Patriots vs. Chiefs: 5 Matchups To Watch
By Cyrus Geller
Here are five Patriots-Chiefs matchups to watch on Saturday:
1. Tamba Hali/Justin Houston vs. Sebastian Vollmer/Marcus Cannon
With Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola both back, Tom Brady will be getting rid of the ball quickly once again. However even though the quick strike offense will be back in effect, Brady still needs his two tackles to come up big against one of the best edge rushing duo in the NFL. Despite both Hali and Houston dealing with injuries all year, they still combined for 14 sacks, and they should be close to healthy for this game. If Vollmer and Cannon can give Brady a bit of time, he has plenty of favorable matchups to exploit against KC’s secondary.
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2. Travis Kelce vs. Patrick Chung
Since Jeremy Maclin will be hobbled by a high ankle sprain (if he even plays), the only guy the Patriots really have to focus on in the passing game is tight end Travis Kelce. And that means it is Patrick Chung time for New England. Chung is one of the best in the league when it comes to covering tight ends, and while Kelce does have a significant height advantage over Chung, he won’t be able to blow by him with speed, and Chung’s physicality will give the big man some problems. Also look for Jamie Collins to take Kelce at times, as Collins has the speed and size to hang with Kelce.
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3. Julian Edelman vs. Marcus Peters
Jeff Howe caused quite a stir among Chiefs fans a few days ago when he said Kansas City’s highly touted rookie cornerbacks would get roasted by Edelman in this game. Well, after some film review of my own, I concur with Howe’s thoughts. I think Peters is a rising star in the game, but he just doesn’t have the quickness and veteran savvy to hang with Jules. In fact, I don’t think there is a single cornerback in the league that is quick enough to stay with Edelman, let alone a physical rookie corner whose best trait is certainly not his quickness. When Edelman is singled up with Peters (who generally aligns on the left side of the defense), number 11 will have his way.
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4. Patriots Run Defense vs. KC Rush Offense
Book it: New England will be stacking the box all game long on Saturday. With Alex Smith’s top receiver hobbled or sidelined, the Pats won’t have to worry about too much in the passing game, which will allow them to drop seven or even eight into the box to stop the Chiefs’ 6th ranked rushing offense. When Dont’a Hightower is on the field, the Pats run defense improves exponentially (they finished 9th overall anyway), so if the Pats can control the line of scrimmage, and make sure to wrap up and gang tackle Charcandrick West and Spencer Ware (both backs tough to bring down), I don’t see the Chiefs offense doing much.
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5. Containing QB Legs
I have already talked about it a good deal this week, but Alex Smith can hurt you with his legs. He finished the season with 498 rushing yards, good for 4th in the league among quarterbacks. I expect the Pats to “mush rush” like they did last year against Aaron Rodgers to keep Smith in the pocket and force him to beat you from there. Smith doesn’t have many weapons to work with, so the Pats need to keep him in the pocket, and force him to make accurate throws down the football field to move the ball. Don’t let him take the easy way out and run the ball to pick up easy first downs. If Smith beats you by making good throws down the field all game long, then so be it. He won’t be winning the game with his legs.
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Go Pats.