***AFC Championship: Chiefs vs Patriots Official Game Day Thread*

[TopekaRoy]

Bring it home, boys!

[TopekaRoy]

The Kansas City Chiefs (13-4) (8-1 @ Home)



vs.

New England Patriots (12-5) (3-5 Away)



Sunday, January 20, 5:40PM CT
at
Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas City, Missouri


Television coverage:


Radio Coverage:
Kansas City


Lawrence/Topeka:


Manhattan, KS:


St. Louis


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[TopekaRoy]

Stats & Stuff

Weather forecast: 22 degrees Fahrenheit. Mosly Cloudy. 8 mph E winds.

Line: Chiefs -3, Over/Under: 56

Trends:

Chiefs:
Kansas City is 2-5-1 ATS in its last 8 games
Kansas City is 17-5 SU in its last 22 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas City's last 7 games
Kansas City is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Kansas City is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games at home
The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Kansas City's last 14 games at home
Kansas City is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games when playing New England
Kansas City is 3-7 SU in its last 10 games when playing New England
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas City's last 5 games when playing New England
Kansas City is 2-4 ATS in its last 6 games when playing at home against New England
Kansas City is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against New England

Patriots:
New England is 11-3 SU in its last 14 games
The total has gone UNDER in 8 of New England's last 10 games
New England is 17-8 ATS in its last 25 games on the road
New England is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New England's last 5 games on the road
New England is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing Kansas City
New England is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games when playing Kansas City
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New England's last 5 games when playing Kansas City
New England is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
New England is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Kansas City

Against the Spread:


Last 10 Games Head-2-Head:


Edge Finder:



OddsShark Super Computer Prediction:
Chiefs 25.7
Patriots 27.4

[B][SIZE=4]Notable Quotables:

“[The Hunt Family] know[s] that we’re all going to give our best effort to get that here. [But,] when you have something named after your dad, that’s a pretty big deal. That’s pretty neat. It would be great to have it here at Arrowhead, but there are a lot of things that go into that from a coaches’ and players’ standpoint. There are going to be all kinds of little distractions as you go on here. But, you focus in on the job at hand - working through the process – and it’s no more important than now to be able to do that. We [will] try to eliminate some of the distractions there, but I would say yes, that’s a neat deal.”

--Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid on bringing the Lamar Hunt trophy to Arrrowhead

Patriots:

“Pretty much everything the Chiefs do is tough. Andy [Reid] does a really good job of attacking weaknesses in every defense, creating matchups. He has a lot of good skill players. He moves them into a lot of different positions. They’re very well-coached. They can execute multiple things at a high level on a very consistent basis. I mean, that’s why they’re the top-scoring team in the league, that’s why they move the ball and score more points than anybody else, because they do it well a lot.”

--Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick

[TopekaRoy]

Schedules/Results:

Date Opponent Time/TV Tickets Sunday Sep. 9 at LA Chargers StubHub Center Carson, CA 4:05pm ET CBS W 38-28 Sunday Sep. 16 at PIT Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA 1:00pm ET CBS W 42-37 Sunday Sep. 23 SF 49ers Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 1:00pm ET FOX W 38-27 Monday Oct. 1 at DEN Broncos Broncos Stadium Denver, CO 8:15pm ET ESPN W 27-23 Sunday Oct. 7 JAX Jaguars Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 1:00pm ET CBS W 30-14 Sunday Oct. 14 at NE Patriots Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 8:20pm ET NBC L 43-40 Sunday Oct. 21 CIN Bengals Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 8:20pm ET NBC W 45-10 Sunday Oct. 28 DEN Broncos Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 1:00pm ET CBS W 30-23 Sunday Nov. 4 at CLE Browns FirstEnergy Stadium Cleveland, OH 1:00pm ET CBS W 37-21 Sunday Nov. 11 AZ Cardinals Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 1:00pm ET CBS W 26-14 Monday Nov. 19 at LA Rams LA Memorial Col. Los Angeles, CA 8:15pm ET ESPN L 54-51 Sunday Nov. 25 BYE Sunday Dec. 2 at OAK Raiders Oakland Coliseum Oakland, CA 4:05pm ET CBS W 40-33 Sunday Dec. 9 BAL Ravens Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 1:00pm ET CBS W 27-24(OT) Thursday Dec. 13 LA Chargers Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 8:20pm ET FOX/NFLN L 29-28 Sunday Dec. 23 at SEA Seahawks CenturyLink Field Seattle, WA 8:20pm ET NBC L 38-31 Sunday Dec. 30 OAK Raiders Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 1:00pm ET CBS W 35-3 AFC Divisional Round Saturday Jan. 12 IND Colts Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 4:35pm ET NBC W 31-13 AFC Championship Game Sunday Jan. 20 NE Patriots Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 6:40pm ET CBS Buy Tickets

