Plenty at stake in rematch
Less hype but still two of league’s best
HOUSTON — For the Patriots, the gauntlet is about to end. The most taxing phase of their schedule comes to a close after next week’s game with Kansas City.
And what a game for the closer.
Scanning through the list of Patriots games when the NFL schedule initially came out, the first circle went around this Week 14 opponent.
Round 3 with the Chiefs figured to be the game of the season, with the defending Super Bowl champions taking on their AFC Championship game counterpart. What’s the feeling now? Even if the expectation level has gone down a smidge, it should ratchet back up by the time the game roles around.
Both teams lead their respective divisions. Both teams want to win for playoff seeding purposes. Neither team wants to cede an upper hand while the Chiefs will also be looking for a little payback.
None of that backdrop changed after what transpired Sunday, with the Chiefs facing the Raiders, and the Patriots taking on the Texans. With the Ravens (10-2) beating the Niners early in the day, it keeps everyone bunched up at the top with the Patriots and Ravens in the top two spots, and the Chiefs, 8-4, still fighting to get one of the top seeds.
The two games they played last season were instant classics, with the Patriots winning in overtime at Arrowhead Stadium during the postseason the last time out, to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.
This time around, the Chiefs will head to Foxboro a bit under the radar, or at least, not as hyped as they were last season.
With Patrick Mahomes missing time during the year with a dislocated knee, and the Chiefs not in the mix for one of the two top seeds, Andy Reid’s team hasn’t generated the same level of buzz as last season.
They were America’s darling last year, with Mahomes the quarterback sensation everyone in the football world was talking about. But the Chiefs and Mahomes have been replaced by Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens on the hype meter this season. More than midway through the 2019 season, Jackson has become the rage.
There’s still time for the Chiefs to get their mojo back and for Mahomes to get KC’s offense cranking again on all cylinders. He’s looked better with each performance, and is certainly capable of putting up big numbers. The Raiders game Sunday was a cakewalk, with the Chiefs winning 40-9. Mahomes wasn’t particularly sharp, throwing for less than 200 yards, but certainly good enough. Maybe he’s saving his best for the Patriots.
Last season, in losing efforts, the Chiefs gunslinger was spectacular. The Patriots managed to hold him down a half in each game, but then he figured out how to crack the defense each time, and piled up the points.
During the AFC Championship game, after going scoreless in the first half, Mahomes put up 31 second half points, throwing three touchdown passes before the Chiefs lost in overtime.
It’ll be interesting to see if he can pick apart the Patriots stellar defense in a similar fashion.
The bigger question, is whether the Patriots offense is capable of winning a shootout with the Chiefs, if it comes to that. It did take awhile for the offense to get rolling last season before hitting its stride at the perfect time. That remains the hope this year, even without the now-retired Rob Gronkowski to backbone the efforts. Gronk was a big-time playmaker and his presence has been missed both in the passing and running attacks.
Much like last season, though, the Chiefs defense remains suspect. Bob Sutton was fired last season and replaced with Steve Spagnuolo. The Chiefs entered the week with the 26thranked unit. They were 30th against the run, allowing 143.1 yards per game (5.1 yards per rush), 14th against the pass.
Just don’t mention that to the Raiders. Derek Carr & Co. were stymied by the Chiefs as the Raiders were routed Sunday at Arrowhead. Coming off a bye week, this was one of the best performances of the year for Spagnuolo’s defense. Josh Jacobs rushed for more than 100 yards, but Carr threw two picks, and the Raiders lost a fumble. So the Chiefs pretty much locked up the AFC West, with two wins over the Raiders.
No team should want to face both the Chiefs and Ravens en route to the Super Bowl. But it could happen to the Patriots. Next Sunday’s game could be another AFC playoff preview.