An opportunity to bury the doubt is on the line for the New England Patriots in Sunday’s heavyweight showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs.
The Patrick Mahomes Show comes rolling into town at a time when the rest of the world is ready to write the obituary of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. A heavyweight showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday represents a chance to put all of the doom and gloom talk to rest.
Itās a chance for the Patriots to shift the raging locomotive into the highest gear and speed down the tracks into the playoffs.
The vaunted defense had no answers for the Houston Texans and quarterback Deshaun Watson a week ago. Things will get infinitely more difficult when attempting to ground the high-flying Chiefs offense led by one of the greatest young quarterbacks in NFL history.
Not to mention the inevitable Yoda vs. Yoda coaching battle between Bill Belichick and Andy Reid.
The Chiefs have won their last two consecutive games, including a blistering 40-9 victory over the Oakland Raiders. Watson earned his first win over Brady last week. Will it be Mahomesā turn on Sunday? The Patriots will enter the game at -3 favorites with the over/under being 49 points.
Why you should pick the Patriots
Iāve seen this story before.
The superhuman Patriots are suddenly reduced to vulnerable and breakable the week after a loss. Theyāre the Elijah Price team of the NFL. Of course, the story usually ends with them blowing out a really good team and putting the rest of the league on notice.
Many of the issues for the Patriots offense have been mostly based on poor technique and timing. Receivers arenāt running good routes, and Brady is stuck playing developmental coach at a time when heās supposed to be competing. Itās after Thanksgiving and real football has started.
Even Phillip Dorsett, a veteran receiver in his third season with the Patriots, seemed as lost as rookies NāKeal Harry and Jakobi Meyers last week.
But there is hope for the team to hit its stride late in 2019.
Meyers would have neared 100 receiving yards and probably caught a touchdown pass against the Texans if penalties and a bad route didnāt get in the way. Harry will be on the field for his fourth game with the team, and Dorsett has obviously been around long enough to know what he needs to clean up in Week 14. Donāt sleep on the positives in the maelstrom of negativity.
The offensive line showing some fight last week means Brady should have time to throw against a vulnerable Chiefs defense he managed to carve up on two separate occasions last season.
On the other side of the ball, Belichick was able to slow down Mahomes in the first-half of the AFC Championship. You can rest assured heāll enter Sundayās game with some unique wrinkle to throw the young quarterback off guard. The Patriots have the personnel to match-up on the backend of their defense. Without question, this will be the best secondary the Chiefs have faced all season.
Why you should pick the Chiefs
Weāre in Week 14 and talking about receivers not being on the same page with the quarterback. That would signal the death knell for any other team in the league but the Patriots. Yet, thereās always the tendency to give them the benefit of the doubt with Brady behind center and Belichick on the sideline.
But these arenāt the same Patriots anymore.
Brady appears to be frustrated with more than just football at this point, and he has arguably his worst cast of receiving talent in his professional career. If the Chiefs can take away Patriots receiver Julian Edelman and running back James White in the passing game, it will likely be another long afternoon for Brady and company.
Seeing the ease at which Watson was able to counter the Patriots beloved zero blitz is also a bad sign heading into a game against Mahomes and the Chiefsā speedy receivers. Not even Belichick has the courage to bring the house with the human blur, Tyreek Hill, flanked out wide.
The Patriots defense has struggled against mobile quarterbacks this season, and no one is better than dialing up big plays from defensive breakdowns than Mahomes. Heās always a threat to make a play regardless of the down and distance.
Trends
Via Covers.com:
- Chiefs are 19-9 ATS in their last 28 games against teams in the AFC.
- Chiefs are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 road games when playing against a team with a winning record at home.
- Patriots are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games played in the month of December.
Prediction
The smart pick is the Chiefs and the over on Sunday.
Rob Gronkowski will be calling the game as a Fox Sports analyst, and Antonio Brown will be somewhere tweeting about it. Help isnāt coming for Brady and the offense.
Theyāll need plenty of help when attempting to keep pace with a Chiefs offense that can pile up points at the snap of a finger. It would take a virtuoso performance the likes of what we saw from the Patriots defense at Super Bowl LIII to stop Mahomes. Reidās play-calling is too good, and Mahomes is too dangerous with the myriad of offensive weapons at his disposal.
If the Patriots offense couldnāt answer the bell against the depleted Texans defense, itās hard to envision them hitting the switch against a Chiefs unit that seems to be ascending at the right time. It will be more of the same on Sunday. The running game will hardly be a factor, and a screaming Brady will continue to sink when the Chiefs defense set their sights on Edelman and White.
Iām taking the Chiefs and the points.
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