Photo courtesy of USA Today
By John Sarianides
Game Rewind: The Patriots Super Bowl LI banner ceremony was ruined by the Kansas City Chiefs who came into Foxboro and rolled them 42-27.
The Patriots blew leads of 17-7 and 27-21 en route to Tom Brady’s first regular season home loss since 2006. Brady did not play the entire game in the Patriots last home loss to an AFC opponent in 2014. That was the last regular season game against the Bills.
Here are five thoughts on last night’s game.
1. The Defense Was Exposed: The Chiefs exposed the Patriots defense by using misdirection and play-action. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia seemingly didn’t have an answer for Tyreek Hill or rookie running back Kareem Hunt. Andy Reid did a great job of generating one on one match-ups for both players by getting them matched up on the Patriots linebackers. The lack of a consistent pass rush also hurt the Patriots last night.
2. Big Plays Do the Patriots In: The Patriots have always been a bend but don’t break defense under Bill Belichick. They will allow you to drive the ball but you will not make big plays. The Chiefs won last night because they made two big plays. Smith hit Hill on a 75 yard touchdown pass in the third quarter and later hit Hunt on a 78 yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Those two plays did the Patriots in. We can talk about depth and injuries all we want, but the fact of the matter is, if you give up big plays defensively, you will lose football games.
3. Andy Reid Did In Fact Out Coach Bill Belichick: Last week we mocked NFL analyst Maurice Jones Drew for saying that the Chiefs had the coaching advantage in this game. Well, he was right. At least last night anyways. Andy Reid out coached Bill Belichick. The Patriots couldn’t figure Kansas City’s misdirection running game and the Chiefs did a great job of getting their play makers in space. The Patriots had no answer for that. You can blame the players all you want, but the fact of the matter is, Belichick and Patricia ran out of answers in the second half last night.
4. The Running Back Rotation is Mind Numbing: The Patriots running back rotation continues to be a source of discontent for me. They have too many backs on the roster and the way they use them is way too predictable. When it was a goal line or short yardage situation, they gave the ball to Mike Gillislee. Gillislee scored three touchdowns last night and that is great for fantasy owners, but the fact of the matter is, he can do more than just push the pile. James White got the bulk of the work but again, but teams know when he’s in the game, he is either going to run a route, inside zone or a draw. Dion Lewis only got two carries and was a non-factor in the passing game. Rex Burkhead AKA The Three Million Dollar Man only played 10 snaps. The Patriots need to settle on two backs and go with them. This committee, game plan specific approach is annoying!
5. Brady’s Post Game Comments: Tom Brady mentioned in his post game comments that the team needs to have a better attitude moving forward. I found that to be very telling. For the first time in a long time, maybe guys just aren’t buying into the team first mantra of the Patriots. We will see in the coming weeks if the team’s attitude changes or if this is who they are.