The Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots hung tough early on, but big plays and a big error gave Patrick Mahomes a chance that he did not let slip. Mahomes quickly restored a double-digit lead off four straight scoring drives that spanned the second and third quarters, en route to a 27-17 victory in Foxborough.
The Patriots defense was only able to contain Mahomes for a limited amount of time as the defending Super Bowl champions demonstrated why they’ll still be a formidable foe for any playoff team that has to play them. However, things looked promising early on as Bailey Zappe completed all but two passes in building a 10-7 lead in the second quarter.
After trailing 10–7, Kansas City scored 20 points in a row, while New England failed to regain their early game output for the second consecutive week in the second half, starting with a first-play interception and ending with four straight three-and-outs.
A fourth-down attempt from New England’s own six-yard line fell incomplete, and Kansas City took over and kneeled for the victory. Kevin Harris added a fourth-quarter touchdown for the Patriots off a Jahlani Tavai interception to stop the bleeding, and the defense would force another punt after that to make things a little more interesting down the stretch.
From the defeat that reduced New England to 3-11, here are the main lessons to be learned.
1. Early game action is marked by penalties and missed field goals.
Jalen Reagor recovered the opening kickoff for the Patriots and seemed to be off to a strong start, but the play was wiped out by Brenden Schooler’s holding penalty. Starting deep in their own territory at the 13-yard line, the New England offense soon found themselves in a dull three-and-out.
The Chiefs scored on a 32-yard passing play on their first offensive play, but an offensive pass interference call on a pick play pushed the Chiefs back, and New England’s defense stepped up to help force a stop on the drive. Early in the game, as the two sides got to know one another, Harrison Butker missed a 39-yard field goal wide right to hold the score at 0-0.
As New England entered Kansas City territory on their second drive, Zappe began to deal from the pocket. Displaying a fast release and strong field awareness, he connected DeVante Parker for a 20-yard gain and Demario Douglas for 16 yards. However, another penalty would thwart an early drive when Douglas was assessed a 15-yard penalty for an uncommon offensive face mask.
In response, Chad Ryland would miss his own field goal, this time from 41 yards out—his third error in the previous four games.
2. Chiefs Play Deceptive to Get First Point
The Patriots’ failed field goal was soon exploited by the Chiefs, who marched down the field in four plays thanks in large part to a 48-yard screen throw to Clyde Edwards-Helaire that seemed to be a blown coverage by the Patriots defense. After two plays, Patrick Mahomes was even in a three-point stance as Jerick McKinnon took a straight snap out of a well-stocked backfield. KC had a 7-0 lead when rookie Rashee Rice came racing in and McKinnon flipped it to him for his first throwing touchdown.
Andy Reid displayed his offensive inventiveness on this play, as the Chiefs were able to take advantage of a weakness in New England’s defense twice throughout the drive. This was the first-ever meeting between two coaches who had combined for almost 500 victories.
3. The Patriots React to Defense and Offense
In response, the Patriots offense went on an unrelenting scoring drive, going for it on a fourth down and converting two third downs to score the game’s opening touchdown for New England. Zappe once again displayed excellent pocket composure, hitting two crucial passes on third down: a 19-yard pass to DeVante Parker and a crucial one to Hunter Henry.
Following a botched third-and-two, the Pats continued to press their offensive line deep into Chiefs territory. Henry was the recipient of a pass from Zappe, and the tight end produced a spectacular grab on the precise throw, coming down with the ball to score the response. Early in the game, Henry and Parker had a significant impact as they were both having productive days that sparked New England’s attack. Halfway in the second quarter, the two had combined for 101 receiving yards across four drives in a 7-7 ball game. Zappe started the game by completing 17 of 19 passes.
It wouldn’t be a lengthy tie.
After the Patriots scored, Kansas City regained possession of the ball, and on their first play, rookie Marte Mapu intercepted a pass intended for tight end Blake Bell, resulting in the first turnover of the game. Mapu intercepted the pass for the first time in his career and returned it 20 yards to the Kansas City 15-yard line. The Pats led 10–7 when a Conor McDermott holding penalty prevented Henry from scoring a second score. Instead, they had to settle for a field goal.
