The Patriots are playing Washington this week, and that team stinks. They just got smoked by the Giants and have no clue who to play at quarterback. To keep ourselves stimulated football-wise, let’s preview Week 14 against the Chiefs instead.
The Patriots. Both teams are 4-0 (shocker), but in a nutshell: The Chiefs are better offensively and Patriots are better defensively. The Patriots' offense is way better than the Chiefs' defense, making the Patriots better overall.
With 122 points scored and 27 points allowed, the Patriots' point differential of 95 is by far the best in the league. Only one other team has a differential of 50 (the Cowboys with 51). It's worth noting both the Pats and Cowboys have played the Dolphins this season, so the number is skewed a bit. The Chiefs' point differential is 41 points, but all four of the teams they've played are .500 or better (8-7-1 combined). The Patriots have played a bunch of trash bags (a combined 4-11, with only the Bills sitting at .500 or higher).
Because the Patriots and Chiefs might have a lot of wins before Week 14, we'll track "almost losses," which are games in which the team's lead is six points or fewer at any point in the fourth quarter. This is a completely imperfect metric.
Patriots: 1 (at Bills Week 4)
Chiefs: 2 (vs. Ravens Week 3, at Lions Week 4)
This "almost loss" thing is of course tongue-in-cheek, but the Chiefs for real almost lost to the Lions last week. Detroit led early and at multiple points in the game, even taking a three-point lead with 2:26 left and requiring a game-winning drive from Mahomes that was capped by a Darrel Williams TD run with 20 seconds left.
As for their other “almost loss,” the other one qualifies more as the Ravens giving them a game than almost beating them. The Ravens cut it to eight with 6:39 left, then the Chiefs kicked a field goal to make it 11 before Lamar Jackson rushed for a touchdown with 2:01 left.
Tyreek Hill hasn’t played since suffering a shoulder injury in Week 1, but Adam Schefter reported Sunday that Hill “could be about two weeks away” from a return. That would have him back in time for the Patriots game, as this is an article previewing a football game that is over two months away.
The Chiefs’ defense took a hit Sunday, with both Alex Okafor and Damien Wilson leaving the game.
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Running back Damien Williams missed his second straight game due to injury. It’s also possible that LeSean McCoy aggravated something Sunday, as the Chiefs relied on Darrel Williams instead of McCoy during the game-winning drive in Detroit.
The Patriots could have both Isaiah Wynn and N’Keal Harry back from injured reserve by Week 14. From the way Zolak and Bertrand were talking about James Develin (neck) Tuesday, perhaps we shouldn’t hold our breath for a return from the fullback this season.
Weather information for Foxboro is not currently available for two-plus months out, but the average Foxboro temperature in December falls between 24 degrees and 41 degrees. It could also rain or snow. The game will be played in the late fall season, as winter doesn't begin until Dec. 21.
The Chiefs have trailed by 10 points at one point in each of their last two road games.
Neither the Patriots nor Chiefs have had a running back rush for 85 yards through four games.
Neither Tom Brady nor Patrick Mahomes threw for a touchdown last week.
Brady: 1,061 passing yards, 7 TD, 1 INT, 1 rush TD, 97.5 rating in four games
Mahomes: 1,510 passing yards, 10 TD, 0 INT, 0 rush TD, 120.4 rating in four games
Both quarterbacks are coming off relatively bad weeks. In addition to the aforementioned zero touchdowns between the two, Brady threw a bad endzone pick and posted the lowest passer rating he’s ever had in a win.
Eh, not worth it.
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