The Kansas City Chiefs scored 23 unanswered points to take a 23-7 lead in the third quarter Sunday evening, and held on to defeat the New England Patriots 23-16 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
New England (10-3) started quickly as Tom Brady worked a flea flicker with James White and found a wide open Julian Edelman for a 37 yard touchdown to make it 7-0 just 2:26 into the game. Kansas City (9-4) took alot of the air out of Gillette Stadium though scoring the next 23 points consecutively. A touchdown throw from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman of 48 yards, a Travis Kelce short TD run out of the wildcat formation near the goal line, and three Harrison Butker field goals made it 23-7 with 8:50 left third quarter. The Patriots got some life minutes later when Nate Ebner blocked a Chiefs punt that went out of bounds at the KC 19 yard line. It was the fourth blocked punt of the season for the Patriots. Brandon Bolden followed that up with a 10 yard TD run. New England went for two but couldn’t convert and it was a 10 point game headed to the fourth quarter.
The hosts got more momentum when Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce was stripped by Devin McCourty and fumbled 15 seconds into the fourth, and the Patriots recovered at their own 43. A controversial call on that ensuing New England possession kept them out of the end zone. N’Keal Harry looked as if he had caught a 15 yard touchdown from Tom Brady, breaking tackles and reaching over the pylon. However, the officials didn’t rule a touchdown and instead ruled Harry stepped out at the 3 yard line. White was then stopped on a run, Brady threw incomplete to Jacobi Meyers, and then took a six yard sack on third down. Nick Folk settled for a 29 yard field goal to make it a seven point game. Kansas City was stopped on three and outs on their next two possessions as the Patriots clamped down defensively, but New England couldn’t find pay dirt including a Brady incomplete pass intended for Edelman in the endzone on a 4th down and 3 at the Chiefs 5 yard line with 1:11 left that ended the game.
Brady finished the night 19-36 passing for 169 yards, with one touchdown and one interception in the loss. The running game was mostly ineffective rushing for a total of 94 yards on 22 carries led by White with 33. Edelman had eight catches for 95 yards and the one touchdown. D. McCourty led the defense with nine tackles and the forced fumble. Mahomes went 26-40 passing in the KC win for 283 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. LeSean McCoy had 39 yards rushing, while Kelce had seven catches for 66 yards and Tyreek Hill added six for 62. Damien Wilson had eight tackles, two for a loss to lead the Chiefs defense.
Kansas City ends a 21 game Patriots winning streak at home (including postseason), becoming the first team to beat New England at Gillette Stadium since October 1, 2017 when Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers did so 33-30. The home win streak was tied for the longest in team history and was the third longest in NFL history. New England also sees a 42-0 record end when facing AFC opponents at home when both Brady and Edelman play. The Patriots are back on the road next Sunday when they visit Cincinnati at 1 p.m.
