The New England Patriots are an excellent team, and quarterback Tom Brady is a major reason why. New England has been a perennial contender since Brady became the starter in 2001, reeling off six Super Bowl appearances and four championships since then.
While Brady and the Patriots certainly won’t be scared of the Kansas City Chiefs, Brady does have serious respect for their defense. The Chiefs are coming off their first playoff win in 22 years, which was led by a unit that forced five turnovers in a 30-0 win over the Houston Texans. On Monday, Brady did his weekly radio spot on WEEI radio in Boston and had plenty of things to say about the Kansas City defense.
"“When your whole season’s on the line, I think you get to the things that probably — when you look at them from a defensive standpoint, every call is hugely critical. The players that are out there playing, that’s who they trust the most. The calls that they’re making, those are the calls they trust the most. I think you can learn a lot from a game. Even though it was 30-0 and obviously Houston didn’t play very well, I think Kansas City forced them into a lot of bad football. That’s what I think Kansas City’s done a great job of all year. They’ve forced teams — whoever they’ve played down the stretch, they’ve won 11 straight — all of them into making a lot of bad plays.“When you watch that game a couple of days ago, that’s really how they’ve won most of their games. They look all very similar. There’s a lot of offensive mistakes, I think Kansas City does a great job protecting the ball and taking advantage of their scoring opportunities, and then they’ve got a good rush, they’ve got a good front. They just force the offense into making a lot of mistakes. That’s kind of the mark of a good team. That’s why they’re at this point.”"
Brady would not be wrong. The Chiefs have forced a league-high 20 turnovers over their 11-game win streak. Kansas City has talent all over the field, ranging from defensive backs Eric Berry, Sean Smith and Marcus Peters to linebackers Derrick Johnson, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. Of course, you can’t forget the big boys in Dontari Poe, Jaye Howard and Allen Bailey, along with Mike DeVito.
"“They play very good defense. They rush the quarterback. They get ahead, they play on their terms. They do a lot of things effectually schematic-wise that present problems for an offense. And then if you get a little hesitant back there as a quarterback, they force you into mistakes. And they’ve got a lot of playmakers on defense. Derrick Johnson’s one of the best linebackers in the league, Eric Berry‘s one of the best safeties, (Marcus) Peters is one of the best corners, Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, along with the guys on the inside, they’re all real playmakers."
Look for this game to be won in the trenches. If the Patriots can block the Chiefs for the better part of the afternoon, then Kansas City is probably going home. On the flip side, should the Chiefs be able to rush Brady and force some mistakes, they are probably advancing to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1993.