Patriots Pregame Thread AFC Championship: We are on to Kansas City!

[Uptown]

 

[carmelo15]

Expect Another Big Day For Sony Michel In AFC Title Game Vs. Chiefs

I think peopl forget how bad KC defense is Sony will have a field day and I don’t know how they stop brady when we run wild

 

[sambam94]

forecast keeps dropping, now showing -7 the night before with Sunday's high of only 11. Game time single digits

 

[maineman209]

No one is mentioning how huge is it that Hunt is not playing in this game. He was the one that did the most damage to us not Hill, not Kelce it was Hunt. I like our chances way better

KCY, week-6 review:

INJURIES:
Malcom Brown was OUT (knee)
John Simon was OUT (shoulder)
JC Jackson was OUT (healthy scratch)
Keionta Davis was OUT (healthy scratch)
Rivers played a few snaps
Wise had his day cut short by a lower leg injury.

The Pats had Gordon, but they were missing Burkhead (on IR).
It was only Edelman's second game back after his suspension, and he went 4/7, 51 yds and 1 TD.

The Chiefs were without Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Eric Murray (CB).
Dee Ford was just coming back from a groin injury.

---------------
Mahomes got picked twice (Hightower, Harmon)
Two of Mahomes' 4 TD passes were from blown coverages (JMac > Hunt, ?? > Hill)
Tremon Smith had a 97-yard kickoff return that set up another score (FG, I think).

Kelce caught 5/9 for 61 yds (long of 17) and no scores.
Hunt had 10 carries for 80 yds (long of 31), AND caught 5/6 for 105 and a TD (long of 67-TD, JMac's blown coverage).
Hill caught 7/12 for 142 (long of 75-TD, the other blown coverage).
Without those two blown coverages and that KO return, the Chiefs might well have been limited to 23 points.

As it was, the Pats had 31 first downs to KCY's 18, and the Pats dominated ToP 36 min. to 24 min.

The Pats went 7/13 on 3rd-down and 4/6 in the red zone.
KCY went 4/10 on 3rd down and 2/5 in the red zone.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

No one is mentioning how huge is it that Hunt is not playing in this game. He was the one that did the most damage to us not Hill, not Kelce it was Hunt. I like our chances way better

Damian Williams has been a pretty good replacement. However, I think not having Hunt hurts them more in the passing game.

Williams

Receiving: 23 receptions, 160 yards (7.0 YPR)

Rushing: 50 attempts, 256 yards (5.1 YPA)

Hunt

Receiving: 26 receptions, 378 yards (14.5 YPR)

Rushing: 181 attempts, 824 yards (4.6 YPA)

 

[sambam94]

never bought the "without blown coverage or huge return" rational. The team still would have the ball..so to say they wouldn't have scored without those huge plays is silly..imo

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Good article on the Chiefs defense. Stopping Houston, Jones and Ford will be the key to the game for us.

Chiefs' living and dying with pass rush will get ultimate test from Tom Brady

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

Damian Williams has been a pretty good replacement. However, I think not having Hunt hurts them more in the passing game.

I haven't watched their games too much but I bet defenses are also paying a little less attention to the run. The numbers may not be much different but I suspect the effect on the offense is bigger.

 

[1960Pats]

after much thought, i think the only fair stakes for this match up is in fact not only a berth to the super bowl BUT....when Tommy goes in there and masterfully dismantles the Chiefs and hoists the AFC championship trophy, the title gets replaced with the tom brady AFC invitiational trophy in front of the the chiefs fans

The Chiefs wouldn't win anything if they won because the trophy is now called the Lamar Hunt trophy, in honor of the original owner of the Chiefs.

 

[Observer]

forecast keeps dropping, now showing -7 the night before with Sunday's high of only 11. Game time single digits

Yup, they are predicting brutally cold weather. Good luck to those of you attending!

 

[1960Pats]

Making the final four is a successful season. But we were never debating that you said the "season was over" in early December and we are one of four teams still playing in late January. It is ok to admit you were wrong.

If it were just "the season is over" it wouldn't have been so bad, but to then criticize fans who didn't agree and call us "pink hats" took it to another level.