Date Opponent Time/TV Tickets Sunday Sep. 9 HOU Texans Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 1:00pm ET CBS W 27-20 Sunday Sep. 16 at JAX Jaguars EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL 4:25pm ET CBS L 31-20 Sunday Sep. 23 at DET Lions Ford Field Detroit, MI 8:20pm ET NBC L 26-10 Sunday Sep. 30 MIA Dolphins Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 1:00pm ET CBS W 38-7 Thursday Oct. 4 IND Colts Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 8:20pm ET FOX/NFLN W 38-24 Sunday Oct. 14 KC Chiefs Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 8:20pm ET NBC W 43-40 Sunday Oct. 21 at CHI Bears Soldier Field Chicago, IL 1:00pm ET CBS W 38-31 Monday Oct. 29 at BUF Bills New Era Field Orchard Park, NY 8:15pm ET ESPN W 25-6 Sunday Nov. 4 GB Packers Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 8:20pm ET NBC W 31-17 Sunday Nov. 11 at TEN Titans Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN 1:00pm ET CBS L 34-10 Sunday Nov. 18 BYE Sunday Nov. 25 at NY Jets MetLife Stadium E Rutherford, NJ 1:00pm ET CBS W 27-13 Sunday Dec. 2 MIN Vikings Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 4:25pm ET FOX W 24-10 Sunday Dec. 9 at MIA Dolphins Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL 1:00pm ET CBS L 34-33 Sunday Dec. 16 at PIT Steelers Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA 4:25pm ET CBS L 17-10 Sunday Dec. 23 BUF Bills Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 1:00pm ET CBS W 24-12 Sunday Dec. 30 NY Jets Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 1:00pm ET CBS W 38-3 AFC Divisional Round Sunday Jan. 13 LA Chargers Gillette Stadium Foxborough, MA 1:05pm ET CBS W 41-28 AFC Championship Game Sunday Jan. 20 at KC Chiefs Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, MO 6:40pm ET CBS Buy Tickets

[TopekaRoy]

Injury Report:

Name	Position	Inj Desc
Eric Berry	S	Heel
is upgraded to Probable Sunday vs New England
Spencer Ware	RB	Shoulder
is upgraded to Probable Sunday vs New England
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif	G	Fibula
is upgraded to Probable Sunday vs New England
Dorian O'Daniel	LB	Calf
is downgraded to OUT Sunday vs New England
J.D. Moore	RB	Undisclosed
IR
Byron Pringle	WR	Hamstring
IR
Tejan Koroma	C	Knee
IR

Name	Position	Inj Desc
Ulrick John	T	Foot
IR
Deatrich Wise Jr.	DE	Ankle
is upgraded to Probable Sunday vs Kansas City
Jacob Hollister	TE	Hamstring
IR
Isaiah Wynn	T	Achilles
IR
Braxton Berrios	WR	Undisclosed
IR
Ryan Izzo	TE	Ankle
IR
Christian Sam	LB	Undisclosed
IR

[TopekaRoy]

Depth Charts:

Chiefs

Patriots

[TopekaRoy]

More Stats & More Stuff

Team Leaders:



Expert's Picks:


Prisco's Pick:

I truly enjoy watching the Chiefs play offensive football. And Patrick Mahomes is going to be an all-time great. But I think this is the week Bill Belichick and Brian Flores come up with a plan to get after Mahomes with a bunch of blitz looks. The Pats won’t stop Mahomes, but they will slow him down enough. The Patriots haven’t won a road playoff game since 2006, so I am bucking another trend here when I pick them to do just that. But I think Brady and Belichick will get the job done.

Chiefs 24 Patriots 26

[TopekaRoy]

Chiefs vs. Patriots: Game Preview
From Chiefs.com

Posted Saturday, Jan 19, 2019 11:32 AM

Matt McMullen Chiefs Reporter Chiefs.com @KCChiefs_Matt

Well, this is it.

The Kansas City Chiefs are in uncharted territory for a generation of fans, marching all the way to the AFC Championship Game for the first time in more than two decades and hosting it at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time ever.

