The New England Patriots look to get back on track this weekend as they host the Kansas City Chiefs.
It is no secret that the New England offense needs to improve to have any chance to keep up with Kansas City’s offensive attack. Defensively, it appears the Pats have been exposed by two mobile quarterbacks. Well, they’re playing another mobile quarterback this week. The good news is that the Pats are very familiar with him, having played him twice last year.
Let’s get to know the Kanas City Chiefs and what to expect on Sunday afternoon.
Kansas City’s offense has not been clicking at 100% yet this season. Putting up 40 points on the Oakland Raiders may have sparked them this week against the best defense in the NFL. Patrick Mahomes took the league by storm last season and is planning to have a great end of this season. Mahomes dislocated his knee in week 7. When he came back, it took him a while to get going. The past two games for Mahomes have gone very well. He has thrown for 357 yards in that time. Turnovers have been an issue for him, as he has been forcing the football downfield. Last year during the AFC Championship Game, the Pats kept Mahomes in the pocket with pressure on the outside and forced him to make acrobatic throws. If New England can do that again this Sunday, the Pats will put themselves in a great position to win late in the game.
Other offensive weapons like Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill make it easy for any NFL quarterback to have success. Kelce has a unique skillset that no other tight end in the league has. Hill is easily the fastest wide receiver in the league as he makes big plays after the catch. Both cause major challenges to any defense but if anyone can stop them, it would be the Patriots. The running game for the Chiefs is not much to brag about this season. Damien Williams has been in and out of games all season and LeSean McCoy is now the lead back.
The defense for the Chiefs has been sneaking up on people as of late. Stopping the run had been an issue for the Chiefs. Yet, ever since Mahomes got hurt, it seems like the defense has stepped up. Well, when Pat came back, their philosophy didn’t change. Going from 31st to 24th in the lead stopping the run doesn’t happen overnight. Also, the defense is 3rd in the league against the pass. Only allowing an average of 290 yards per game through the air forcing teams to run the ball. It’s hard to know how many of these Brady versus Mahomes match ups we half left.
It should be a good one this week, be sure to watch the game at 4:25 on Sunday on CBS!
–Robert Marcello is a Staff Writer for Full Press Coverage and covers the New England Patriots. Follow him on Twitter @RobertMarcello5
