Patriots Commentary:

Injured running back LeGarrette Blount live tweets playoff game.

An even bigger factor of having Edelman back is teams can’t overload on covering Rob Gronkowski and he was extremely effective on Saturday with seven catches for 83 yards and two big touchdowns

The New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers have both opened up as 3-point favorites in early odds for the NFL conference championship games for the 2015-2016 season. The Patriots travel to Denver to play the Broncos at 3:00 pm ET on Sunday, while the Panthers host the Arizona Cardinals at 6:40 pm Sunday. The notable difference in these two betting lines is that New England is a 3-point favorite despite playing on the road, while Carolina is only favored by three while playing at home.

Most of the focus in the mid-west is on Andy Reid mismanaging the clock – but only a minority recognized the reality that the Patriots outplayed the Chiefs. Forget the time issues for a moment; was Reid lulled into an improper game plan based on New England’s final game(s) of the season?

New England’s earlier meeting against Denver didn’t turn out too well, but this rematch should be quite different compared to their first battle.

The league released the playing time totals from both teams, and here’s a quick rundown of the snap counts for the Patriots on both sides of the football from yesterday’s game.

Edelman did have some early drops, but his mere presence galvanized the Patriot offense Saturday during the Patriots win over Kansas City.

Brady was sharp, completing 28 of 42 passes for 302 yards and two touchdowns on the day. His numbers would have been even better had not the Patriots suffered a case of the drops especially in the first half.

Phil Simms quote, “Look, we know Kansas City is tough, but New England, they’re a tough team and they play for 60 minutes. A lot of teams say they can play for 60 minutes but my question is: They (NE), will play for 60 mins. Can You?”

Edelman is particularly effective at getting open at the line of scrimmage and allowing Brady to get the ball out quickly which helps an offensive line that is battered, bruised and has been leaky down the stretch.

Patriots Brady, Gronkowski, post pregame social media postings.

The New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs Saturday afternoon, Jan. 16, at 4:35 P.M. at Gillette Stadium. Here’s some pregame thoughts, three keys to the game and a prediction for the upcoming contest.

Smith is the “X-factor” in both KC’s running and passing game. One thing to consider is that Bill Belichick has always been a bit passive when facing a quarterback who can run.

“I want to start off by saying I made a pretty stupid mistake this weekend,” Jones said. “Right now, my main focus is becoming the best player I can be and helping the team, and we’re focused on Kansas City.”

It sounds like reporters in Kansas City might be trying to create a little controversy with the Chiefs coming into Foxboro this weekend in the AFC Divisional round.