Chiefs (8-4) at Patriots (10-2)
Patriots schedule
W ....... Pittsburgh ....... 33-3 W ......... at Miami ......... 43-0 W ........ N.Y. Jets ........ 30-14 W ....... at Buffalo ....... 16-10 W...atWashington...33-7 W ...... N.Y. Giants ...... 35-14 W ...... at N.Y. Jets ...... 33-0 W ...... Cleveland ...... 27-13 L ..... at Baltimore ..... 37-20
BYE
W ...at Philadelphia... 17-10 W ........... Dallas ........... 13-9 L ...... at Houston ...... 28-22 Dec.8 ..KansasCity ..4:25 Dec.15...atCincinnati...1 Dec. 21 ..... Buffalo ..... 4:30 Dec. 29 ......... Miami ......... 1
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts
TV: CBS
Danny Sheridan’s line: by 3 ⁄2
1
Chiefs’ keys to victory: QB Tom Brady is on a staggeringly high pace for throwaways. The Chiefs need to create pressure with DE Frank Clark and DT Chris Jones, and they’ve been having more success with their pass rush recently. On offense, the Chiefs will need to think beyond QB Patrick Mahomes. The recipe to beating the Patriots’ elite defense is strong decision-making and an excellent run game. RB LeSean McCoy and his O-line will need to create and exploit space in the middle.
Patriots’ keys to victory: Mahomes has been exceptional, though not superhuman when compared to 2018. The Patriots are likely to employ a similar strategy to the one they used in last season’s AFC championship game. They can double-team WR Tyreek Hill with CB Jonathan Jones and S Devin McCourty while putting CBs Stephon Gilmore, J.C. Jackson and Jason McCourty on the other wideouts. Gilmore could draw TE Travis Kelce.
Matchup to watch: Patriots RB Sony Michel vs. Chiefs LB Damien Wilson. The Pats’ offense performs better when it’s running the ball well with Michel. The running back hasn’t flashed much explosiveness. So if Kansas City’s linebacking corps can shed blocks, the Chiefs may be able to bottle up Michel and force the Patriots into uncomfortable distances.
Who wins? There’s a chance that the Patriots won’t be able to keep pace offensively with the Chiefs. But New England should get its top skill players healthy in time for kickoff.
Patriots, 27-24
Patriots