDS: Safety Eric Berry devised the perfect strategy to slow down Rob Gronkowski. He got away with grabbing the tight end's jersey, keeping him from corralling a long pass down the middle. WORST USE OF HANDS: Patriots special-teamer Brandon King was flagged for a facemask De'Anthony Thomas at the end of a 31-yard kickoff return. The ensuing 15yard walkoff gave the Chiefs the ball at their own 45, but they went three-and-out. BEST WAY TO REWARD A DEFENSE: After stopping Gillislee on a fourth-and-1 from the 10, the Chiefs responded by driving 90 yards in 12 plays to tie the score at 7 with 3:03 left in the quarter.

WORST TIME TO EMULATE FLIPPER THE DOLPHIN: On a third-and-5 from his own 41 late in the second, Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith dropped back in the pocket, then began to backpedal as pressure started to mount. Smith stumbled to the ground, flopped around a bit before defensive lineman Deatrich Wise fell on Smith for a 12-yard sack. BEST STIFF ARM: Running back James White took a pitch from quarterback Tom Brady, ran left and stiff-armed cornerback Terrance Mitchell, knocking him flat to the ground. WORST TIME TO HAVE A DEFENSIVE END COVERING A SPEEDY RUNNING BACK DOWN THE FIELD: Hunt had no trouble blowing by defensive end Cassius Marsh to haul in a 78-yard touchdown pass from Smith to give the Chiefs a 28-27 lead. BEST WAY TO ERASE THE GAME MANAGER MONIKER: Smith showed in the third quarter he was more than a dink-and-dunk quarterback. He delivered a perfect strike to Tyreek Hill for a 75-yard touchdown to give the Chiefs a 21-17 lead.

BEST WAY TO MAKE THEM FORGET LEGARRETTE BLOUNT:

Gillislee appears to have taken over Blount's role as the goal-line specialist. The free agent acquisition from Buffalo scored three short-yardage touchdowns. WORST LACK OF DISCIPLINE: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was flagged 15 yards for taunting after catching a short pass. The penalty pinned Kansas City deep in its own territory and it was eventually forced to punt from the 11.

WORST LACK OF DISCIPLINE, PART

2: The Patriots were called for running into the punter on successive plays late in the third quarter. Brandon Bolden and Marsh were the guilty parties on the two calls.