FOXBOROUGH – They teased you for a few minutes, but in the end the better team won and the losing team did what they do this year.
After an early 10-7 lead which had you the Patriot fan actually dreaming of what would have been a titanic upset, Patrick Mahomes took care of things in the end and led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 27-17 win on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. With Carolina surprisingly beating Atlanta 9-7, it brings the Patriots closer to the top pick in the 2024 draft. This isn’t normally what Patriot Nation wants to be discussing, but in 2023, there is little choice.
Bailey Zappe had a decent first half, and a mistake-filled second half, not unlike the last Patriot game, the 21-18 win at Pittsburgh ten days ago. He still looks at times like he can lead the Patriot offense, but still has a major learning curve ahead of him. He threw two very bad balls today, one of which was intercepted and one which almost was. The offensive line did well in the first half in giving Zappe time to throw, but injuries depleted the line in the second half and Zappe’s comfort zone similarly disappeared.
But some excruciating penalties in the first half prevented the Patriots from possibly taking more than just a field goal lead. They were mostly indicative of a 3-10 team, penalties that they probably don’t come close to making in the halcyon days of the 21st century Patriots.
It started right from the get-go. On the opening kickoff, Jalen Reagor found a lane up the left sideline and raced 46 yards to the Patriot 49-yard line. But Branden Schooler was called for holding, putting the Patriots back at their own 13-yard line as the crowd groaned. A predictable three-and-out followed.
The first Chiefs drive ended in a missed field goal by Harrison Butker from 39 yards, giving the Patriots back the ball in good field position. Zappe directed the Patriots on a nice drive, completing six out of six passes to get the Patriots to the Kansas City 12. Zappe then found Pop Douglas on a quick slant route for six yards. But Douglas grabbed a hold of Trent McDuffie’s facemask along the way, negating the catch and backing the Patriots up 15 yards. Predictably, the drive ended four plays later, as Chad Ryland yanked a 41-yard field goal wide left. So both kickers missed a field goal early on, and it was even Steven moving forward, but the Patriots could have been up 10-0 or 14-0 at this juncture.
(PHOTO:Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)
The next mistake by the Patriots wasn’t a penalty, it was much worse. On second down and four at the KC 37, Mahomes looked left and the entire defense went to that side of the field. Mahomes then dumped a little screen toss to Clyde Edwards-Helaire and he had nothing in front of him except three or four blockers. He went 48 yards to the Patriot 15, and the Chiefs scored two plays later on a gadget play as Jerick McKinnon took a direct snap and then threw an inside shovel pass to Rashee Rice for a four-yard touchdown.
After an exchange of punts, the Patriots scored a touchdown on a Zappe pass to Hunter Henry from 16 yards. On the ensuing drive, Mahomes tried to hit backup tight end Blake Bell over the middle, but the ball deflected up in the air and was intercepted by Jahlani Tavai. Three plays later, Zappe again found Henry in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown pass. But the touchdown was nullified by a holding call on Conor McDermott, the third costly penalty of the half. Ryland kicked a 25-yard field goal to make it 10-7 Patriots, their only lead of the contest.
Into the third quarter, the Chiefs had the ball on the opening possession of the second half, the Chiefs leading 14-10. On the third play, Mahomes hit Skyy Moore over the middle for 13 yards. Jonathan Jones then hit Moore and he coughed up the football. Jabrill Peppers recovered the fumble and returned it ten yards. But in keeping with how the game was going, the Patriots suffered their fourth and last crippling penalty, as Alex Austin was called for defensive holding. The Chiefs kept the ball and Butler nailed a field goal to make it 17-10 Chiefs. This last penalty looked a little questionable on replay, but it happened and there was nothing the Patriots could do about it.
The issue was sealed for good when the Patriots got the ball back, and on the first play Zappe threw a horrid pass which was intercepted by Willie Gay. Edwards-Helaire caught a touchdown pass two plays later and school was out. The Patriots punted the next four drives until they were gifted by a second Tavai interception which was cashed in by Kevin Harris on an 18-yard touchdown run, but that only served to make the final score respectable.
Zappe finished 23 of 31 passing for 180 yards, one touchdown, one interception and an 85.4 passer rating. Henry led the Patriots with 7 catches for 66 yards and one touchdown that counted. Mahomes was 27 of 37 for 305 yards, two touchdowns, two interceptions and a 92.7 rating. Rice had 9 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots have a Christmas Eve date at Denver, which is like getting a stocking full of lumps of coal. It is being heavily promoted on the NFL Network; one has to wonder why this game hasn’t been flexed out. You can be forgiven if you decide to go to church instead of staying home and watching the Patriots play in a city they historically do badly in because of the elevation. Denver is not as strong as they have been in the last decade (they did win Super Bowl 50), but they have been playing better football since getting pummeled in the early season by Miami.
You might think that this game fits into the same category as the early season losses to Philadelphia and Miami, but those games were closer than this one was. Instead, the Patriots moved closer to a nice draft pick for next year, and the Falcons gifted them an early Christmas present to boot.
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Covering Boston Sports since 1997. Native of Worcester, Mass. Attended UMass and Univ of Michigan. Lives in California. Just recently retired after 40 years of public school teaching. Podcasts on YouTube at @thepic4139
