New England Patriots: 5 key offensive players key vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The New England Patriots will play the underdog role on Sunday when they take on the Kansas City Chiefs.  Here are five offensive players who must step up.

In defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 41-28 in the AFC Championship game, the New England Patriots put together perhaps their best complete team effort of the season.

While it couldn’t have come at a better time, they will need to duplicate that performance going on the road in the AFC Championship game against the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs.

What made Sunday’s performance so thrilling was seeing Tom Brady convert back to the quarterback everyone knows he is.  Age is starting to become a factor, but he showcased Sunday that he can still rise to the top of his game in big games.  Passing for over 300 yards and a touchdown, Brady was motivated and effective.

He was effective because his playmakers showed up.  James White was outstanding racking up double-digit catches and Julian Edelman was well…Julian Edelman.

There was even a Rob Gronkowski of old sighting.  Combined with an effective running game, the New England Patriots proved against the Chargers that they can move the ball in different ways.  With the cold weather expected in Kansas City and with the loud noise of Arrowhead Stadium, Brady and the Patriots are going to have to be just as balanced on offense.

Whether it turns into a shootout or an old fashioned low-scoring slug fest, Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is going to have to be creative and all the team’s playmakers will have to be ready because the Chiefs’ defense, despite their struggles all season long, looked good against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.

Therefore, the challenge for the New England Patriots will be to find matchups to exploit, which leads to these five offensive players who will be key to rolling past the Kansas City Chiefs and advancing to Super Bowl LIII.