 

[Sicilian]

KCY, week-6 review:

INJURIES:
Malcom Brown was OUT (knee)
John Simon was OUT (shoulder)
JC Jackson was OUT (healthy scratch)
Keionta Davis was OUT (healthy scratch)
Rivers played a few snaps
Wise had his day cut short by a lower leg injury.

The Pats had Gordon, but they were missing Burkhead (on IR).
It was only Edelman's second game back after his suspension, and he went 4/7, 51 yds and 1 TD.

The Chiefs were without Eric Berry, Justin Houston and Eric Murray (CB).
Dee Ford was just coming back from a groin injury.

---------------
Mahomes got picked twice (Hightower, Harmon)
Two of Mahomes' 4 TD passes were from blown coverages (JMac > Hunt, ?? > Hill)
Tremon Smith had a 97-yard kickoff return that set up another score (FG, I think).

Kelce caught 5/9 for 61 yds (long of 17) and no scores.
Hunt had 10 carries for 80 yds (long of 31), AND caught 5/6 for 105 and a TD (long of 67-TD, JMac's blown coverage).
Hill caught 7/12 for 142 (long of 75-TD, the other blown coverage).
Without those two blown coverages and that KO return, the Chiefs might well have been limited to 23 points.

As it was, the Pats had 31 first downs to KCY's 18, and the Pats dominated ToP 36 min. to 24 min.

The Pats went 7/13 on 3rd-down and 4/6 in the red zone.
KCY went 4/10 on 3rd down and 2/5 in the red zone.

Basically, what I'm taking from all this is: The first game is going to have very little to do with what happens this Sunday. There's a lot of variance in available personnel (for both teams), as well as the range of roles for lots of players. Plus you can be sure both teams will be making adjustments to their defensive gameplans, and the game is in a different venue.

 

[1960Pats]

Hi answer was that he'd think about it and let you know

Now can we stop the bickering about next-to-nothing and discuss Patriots-Chiefs?

I need to apologize for briefly joining in the fray with one of my responses. It won't happen again.

 

[1960Pats]

Luck made the KC D look like the 85 Bears.

Luck sucks and is a choker in the clutch. Folks that watched the Indy game saw passes land in the dirt and more than a few balls batted around at the LOS.

Luck was even bouncing passes to his RB's on swing passes.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The Chiefs activated Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Hes a G. Not sure he'll start but was a starter and cut a little used safety.

 

[1960Pats]

As is usually the case, I don't think what happened in the last meeting matters. Hell, I don't think last week matters. Each team's circumstances are entirely different now. All that matters will be how each team performs in this game.

I'm confident that the Pats can pull it off but I won't be shocked if they don't. The Chiefs are no pushover.

 

[Kontradiction]

If it were just "the season is over" it wouldn't have been so bad, but to then criticize fans who didn't agree and call us "pink hats" took it to another level.

That's because a very generous percentage of homers are. Don’t believe me? I bet only pink hats will dislike this post.

 

[Belichick8384]

Get the running game going, sky is the limit. Get all 5 guys involved too. White, Michel, Burkhead, Patterson, Develin. I think we get it going there we got the game

 

[PP2]

Here's why we'll give KC a much harder time than the Colts did. Colts didn't do a good job of matching up to KC's offense.

 

[maineman209]

never bought the "without blown coverage or huge return" rational. The team still would have the ball..so to say they wouldn't have scored without those huge plays is silly..imo

Never said "wouldn't have scored". Said they might have scored less.

It's just as silly to assume that they would have scored, or at least to assume that they would have scored TDs on all those possessions.

Hunt's TD came on a 3rd-and-2 from the Chiefs own 33 on their first possession of Q3.
The Chiefs' next TD came on a short field (29 yards, 4 plays) after Brady was strip-sacked.
The Chiefs' next TD came from 3 yards out after the 97-yard KO return.
The Chiefs' final TD that tied the game at 40 with 3:00 left, was Hill's 75-yard reception, obviously from the Chiefs' own 25.

That's 28 of 40 Chiefs' points that resulted from the Pats own eff-ups - FOUR of them. It doesn't seem at all irrational or silly to me to think that the Chiefs' might have scored less without them.