Defense runs into trouble
Chiefs proved too much after impressive stretch
FOXBOROUGH — When it was all over, even safety Jabrill Peppers, who has played with a fierce relentlessness even as the Patriots’ season has slipped away week after week, brushed away reporters. He was out of words.
The New England defense, which had managed to scrap and fight throughout most of the last six games while the offense struggled to find consistency, finally came apart at the seams Sunday in an ugly 27-17 loss to the Chiefs.
For a proud group that was cognizant that many of its recent stats — points per game allowed, run defense, and yards per carry — were trending in the right direction coming into Sunday’s game, the loss stung, even against former MVP Patrick Mahomes.
“We pride ourselves on holding teams to under 14 points, no matter who the quarterback is,” said linebacker Mack Wilson. “Today, we weren’t able to do that.”
“They’re a great offense,” said rookie linebacker Marte Mapu. “But we hold ourselves to a high standard.”
The Patriots defense, which yielded 11.5 points per game in their previous four contests, had managed to shave almost a touchdown off their average since the ugly twogame stretch against the Cowboys and Saints to begin October. Armed with the knowledge it had to be perfect because of New England’s offensive woes, the defense welcomed the challenge, even after losing impact players Matthew Judon and Christian Gonzalez to injury.
But on an afternoon when New England needed a peerless performance against the defending Super Bowl champions, the defense cracked against Mahomes and the Chiefs. The quarterback completed 27 of 37 passes for 305 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions, helping Kansas City snap a two-game losing streak.
“He’s a great quarterback. One of the highest paid quarterbacks for a reason. Making great throws. Great reads,” Wilson said. “I remember one play we were in Cover Zero, and he was like, ‘Hey, alert. Cover Zero.’ He knew what we were in. He kind of had a feel of what we were trying to accomplish, and took advantage in certain situations.”
Things were sailing along for the Patriots through the first quarter-plus, as the Chiefs could only muster one trip to the end zone through the first 29 minutes. Mapu collected the first interception of his career, and the Patriots added a touchdown and field goal to take a 10-7 lead with 4:47 left in the second quarter.
But a Chiefs touchdown drive at the end of the second quarter was alarmingly easy — 11 plays, 75 yards — and gave them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. It was like a flip had been switched. Kansas City’s first four possessions: missed field goal, touchdown, punt, interception. The next four? Touchdown, field goal, touchdown, field goal. A 3-point New England lead turned into a 17-point deficit.
Even though the Patriots responded with a fourth-quarter touchdown, the damage had been done.
“I feel like they started getting some extended plays on third down,” Patriots linebacker Anfernee Jennings said. “They converted a few, and got points off of those. Those gradually started separating the score. Three points here, seven points there.”
“When you have a team like Kansas City,” sighed defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, “there’s no margin for error.”
“The defense does do a great job,” said center David Andrews. “We have to do a better job of converting touchdowns or points in those situations. Look, we’ve got a really good defense, and we’ve got a good football team, [but] we just aren’t playing up to that as a whole team.”
There was a lot to like about the defense. They held the Chiefs to a single touchdown over the first quarter-plus. Mapu and Jahlani Tavai had interceptions. Christian Barmore, Deatrich Wise, and Wilson had sacks. In short, they looked an awful lot like the group that dominated the previous couple of months.
But in the end, it wasn’t enough, as the Patriots dropped to 3-11, losing for the sixth time in seven games.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win,” Godchaux said. “We showed this year we can play with anybody. But we just can’t finish. And that’s frustrating.”
Jackson stays on sideline
Cornerback J.C. Jackson was active, but didn’t play. After the game, coach Bill Belichick was asked about Jackson’s status. “He wasn’t available,” replied Belichick. Pressed as to why he was active, Belichick stonewalled.
“He wasn’t available,” he said. “Just leave it at that.”
In place of Jackson, the Patriots leaned heavily on Alex Austin, who was added earlier this season. Austin said after the game that he wasn’t expecting to start until pregame.
“I felt ready for the opportunity,” Austin said. “I just was blessed enough to be able to get out there and get that start against a great opponent, a great quarterback, a great offense.
“So, I felt good, and I felt confident to go out there with a group of guys that I’m battling with every day. The veteran guys made things easier for me out there with communication, and it was just fun to build that camaraderie today with the guys.”
“He was ready to play, expected to play. Played a lot,” Belichick said. “[I] talked about that before — it’s everybody’s job to be ready to go. That’s what we do.”
Douglas sharp in return
Demario Douglas had three catches (on five targets) for 33 yards in his return after a concussion late last month. The rookie receiver continues to serve as a bright spot on offense.
“It feels great. I love being on the field,” he said when asked about his return. “Any chance I get to be on the field, it feels great. It felt good. First of all, being out there just for warm-ups, I feel like I got energetic. I was happy to be back out there.”
Gaining ground
With the Patriots’ loss and the Panthers’
9-7 win over the Saints moving Carolina to 212, New England is a game back of Carolina for the No. 1 pick. (The Bears possess Carolina’s pick, having acquired it in a trade.) . . . Bill Belichick made it a point to seek out a number of Kansas City stars for handshakes after the game, including Mahomes and Travis Kelce. “I’ve just got all the respect in the world for that guy,” Kelce said of Belichick. “He throws so much at you. He always has a lot of guys that can play smart, so hats off to Belichick for today, for making my life tough, that’s for damn sure. On top of that, getting a good group of guys that play well together, I’ve got a lot of respect for that team.” . . . It was a lousy afternoon for the New England offensive line. Already without left tackle Trent Brown, the Patriots saw left guard Cole Strange go down with a knee injury in the first half. He was carted off. In the second half, Conor McDermott, who was starting in Brown’s place, sustained a head injury, and he left the game. Atonio Mafi replaced Strange, while Vederian Lowe stepped in at left tackle . . . New England’s inactives were running back Rhamondre Stevenson, Brown, wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Kayshon Boutte, defensive lineman Sam Roberts, and cornerback Shaun Wade.