The excitement around town is palpable and the expectations for this group have never been more attainable.

A trip to the Super Bowl is one victory away, and fittingly, the New England Patriots are the final obstacle standing in the way.

New England, of course, is no stranger to this moment. This Sunday’s contest will mark the Patriots’ 13th trip to the conference title game in the last 18 seasons and their eighth-straight.

They’ve been the model of success in the NFL over the past 20 years behind the duo of head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady – the most productive pairing in the history of the league – bringing five championships to Foxboro in that time.



One thing that separates this game from several of those prior championships, however, is the venue.

The Patriots have hosted all but two of their seven-consecutive title games since 2011 - falling in both contests – and Sunday’s game is set to take place within the raucous confines of Arrowhead Stadium.

“Hopefully, they won’t be able to hear anything,” said linebacker Reggie Ragland. “These folks take pride in that around here, so I’m excited for them to go out there and do what they do.”

Indeed, the Arrowhead faithful have done their part this season.

Kansas City is 8-1 at home on the year, holding the opposition to just 17.4 points per game in those contests. It’s an advantage that Brady and the Patriots know well, as Kansas City set the Guinness World Record for crowd noise during a huge win over New England back in 2014.



That couples nicely with the fact that, for whatever reason, the Patriots have struggled on the road this season in general.

New England is 3-5 away from Gillette Stadium this year - scoring just 21.6 points per game – while posting a perfect record at home with an average of more than 30 points per contest.

Though despite those struggles away from home, the Chiefs certainly aren’t taking New England – the league’s winningest team since Belichick and Brady joined forces in 2001 – lightly.

“They’re a heck of a team, so I don’t get caught up in all that. I mentioned this before, you’re talking about a dynasty - if there is such a thing - in the National Football League,” said Chiefs’ Head Coach Andy Reid. They’ve been that. You’re talking about a head coach that I think the world of - I think he’s a great coach. He’s done a phenomenal job keeping that thing together. We’re getting ready to get their best shot - offense, defense and special teams.”

And it’s a shot the Chiefs are ready to combat, especially after narrowly dropping the first meeting between these two teams back in Week 6. Kansas City put together multiple rallies in that game - which many consider one of the best contests of the 2018 campaign – before ultimately falling on a field goal as time expired.

The loss was chock full of lessons – it was the first professional loss of Mahomes’ career, after all – but it also featured a strong bounce-back performance from the Chiefs’ young quarterback in the second half and in the games to follow.



“[He’s] a young player. Those things are going to happen at times,” Reid said. “He was able to recover from that one and learn some good lessons that helped him with the other games down the road after that one. They had a good plan and that’s the way it worked out.”

“You just can’t make mistakes,” Mahomes added. “They know how to capitalize on those. We had opportunities in the first half and then I missed [some] open throws, or we missed them with assignments or whatever the scenario was. You can’t make those mistakes if you want to beat teams like the Patriots, who have found ways to win for a long time now.”

That longevity is largely due in part to the timeless Brady, who won his first Super Bowl when Mahomes was six years old. It sets the stage for a clash of generations between perhaps the greatest quarterback of all time and the league’s brightest young star.

“He’s done so much in this league and he’s still doing it to this day,” Mahomes said of Brady. “He’s going to play for more years to come, so I’m always going to strive to do some of things that he’s done - with the Super Bowls that he’s won. That’s the ultimate goal.”



continued in next post---

[TopekaRoy]

---continued from previous post

Brady is pursuing that same goal yet again at the wheel of the fourth-best scoring offense in the NFL (27.3 ppg). His top weapons on the year include tailback James White - who hauled in a team-high 87 catches for 751 yards and seven touchdowns – and wide receiver Julian Edelman, one of Brady’s favorite targets over the years who caught 74 passes for 850 yards and six scores despite missing the first four weeks of the season.

And you can’t discuss New England’s offense without mentioning tight end Rob Gronkowski, who had a down year by his lofty standards (47 catches, 682 yards, 3 touchdowns) but still exists as one of the toughest matchups in the league.



But as much as New England is known for Brady and the passing game, the Patriots’ rushing attack has also impressed this season.

Rookie tailback Sony Michel finished just shy of the 1,000-yard mark on the year while White and veteran running back Rex Burkhead combined to chip in another 611 yards on the ground, forming a dynamic stable of players capable of moving the ball.

That’s especially been the case recently, as New England has ran the ball 111 times for 559 yards – averaging 5.04 yards per run – over their last three games.

