The New England Patriots were able to walk out of Gillette Stadium with a win, but it didn’t come easy. Here are 3 takeaways from the amazing week 6 matchup.
When will opposing teams learn that you can’t give the New England Patriots and Tom Brady the ball late in a game? How many Tom Brady led game-winning drives will it take?
Things got dicey for Patriots fans in the 2nd half, but the Patriots defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 43-30 with a last-second field goal.
The game was truly a tale of two halves. The first half belonged to the New England Patriots who dominated the Chiefs and looked like they were about to blow out the undefeated squad, but in the 2nd half, the Chiefs came roaring back.
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The Chiefs offense is as high powered as it gets. When you have Patrick Mahomes, Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce on the field at the same time it can feel like you never have enough players.
A true testament to the Chiefs offensive skill is that they scored 40 points and I don’t think that the New England Patriots defense had a horrible game.
Also, some Patriots players had a momentous Sunday night. Tom Brady won his 200th regular season game and Rob Gronkowski’s catch that clinched the game for the Patriots was his 500th of his career.
So let’s get to my 3 takeaways from the New England Patriots amazing Week 6 victory.
1. The New England Patriots can run the ball
It still stuns me that the Patriots have a running game. For most of Tom Brady’s career, he has been relied on to make the plays. Now he still bears most of the responsibility, but his linebackers are taking some of the pressure off of him.
The Patriots got production from all over the place. Even Brady himself was helping out.
Kenjon Barner, James White, and Sony Michel combined for 161 yards rushing. When Barner was first put in the game I was concerned that Michel may have been hurt, but it appeared the Patriots just wanted to get him some touches.
Barner really surprised me. He had great vision and some great runs. The Patriots backfield hasn’t looked this great in a long time.
The New England Patriots were also finally able to score near the goal line. Sony Michel seemed incapable of getting into the red zone but scored two goal line touchdowns.
If the Patriots running backs can continue to perform New England will be impossible to stop.
2. Brian Flores did his job
The New England Patriots defense did a surprisingly good job. They may have given up 40 points, but they did plenty of things that made you smile.
Now I’m giving the thanks to Brian Flores because the defensive coordinator seemed to install a great game plan. Flores and the Patriots defense wanted to put pressure on Mahomes and make him think.
Flores had linebackers fake blitzes and drop back into coverage and then would have everyone blitz. Mahomes was forced to make some tough throws and two of them ended up being interceptions.
The New England Patriots defensive line was also causing problems all night. Trey Flowers was absolutely dominant, and Adrian Clayborn was toying with his man. Clayborn may not have a sack yet, but he causes pressure on nearly every play.
It looks like the Patriots have found another defensive genius who will lead the team to victory.
3. Silent, but deadly
You may not have heard Stephon Gilmore’s name a lot, but he was one of the Patriots best players on defense. Gilmore locked down Sammy Watkins only allowing 2 catches for 18 yards.
Each week Gilmore seems to get better. He is proving that the Patriots were smart to move on from Malcolm Butler because Gilmore is the superior corner.
Gilmore didn’t have an interception, but he did his job so well Mahomes didn’t even want to test him.
The Patriots are now 4-2 and sit at the top of the AFC East and even though their record doesn’t prove it, the top of the entire AFC. It is clear that when the Patriots are on their game no one can beat them.
Next up for the Patriots is a matchup with the Chicago Bears in the Windy City. Hopefully, it will be an easy win and Patriots fans won’t have to stress like they did in Week 6.