Halftime at Arrowhead: Chiefs sputtering vs. Patriots with Super Bowl trip on the line
So the first half of the AFC Championship didn’t exactly go as planned for the home team. The Patriots dominated the first quarter in every way, jumping out to a 7-0 lead thanks to an eight-minute drive to open the game. Meanwhile, Patrick Mahomes looked a little jittery and his passes weren’t quite on target.
It got a little better in the second quarter, but the Chiefs still trail the Patriots at halftime, 14-0. Here’s what else I noticed.
(Not) stopping that run
The Chiefs made a training camp vow to stop that run. It didn’t happen on the first drive of the AFC Championship. The Patriots used a well-balanced attack to go 80 yards in 8:05, picking up 42 of those on the ground. They converted three third downs, including two thanks to runs by James White.
Sony Michel had seven carries on the drive, including the one-yard touchdown rush.
With the strong run game, the Patriots dominated the time of possession, holding onto the ball for 12:38 of the first quarter.
It was more of the same in the second quarter, including a monster 30-yard carry by James White to put the Patriots in pretty good scoring position with less than a minute to go in the half.
A play later, Brady hit Phillip Dorsett for a 29-yard touchdown.
The Patriots had 99 rushing yards at half to KC’s 10.
That’s a negative
Patrick Mahomes was so good a week ago because he was calm. He played within himself and worked to his strengths.
This week, he was the opposite.
In the first drive against the Patriots, Mahomes looked downright jittery and amped up. He didn’t complete a pass, missing Sammy Watkins twice. He also took a 14 yard sack as Kyle Van Noy got by Andrew Wylie. The Chiefs would’ve opened with a three-and-out, but DB Jonathan Jones bailed his opponent out with a holding call as he guarded Tyreek Hill.
The Chiefs had just five offensive plays in the first quarter for a grand total of -11 yards. Negative 11. I don’t even have to pull out the media guide to tell you that’s a season-low.
Ragland ramps it up, offense slows it down
Reggie Ragland made a huge play in the end zone, picking off Tom Brady on third down for just his second career interception. It was Brady’s first red zone interception since the Super Bowl win over the Patriots, and first pick inside the nine-yard line since 2007.
But the Chiefs offense couldn’t capitalize on the monster play and went three-and-out on the next drive, punting the ball away after Travis Kelce picked up nine yards on a short pass from Mahomes on second down.
Almost Showtime
After a couple drives of futility, the Chiefs finally showed a little life in the second quarter on their third drive.
With a defender wrapped around his foot, Mahomes found Watkins on 3rd-and-2 to complete the Chiefs’ first first down of the game not aided by a penalty. On the next play, Mahomes found Tyreek Hill deep for a 42-yard gain.
But the Chiefs couldn’t capitalize on those plays as Mahomes overthrew Damien Williams in the end zone on the next play and took a 25-yard sack two plays later. Instead of getting a couple points on the board, the Chiefs had to punt again.