It all adds up to create a compelling matchup with Kansas City’s defense, which is coming off its top performance of the season in the Divisional Round against Indianapolis. The Chiefs held the Colts to just seven offensive points in that game and didn’t yield a third-down conversion for the entirety of the contest.

“I think we were communicating and we were playing together,” said linebacker Justin Houston, who finished the game with two sacks. “Once you get that done and you get everybody to communicate on the same page, the sky’s the limit for this defense.”



The Chiefs will look to keep that trend going as Belichick, one of the top defensive minds in the history of the game, looks to find similar success on the opposing sideline.

Belichick is known for schematically taking away a team’s top option on offense, but it’s a challenge that Mahomes and this particular group of playmakers – which led the league in both scoring (35.3) and total (436.3) offense this season – is uniquely positioned to attack.

“I feel like with this offense - you’ve seen it all year - someone new can step up every single week,” Mahomes said. “We have a lot of options - we have a lot of guys that can go out there and make plays - and they have been all season long. Whoever is open, I’ll throw the ball to them no matter who it is. Hopefully, that’s the formula to have success and hopefully get a win.”

Those words were on full display all season long, as Mahomes found 12 different players for touchdowns during the year. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill was on the other end of a team-leading 12 of those scores, hauling in three against New England in Week 6.

In fact, the electric Hill has 14 catches for 275 yards and four touchdowns in two career meetings with the Patriots. Furthermore, New England has allowed just five touchdown receptions of 75 yards or more since 2012, and Hill is responsible for two of them.



Success aside, it doesn’t change Hill’s preparation heading into Sunday.

“I’m going to do the same thing that I have been doing all year,” Hill said. “I have to continue to be humble, continue to trust this process and continue to work hard, so that’s what I’m going to do. Come in and work.”

That attitude reflects the general sentiment in the locker room despite the biggest game in the history of Arrowhead Stadium on the horizon.

“You don’t change. It’s not what you do. You just come in and you shoot [it to] these guys straight. I think that’s what we all want,” Reid said. “If I have education I can share with them, I share it with them and then get yourself ready to play. All of this doesn’t necessarily matter [during] the game. You eliminate those distractions, you get yourself ready to play against a good football team and, really, it comes down to that when you’re out there on the field. All the hype and celebrations, press conferences and all of those things, once it’s kick off time, you want to make sure that you’ve prepared yourself right.”

And, as game-time nears, that’s where the top homefield advantage in the NFL comes into play.

“Whenever you can go out in pregame warmups and feed on the energy because the fans are already there packing the stadium that early, it truly is special,” Mahomes said. “We feed off that the entire game. There’s not an empty seat in the stands and I know there won’t be an empty seat in Arrowhead this week. I’m excited just to be in front of that crowd playing for this AFC Championship.”



It's a game that stands as the final hurdle in Kansas City’s pursuit of its first Super Bowl appearance since 1969 - an opportunity that punter Dustin Colquitt, the Chiefs’ longest-tenured player, articulated better than anyone.

“Can you think of a better town in this country that would love and crave an AFC Championship more than Chiefs Kingdom?” Colquitt asked. “I can’t.”

The Chiefs have a chance to deliver that to their fans on Sunday.

[TopekaRoy]

Game Preview from ESPN.com

Chiefs-Patriots Preview

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It seems football fans everywhere are suddenly on the Chiefs' bandwagon, enthralled by Kansas City's record-setting young quarterback and exciting playmakers and hopeful the amiable coach can finally win the big one.

Then again, maybe they're just fans of anybody facing New England.

The Patriots have dominated the AFC for nearly two decades, and the coach-quarterback combination of Bill Belichick and Tom Brady will be playing in an eighth consecutive conference title game Sunday night when New England visits the Chiefs at frigid, hostile Arrowhead Stadium.

But whereas Brady& Co. once instilled awe in their opponents, the Chiefs view their showdown as an opportunity for Patrick Mahomes to take the baton as the league's best quarterback and for Kansas City, seeking its first Super Bowl appearance in 49 years , to surpass the Patriots as the NFL's "it" team.

"It'll be huge," Mahomes said. "When I got here, the goal was to win the AFC championship and get to the Super Bowl, and win that. To do that early in my career, it would be a huge thing."

There aren't two more dichotomous teams than the Patriots and Chiefs.

