New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs: Five Players To Watch

Sep 14, 2014; Minneapolis, MN, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick against the Minnesota Vikings at TCF Bank Stadium. The Patriots defeated the Vikings 30-7. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots will face off with the Kansas City Chiefs this Monday night, in what will be their first primetime contest of this short season.

After last week’s debacle, I won’t be taking any opponent lightly for a long time, especially this Chiefs team at home, in front of a national television audience. Arrowhead is going to be rocking, and New England will have their work cut out for them.

Every single Patriots fan watching this game will be have most of their attention focused on the offensive line, because that is the number one problem with this team at the current moment. If Tom Brady got some protection, I promise New England’s offense would return to the top of the NFL. Playing in a loud, hostile environment won’t help the Pats’ offensive line, and going up against Tamba Hali and Justin Houston won’t make it any easier. I really hope Nate Solder and company get their act together, because Kansas City and that crowd could do some serious damage to Brady’s offense next week.

But, there will be other players on the field Monday that don’t protect Brady, so here are my top five players to watch in this game, aside from the obvious choice of the Patriots’ offensive line.