Sunday Night Football this week involves one of the NFL’s hottest teams led by a quarterback who might be the leading candidate for player of the year.
The opponent is the New England Patriots.
The Chiefs continued their winning ways with Sunday’s defensive-crafted 30-14 home triumph over the Jacksonville Jaguars, and now face the perennially powerful Patriots in New England on Sunday.
Although Patrick Mahomes tossed his first interception (he had two) of the season and failed to throw a touchdown pass in a game for the first time, he impresses Pats coach Bill Belichick.
He gets the ball to all of his receivers, quick release, Belichick said Monday. He sees things quickly, can extend plays. Hes got a great arm, a fabulous arm. He can throw the ball out of the stadium. He makes good decisions.
Sunday, Mahomes will match up against Tom Brady, who has played in more Super Bowls (eight), won more as a starter (five) than any other quarterback.
Youre playing a team that has one of the best quarterbacks of all time and a team thats been really hot coming into this game, Mahomes said.
The Chiefs and Mahomes have had success against other top quarterbacks this season. In their 5-0 start, the Chiefs have won road games against the Chargers and Philip Rivers and the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger.
Sunday figures to be the biggest challenge to date. The Chiefs are a three-point underdog to the team that has appeared in the last seven AFC Championship games.
The Chiefs were 5-0 at this point in 2017, opening the season with a victory over the Patriots in New England. Kansas City lost a home game to the Steelers in the sixth week, starting a skid of five losses in six games before rallying for a 10-6 record.
The game could have AFC playoff tiebreaker implications. The Patriots improved to 3-2 after Thursdays victory over the Indianapolis Colts.
The Cincinnati Bengals are the only AFC team with a 4-1 record. All other AFC teams (besides the Chiefs, of course) own at least two losses. The Chiefs play host to Cincinnati on Oct. 21.
Chiefs at Patriots
When/Where: Sunday, 7:20 p.m. (Central) Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
TV: NBC
Line: Patriots by 3
