Analyzing the New England Patriots 3 potential playoff matchups
By Max Bozicas
New England Patriots @ Kansas City Chiefs
They may no longer be the top team in the AFC, but the Kansas City Chiefs are as dangerous as ever. It hasn’t been a cake walk for Kansas City, as they were 3-4 through the first seven weeks. However, they turned it around and won eight straight prior to their loss to the Bengals yesterday afternoon.
Since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback for the Chiefs, they have played four games against the Patriots and are 2-2 in those games. However, the Patriots had Tom Brady for three of those games, and the one game where they didn’t happened last year which resulted in a 26-10 win for Kansas City.
The Patriots don’t necessarily have some magic formula to stop Kansas City’s offense, but Bill Belichick has found a way to at least slow Mahomes down at times during these matchups. With that said, Mac Jones and Josh McDaniels will still need to find a way to score points.
Kansas City’s pass defense ranks towards the bottom of the league, which would give the Patriots an opportunity to open up the playbook offensively. Still, the Patriots would need to make some plays on defense, as matching blows with Mahomes is not an easy task.
Could the New England Patriots stop Patrick Mahomes?
With no Jonathan Jones in the secondary for New England, Tyreek Hill would be a very tough cover. The Patriots would need to play zone more often than not, as they have no one else who can go step for step with Hill in man coverage. That would leave Travis Kelce to find the soft spots in said zone coverage, which he does better than any pass catcher in the NFL.
Not to mention the revamped Chiefs offensive line, which is anchored by stud rookie center Creed Humphrey and former Patriot Joe Thuney at guard. Watching them face Christian Barmore, who is causing pressure at a higher rate than any other rookie defensive tackle, would be intriguing.