Is it too early to think about playoff seeding in the AFC? If you’re the Kansas City Chiefs, yes it is.
Last season, the Chiefs were 5-0 as well then lost six of their next seven and had to cobble together a four-game winning streak at the end to even qualify for the postseason.
Once there, they lost at Arrowhead to the Titans, 22-21. They just need to stack wins and home field will take care of itself.
For the Patriots? It’s not too early. At 3-2, they’re already two games behind the Chiefs. A loss on Sunday would essentially put them four games behind KC since the first tiebreaker for playoff seeding is head-to-head.
The Patriots will win the division. But if they want to stay home through the playoffs, winning Sunday night is pivotal.
MORE HARD TRUTHS
- Pats' defense must make Chiefs earn whatever they get
- Pats' offense will get opportunities against Kansas City's defense
(Of course, if Tennessee could beat KC at Arrowhead last year, what’s the BFD if New England has to go up there to kick their ass in January? Whatever, play along.)
New England Patriots
Meanwhile, this week’s officials will be the crew led by John Hussey. His crew has thrown 80 flags in five games so far, which is nearly two penalties per game more than the league average.
The Patriots have only had 26 accepted penalties so far this season, and 31 flags have been thrown on them. Seven of the flags were thrown at two defensive backs, Stephon Gilmore and J.C. Jackson.
Kansas City’s had 45 accepted penalties, and 52 flags thrown on them. In their past four games, they’ve been in double-digit penalties three times. The Chiefs are the third-most penalized team in the league. The Patriots are tied for the least penalized team.
We’ve told you all week how fast Tyreek Hill is. So how fast does he run? About 22 mph. Hill reached a top speed of 21.98 MPH on a 58-yard touchdown reception from Patrick Mahomes, and was going 21.78 MPH when he was at his fastest on his 91-yard punt return.
As for Mahomes, taking a look at his pass distribution charts on the NFL’s Next Gen Stats site shows that he’s getting more comfortable with each passing week in using the full 54-yard width of the field. When he threw the first two picks of his 2018 season last week against the Jaguars, both came in the middle of the field.
Also, with the Chiefs all banged up in the secondary, it’s worth pointing out that Tom Brady’s passer rating for throws between 10 and 20 yards are off the charts. He’s at 127.1 to the left, 146.8 down the middle and 120.0 to the right. The league averages are 84, 95.6 and 86.5. On the flip side, Brady has a 0.0 passer rating down the deep middle and hasn’t thrown to the deep left.