New England has won five Super Bowls during the Belichick-Brady era, setting all kinds of records along the way. The cruel efficiency with which they've sliced up the AFC has made them the bane of fans everywhere but New England and given them the kind of unbeatable aura that accompanied the New York Yankees teams of Derek Jeter and the Chicago Bulls teams of Michael Jordan.

It's not just petty jealousy, though. Many fans have been turned off by Deflategate, Spygate and other instances over the years that have saddled the Patriots with a rather unsavory reputation.

Brady has mostly shrugged it off. So has Belichick, who almost seems to embrace the villain role.

"I don't think about it too much, what people might say or think," said Brady, whose team is a rare playoff underdog Sunday. "I know we're playing against a very good football team. They're the first seed for a reason. They've had a great season and we're going to have to go into a really tough environment and play our best football, and it's a great opportunity for us."

On the flip side are the Chiefs, a team that dominated the AFC throughout the 1990s but reached only one conference title game. They were the league's worst franchise six years ago, when Andy Reid came aboard , but have become a perennial playoff team that was always missing that certain something.

They found it when they drafted Mahomes nearly two years ago .

The quarterback shattered just about every franchise passing record in his first season as a starter, and his down-home style has made him a fan favorite. Kids dressed up like him for Halloween, his curly Mohawk has become the trend at local barbershops, and the aw-shucks way Mahomes has embraced his stunning success has only made him more endearing.

"I think he's a great player on a great team that's very well-coached," Belichick said. "They have a great scheme and a great system. He's got a ton of weapons, so he'll be tough to handle, as will their entire offense, as will their entire team. We'll need our best game."

As the Patriots (12-5) try to advance to their third consecutive Super Bowl, something only two other franchises have accomplished, and the Chiefs (13-4) try to make it for the first time since winning the title in 1970, here are some things to know:

PERSONNEL CHANGES

The Patriots beat the Chiefs in a 43-40 shootout in Week 6, but both teams are different these days. The Patriots lost wide receiver Josh Gordon to personal issues, and the Chiefs waived Kareem Hunt because of off-the-field trouble. Kansas City also is poised to have linebacker Justin Houston and star safety Eric Berry back from injuries on Sunday.

"I mean, that was Week 6. That was a long time ago," Patriots safety Patrick Chung said. "We can't really worry about that. They're a better team and they're on a roll. It's the two best teams in the AFC, so you can't really worry about, `Well, we beat you guys last, so we're going to win.' If we have that mentality, we'll get kicked -- they'll kick our ***, pretty much."

STAR POWER

Brady and Mahomes get plenty of attention, but they don't do it alone. Pats running back James White tied Darren Sproles' postseason record with 15 catches in their 41-28 divisional victory over the Chargers, while Sony Michel has become a breakout star and Rob Gronkowski and Julian Edelman remain dangerous downfield threats . The Chiefs counter with running back Damien Williams and the pass-catching trio of All-Pro speedster Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and sure-handed tight end Travis Kelce.

ROAD WOE-RRIORS

New England hasn't lost at home since early last season, but it's been a struggle away from Gillette Stadium . The Patriots were 3-5 on the road this season, their worst mark since 2009, and lost back-to-back games in Miami and Pittsburgh in December. They haven't won a postseason game on the road since 2006, and away teams have lost 10 consecutive conference championship games.

"I don't get caught up in all that," Reid said this week. "They're a heck of a team. I mentioned that before, if you're talking about a dynasty in the National Football League, they're that."

HOME COOKING

The Chiefs were founded by Lamar Hunt, the namesake of the Lamar Hunt Trophy awarded to the AFC champion. But they will be hosting the AFC title game for the first time after ending a 25-year drought in divisional playoff games last week against Indianapolis. They are 8-1 at home this season with their lone loss coming on a last-second 2-point conversion to the Los Angeles Chargers.

"You know it's going to be a playoff atmosphere there," Gronkowski said. "I've been there in the regular season and it felt like a playoff atmosphere. So I just can't imagine what it's going to be like going into a stadium like this."

WEATHER WATCH

While snow is expected Saturday, the forecast for frigid temperatures Sunday has improved a bit and it could be in the 20s much of the game. There will also be a "super blood wolf moon" later in the night, a rare total lunar eclipse in which the moon turns a rusty shade of red.

"There's not really much you can do with the cold," Patriots linebacker Dont'a Hightower said. "I think Trey (Flowers) and Bill said it best, give us a ball and a field and we'll be there."