Patriots Blown Out By Chiefs In Kansas City
Monday, September 29, 2014
Many billed the Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs matchup on Monday Night Football as a chance for redemption for the Patriots after early-season struggles. That, however, was not the case as the Chiefs decimated the Patriots 41-14 on Monday night.
The Patriots won the opening coin toss and deferred to the 2nd half, meaning their defense was on display to start the game. Although the Chiefs were able to move the ball well in the run game, it was a 1st down sack by Chris and Chandler Jones for a loss of eight yards that helped the Patriots defense stop the Chiefs offense.
When the Patriots took the field on offense, they were starting two rookie offensive linemen for the first time in nine years with Bryan Stork at center and Cameron Fleming at guard. The offense still was unable to get moving early, going 3-and-out on their first drive of the game.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTStork became the first rookie center to start for the Patriots since Dan Koppen did so in 2003.
The Chiefs were able to continue to move the ball on their second drive, going 73 yards on 11 plays before punching in the game's first touchdown. The Chiefs were able to take advantage of the passing game, especially on a 15-yard pass from Alex Smith to Dwayne Bowe over Darrelle Revis to get the Chiefs to the 2-yard line. From there, Jamaal Charles punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Chiefs the 7-0 lead.
The Patriots managed just 3:18 time of possession in the 1st quarter and finished the quarter trailing 7-0.
The Patriots next drive saw them able to get two first downs, but unable to consistently move the ball. They were forced to punt the ball back to the Chiefs after moving 36 yards on the drive.
The Chiefs were able to capitalize on the Patriots punt, driving down the field with ease en route to a quick touchdown. The Chiefs needed just three plays to go 86 yards for the touchdown. A Knile Davis 48-yard run started the drive. It was followed by a 33 yard pass to Travis Kelce before a 5-yard touchdown pass from Smith to Charles to make the game 14-0.
The Patriots offense took the field again, but did not fare any better as they were forced to punt again. The Patriots were able to get Julian Edelman involved in the drive, completing two passes to Edelman. They showed a bit of life, running the punt team off the field on 4-&-2 for the offense which forced the Chiefs to take a timeout . They did not, however, go for the first down following the timeout.
The Patriots defense was able to finally stop the Chiefs offense on the ensuing drive, forcing a Dustin Colquitt punt. The Patriots offense could not take advantage of the defensive stop, however, punting the ball right back on their next possession. Rob Gronkowski finally got involved with his first catch of the game, an 18-yard reception on 1st down.
The Chiefs were able to take advantage of the Patriots inability to convert on offense, connecting on a field goal as time expired in the 1st half. The Chiefs rode the hot hand of Alex Smith to a 7-play, 85-yard drive that ended in a Cairo Santos field goal from 22-yards out. The Patriots nearly caught a break at the end of the half following clock mismanagement by the Chiefs, but a penalty by Logan Ryan allowed one final play for the Chiefs before the half.
The Patriots only managed 96 total yards in the half while allowing 303 to the Chiefs. The 303 yards marked the first time that a Bill Belichick-coached Patriots team allowed 300 yards in a 1st half. The shutout in the 1st half by the Chiefs was the first time the Patriots did not score in the 1st half since 2006 when the Miami Dolphins held a 21-0 halftime lead.
The 2nd half started much like the 1st half ended for the Patriots, a quick 3-&-out. The Patriots were able to complete a short pass to Julian Edelman to start the half, but did not move the ball otherwise, and even had Justin Houston force a Tom Brady fumble.
While the Patriots defense was able to get a stop on the next Chiefs drive, it was a non-factor as the Chiefs forced a Tom Brady fumble just three plays later. Tamba Hali forced the fumble by going nearly untouched around Nate Solder.
Just two plays later, Jamaal Charles found the end zone for the third time as he went right past Jerod Mayo in coverage for the 8-yard touchdown reception to make it 24-0 Chiefs.
It did not end there for the Patriots, however. On the very next drive Tom Brady and Julian Edelman had a miscommunication that led to an interception by Sean Smith. The interception led to another Santos field goal, this time from 31-yards, to make it 27-0.
The Patriots were finally able to get on the board late in the 3rd quarter. The Patriots drove 81 yards in just four plays before Brandon LaFell got his first touchdown as a member of the Patriots. LaFell went 44 yards for the score after breaking free from the Kansas City defense, but the play was set-up by a great 28-yard swing pass to Shane Vereen on 3rd down to keep the drive alive. The score made it 27-7 Chiefs, a score that carried into the 4th quarter.
In the 4th quarter, the Chiefs continued to dominate the Patriots. The Chiefs got another scoring drive, this time 12 plays for 80 yards ending in a Travis Kelce touchdown reception. The catch was Kelce's 8th on the night.
Things only got worse for the Patriots, as just four plays later Tom Brady was intercepted by Husain Abdullah and returned for a touchdown. The touchdown made the score 41-7 Kansas City.
Following the interception the Patriots made the move to Jimmy Garoppolo at quarterback. Garoppolo was able to come in and lead the Patriots on a scoring drive, picking up his first career touchdown pass in the process. Garoppolo went 3-of-4 for 55 yards and a touchdown on the drive, completing his first NFL pass to Brandon LaFell. Rookie running back James White also entered the game, getting his first NFL touches.
Garoppolo was unable to lead the Patriots on another scoring drive as the game ended with the Patriots falling 41-7 to the Chiefs. With the loss, the Patriots fall to 2-2 on the season. They will be back at Gillette Stadium next Sunday night to host the Cincinnati Bengals.
