Chiefs at Patriots: OPEN THREAD

Laddie Morse

It’s come down to this game. If K.C. loses… they are in a world of hurt. If they win, it could mark the beginning of run unlike any we’ve seen… in a year. 😀 Could this be the beginning of a Super Bowl run that ends with a Super Bowl LVIII victory? It could happen, but if it does, it all begins today.

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Swifties Unite

First of all, let’s clear some things up about Taylor Swift and our favorite Tight End ever, Travis Kelce. Form an article called, “Travis Kelce Reportedly Consulted Taylor Swift’s Dad About a Huge Relationship Step” published by paraded.com, author Michael Stein reports:

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“Travis Kelce is reportedly shopping around for a diamond engagement ring for Taylor Swift. On top of that, the Kansas City Chiefs tight end has already consulted the pop star’s dad, Scott [Swift], about the huge relationship step, according to a new report. On Saturday, Dec. 16, TMZ reported that a source close to Kelce shared the NFL player is contemplating a proposal. “Scott has been asked for his blessing and has wholeheartedly given it,” the source told the publication. ” And Travis has been talking to friends about a ring.”

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With Travis apparently headed for matrimonial Shangri-la, the only question left to answer is… will Taylor Swift be at the game in Foxborough today at noon? The answer also comes from parade.com in another piece authored by Michael Stein called, “Will Taylor Swift Be at the Chiefs-Patriots Game Cheering on Travis Kelce?,” and he says:

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“It’s difficult to say for sure until she shows up (or not), considering she hasn’t publicly shared her intentions. But given her current Eras Tour hiatus, there’s a good chance Swift will be there to support Kelce.”

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On to the Game

The Chiefs have had a hard time coming up with the right mix of players, schemes and called-plays over the last month or so. They are 2-and-4 over that span of time and it’s not just the month of November that they struggled. I’m going back to both of the games versus the Broncos, one of which they won, and the other was a loss, 24-to-9. In those two game to Denver, K.C. had one TD, a pass, and 3 interceptions. While Patrick Mahomes has played uncharacteristically bad over the last few months… I should correct myself… Patrick Mahomes has not played up to his usual stellar self over the last few months, and that’s what has made all the difference.

Now, I should point out that the Chiefs wide receivers have had a bad bad case of he dropsies and that’s the main reason Patrick Mahomes has not looked very great. Is Mahomes still in the MVP Race? Yes. However, to win it this year, he’ll have to get back to playing phenomenal ball while his competitors drop off in performance level. Nate Taylor at the Athletic offered a piece on Monday called, “Fundamental problem: Chiefs go back to basics to clean up offensive mistakes” in which Reid says,

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“We’ve got to take care of that business there of the penalties and the detailed things,. It’s getting done 90 percent of the time, but you have to keep it right the whole time at this level. That’s what we’re working on. I get paid to teach, so I’m going to continue to teach.
The players are going to continue to work.”

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The Patriots have become the worst version of themselves. Let’s not forget the saying: “On Any Given Sunday” meaning… any team can beat any other team, on any given weekend. It also happens to have been made into a movie by the same name.

Based upon Defensive Yards Allowed, the Kansas City Chiefs currently — after week 14 of the NFL 2023 season — rank 6th overall. However, the New England Patriots rank 8th overall on Defense. Here’s a look at the top ten as revised from FoxSports:

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On offense it’s a different story completely. The Chiefs rank 7th overall on Yards Gained while the Patriots rank 28th overall. The most important question then becomes… can our Chiefs, who have been less than stellar lately, put it all together to dominate the Pats Defense, which is one of the league’s better defenses?

We know the Chiefs Defense can dominate the Pats Offense, but the game comes down to: the Chiefs O vs the Pats D. What we know for a fact is, that an offense doesn’t compete against another team’s offense. Nope, it’ll be K.C. Offense vs. the N.E. Defense… that will decide this one.

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Team Injury Reports

While the Chiefs will not have their starting RB available for this one, I don’t think that will be a problem. The Pats are 23rd in rush yards allowed while the K.C. defensive is #10 overall in that same category. The worse of the problems may end up being that starting LT Donovan Smith will give way, for a whole game, to Wanya Morris. On the other hand, Morris has played well in his short stent at Left Tackle so far and if we can get his to perform well for a whole game, we may be able to project him as the starter come 2024. Below, you will also see that WR Justyn Ross has been labeled as Doubtful but instead, he is OUT. HC Andy Reid says he’ll be available next week.

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If RB Rhamondre Stevenson is indeed OUT for the Pats for this game it bodes well for the Chiefs defense, especially their Run Defense.

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Gillette Stadium Weather

Here’s the weather by weather.com for Foxborough and Gillette Stadium.

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The weather looks idyllic for football.

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Projection:

42-to-10, Chiefs

I can see K.C. falling behind 10-to-nothing… then… only because the Patriots get close enough for a field goal, a 3-and-out on the Chiefs Offense… then a pick-6 by them… then K.C. runs the table and comes away with a 42-to-10 win.

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Laddie Morse — ArrowheadOne

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