Mapu received some early repetitions and made the most of them, making a play that the club and he could build on. Late in the season, Mapu had a quiet period.
4. KC leads at the half thanks to impressive third-down plays.
After halftime, Kansas City managed to regain the lead thanks to two crucial third-down plays, with Mahomes scoring 31 yards on third-and-8 and 20 yards on third-and-9. The quarterback demonstrated why he is so dangerous even with strong early-down performance, as huge plays posed a significant challenge for New England throughout the Chiefs’ scoring drives. Even though Mahomes was having the worst season of huge throwing plays of his career, these big plays still happened. Before the game, he had only scored one spectacular throwing touchdown thus far this season. Zappe, however, succeeded in all four of his intermediate tries but refrained from attempting a deep pass.
After tossing the first touchdown of the game, McKinnon completed an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown reception to add to his stat line. The Chiefs led 14–10 at the half.
5. Chiefs Quickly Extend Lead Twice
With huge plays and third-down conversions, Kansas City’s recipe helped them sustain their momentum into the second half. After Mahomes struck Rashee Rice for 23 yards on their first play of the second half, everything took off. They would convert a third down as well, gaining 11 yards on a crossing route by Rice when they needed 10. After that, Rice would gain another 17 yards on a grab that moved Kansas City to the 14-yard line; however, the Patriots defense would tighten up inside the red zone, stopping three plays intended for Travis Kelce.
After settling for a field goal to make the score 17–10, Bailey Zappe promptly threw a first-down interception to give the Chiefs another opportunity to extend their advantage, setting them up at the Pats seven-yard line. Another wonderfully timed late-down ball by Mahomes to Clyde Edwards-Helaire would earn them another point.
Following the Patriots’ third three-and-out of the game, KC added another field goal, this time a 54-yarder from Butker to make the score 27-10. The Chiefs easily won the game as they drove 39 yards in six plays, including plays of 17 and 20 yards. This was KC’s fourth consecutive touchdown drive.
After leading 10–7 in the second quarter, New England played only two plays until 9:22 in the third, when they found themselves down 24–10, and things only got worse. That’s the power of huge plays and turnovers, and the speed at which they can change the course of a game.
6. Attrition of injuries
In this game, Cole Strange was taken off with a leg injury and was instantly declared out, which is never a good omen for the Patriots. Conor McDermott, the starting left tackle, exited the game in the second half due to a head injury, while Hunter Henry was also substituted out of the game in the fourth quarter after taking a low hit. Even Matthew Slater fell down and needed to be examined, and before halftime, Jonathan Jones was declared doubtful to return due to his ongoing knee ailment from the season. He remained resilient throughout the second half. Anfernee Jennings and Jabrill Peppers both required medical attention from the staff in the fourth quarter, while Ja’Whaun Bentley was another Patriot who left the field late to visit the medical tent. However, he would later rejoin the action.
On the scoreboard, it was a disheartening defeat, but the injuries may have a greater effect in the team’s remaining three games.
The Patriots are currently 3-11.
The Patriots sparked some interest early on with a touchdown on an extended drive and a field goal after a fumble, but the Chiefs quickly took control of the game, leading 10–7 in the second quarter and going on four consecutive drives to not only restore the advantage but also expand it to an unassailable margin. Although Zappe had some flash, his game-changing interception in the third quarter occurred deep beyond his own zone.
The majority of KC’s offensive consisted of late-down passes from Mahomes and huge plays, which the NE defense gave up too many of. Although they did a decent job of stopping Travis Kelce, Mahomes proved why he is the finest quarterback in the league by tearing apart the Pats defense and leading the Chiefs to an easy victory.
The Patriots, at 3-11, will go on to face the 7-7 Broncos in Denver on Christmas Eve. The Broncos are coming off a crushing defeat at the hands of the Lions.
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