Throughout the glorious Bill Belichick era, the New England Patriots (2-2) are not often throttled like they were tonight. The Kansas City Chiefs (2-2) used a methodical game plan on both sides of ball en route to a 41-14 blowout of the Patriots at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City.
Fans, the media, and anyone else who was watching this game should have known that it wasn’t going to be a methodical victory for the Patriots. The Chiefs rang up 303 yards total offense on the Patriots’ 2nd ranked defense in the first half.
Kansas City kicked off the scoring with a 2 yard touchdown run to the right side by running back Jamal Charles (108 total offensive yards and 3 touchdowns) for a 7-0 lead with just under 2:24 left in the first quarter. Then Charles added his second touchdown, when he caught an X-Split Screen 5 yard touchdown
pass from quarterback Alex Smith (20 of 26 for 248 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions) in which the running back lined up as an X-receiver far out near the right sideline. It was now 14-0 Chiefs with 11:04 left in the second quarter.
The Chiefs had a chance near the end of the first half to go up 21-0 when Smith took the snap and with all night to throw, threw a 7 yard completion to wide receiver Dwayne Bowe who tried his best to inch his way into the end zone but Patriots cornerback Darrelle Revis wasn’t having it. Revis reacted to the reception and then jumped on Bowe’s back with the two eventually falling down at the NE 2 yard line.
So in came rookie and former NFLPA Collegiate Bowl game placekicker Cairo Santos into the game to try a 22 yard field goal. The kick was good and the score was 17-0 Kansas City at halftime. With around 8:45 left in the third quarter, outside linebacker/rush end Tamba Hali quickly pass rushed past Patriot left tackle Nate Solder, and hit quarterback Tom Brady’s (14 of 23 for 159 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions) passing arm with the ball dropping to the turf and was being recovered by Hali at the NE 9 yard line.
That fumble recovery set up a Smith 9 yard touchdown strike to Charles for the running back’s third score of the game (2 rushing and 1 receiving) and a comfortable 24-0 Chiefs lead with 7:53 left in the third quarter. Then the Chiefs added more aggravation to the Patriots cause as on the ensuing drive, Chiefs cornerback Sean Smith intercepted Brady’s pass deep down the field and returned the theft to the NE 13 for a 47 yard return. That interception was huge for Smith, as quarterbacks had a 111.1 passer rating against him this year coming into tonight’s game. And that was his first interception since November 3, 2013 against the Buffalo Bills.
His pick set up a successful Santos 31 yard field goal for a 27-0 Chiefs lead with 5:29 left in the third quarter. But the Patriots showed a pulse on their ensuing drive, as running back Shane Vereen took a Brady pass and took off down field for a 28 yard gain to the KC 44 yard line. That complementary play set up a Brady 44 yard touchdown pass to receiver Brandon LaFell (6 catches for 119 yards and 1 score), who sped all alone down the right sideline and into the end zone for an eventual 27-7 Chiefs lead with around 3:40 left in the third quarter.
On the ensuing drive, Smith on play-action and with so much time to throw, looked to his right and then threw a corner route 2 yard touchdown pass to tight end Travis Kelce (8 catches for 93 yards and 1 score). It was now 34-7 KC with just under twelve minutes left in the game.
Another indication that this was KC’s night was when defensive back Husain Abdullah intercepted Brady on the drive that followed Kelce’s touchdown catch, and the defender returned the theft untouched into the end zone from 39 yards out and a 41-7 lead for the Chiefs with 10:44 left in the game.
But on the ensuing drive, All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski put some points on the board for the Patriots. Gronk on said play, caught rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo’s pass then bullied his way through the attempted tackles of Chiefs Abdullah and linebackers James Michael-Johnson and Josh Mauga and dove into the end zone for a 41-14 score with 7:25 left in the contest.
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