 Brandon LaFell came up big Monday night in Kansas City. (USA TODAY Images) |
On a night where the Patriots needed someone to step up on offense, wide receiver Brandon LaFell had a strong outing against the Chiefs and was one of the few bright spots during New England's 41-14 loss in Kansas City Monday night.
LaFell finished with 6 receptions for 119 yards, including a 44-yard touchdown pass that he caught from four yards out and took the remaining 40 yards into the endzone. He was targeted 10 times and was clearly a big part of the game plan after it was announced prior to the game that both Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins would be inactive for the contest. That left LaFell and Julian Edelman as the Patriots' two primary receivers, and while the Chiefs managed to keep Edelman in check (he finished with 4 receptions for 23 yards), LaFell ended up with a strong performance.
"Some great catch and runs by him and I think he's always done a good job with that," said quarterback Tom Brady after the game. "He did a great job tonight, it was great to see, great to be in the huddle with him."
His 44-yard reception matched the longest pass play of the season by New England's offense, with Julian Edelman having had two plays from that distance in week one down in Miami, and then again in week two against the Vikings.
He caught a 37-yard reception from back-up quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo after Brady came out with just under nine minutes left in the game, giving New England the ball at the Chiefs 13-yard line. One play later Garoppolo hit Rob Gronkowski from eight yards out, and Gronk powered it the remaining five yards into the end zone for their final touchdown.
Despite their struggles Brady said after the game that LaFell was one of the guys who kept battling, which will hopefully be a sign of things to come from the veteran receiver.
"It's not easy for any of us when we're down like that and you face some adversity and you want to look across at the other guys and you want to know that you're fighting with guys that are going to fight until the end," said Brady. "He certainly did that."
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