WHAT: AFC championship game
WHERE: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
KICKOFF: 6:40 p.m.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Kansas City leads, 18-15-3
LAST MEETING: Oct. 14, 2018, won by New England, 43-40
PATRIOTS’ TOP PLAYERS: Patriots – QB Tom Brady (34 of 44, 343 yards, 1 touchdown, 0 interceptions in last week’s divisional win over Los Angeles); RB James White (NFL-playoff record 15 catches for 97 yards last week); RB Sony Michel (24 rushes, 129 yards, 3 touchdowns last week); WR Julian Edelman (9 catches, 151 yards last week); TE Rob Gronkowski (47 catches, 682 yards, 3 touchdowns on season); DE Trey Flowers (57 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles on season); S Duron Harmon (37 tackles, team-high 4 interceptions on season)
CHIEFS’ TOP PLAYERS: QB Pat Mahomes (383 of 580, 5,097 yards, 50 touchdowns, 11 interceptions; 272 rushing yards, 2 touchdowns on season); TE Travis Kelce (103 catches, 1,336 yards, 10 touchdowns on season); WR/PR Tyreek Hill (87 catches, 1,479 yards, 12 touchdowns, 151 rushing yards, 1 touchdown on season); WR Sammy Watkins (40 catches, 519 yards, 3 touchdowns on season); RB Damien Williams (25 rushes, 129 yards, 1 TD last week vs. Colts in divisional round); DT Chris Jones (40 tackles, 15.5 sacks, 19 tackles for a loss on season); LB Justin Houston (37 tackles, 9 sacks on the season).
KEY STAT: 52 – the number of sacks the Chiefs had this year, tied for first in the NFL.
OUTLOOK: The Chiefs ranked first in the league in points (35.3 per game) and yards (425.6 per game). But the Chiefs defense ranked 31st among the NFL’s 32 teams in yards per game (405.5) and 24th in points (26.3). And the Patriots can play a little bit of offense. This will likely be much like the regular season game, where the team with the ball last wins. New England’s Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 28-yard field goal on the game’s last play to lift New England after Kansas City wiped out a 15-point halftime deficit. Kansas City, of course, is without RB Kareem Hunt, released by the Chiefs after a video was released showing him shoving and kicking a woman. But that doesn’t limit their offense. Mahomes makes things happen and has two of the NFL’s great playmakers in Kelce and Hill. The Patriots need to limit at least one of those two – don’t be surprised if rookie CB J.C. Jackson is somehow involved in coverage on them – to slow down Kansas City. Offensively, the Patriots need to control the line as they did last week. Kansas City is a fierce pass rushing team. If they get to Brady early, it could be over quickly. Look for a lot of quick passes from Brady and for the Patriots to try to get Michel into the game early, much as they did last week. Again, the Patriots need to play in the lead. They can’t let the Arrowhead Stadium crowd stay in the game.
OF NOTE: The Patriots won the only previous playoff game between the teams, 27-20, in the divisional round of the 2015 season … The Patriots are playing in their NFL-record eighth consecutive conference championship game. Kansas City is appearing in its first conference championship game since the 1993 season, when it lost 30-13 to Buffalo. This is the first time Kansas City hosts a championship game … If the Patriots win, they will join Miami (three) and Buffalo (four) as the only teams in NFL history to appear in three consecutive Super Bowls … The Chiefs were 4-1 against common opponents while the Patriots were 2-2.
— Mike Lowe
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