The Kansas City Chiefs stormed into Foxborough and stunned the Patriots on opening night! Here are the winners and losers from Kansas City’s 42-27 victory.
Wow. Just wow. Who could’ve ever predicted the performance Kansas City put on tonight? The Kansas City Chiefs went in to Foxborough and dominated the New England Patriots. This is Andy Reid’s best victory as head coach of the Chiefs. Here are eight winners, and four losers from Thursday’s victory.
Winners
Alex Smith
What a game from Smith. Look at this stat line: 28/35, 368 YDS, 4 TDs. That’s good for an 80% completion percentage and a 148.5 Quarterback rating. Many of us wondered if we would see a more aggressive Alex Smith this year, as he attempts to fend off Pat Mahomes. Yet, no one could have predicted the night Smith would have in New England. Smith threw the ball with aggression, accuracy, and timing that we just haven’t seen in his time with the Chiefs. All eyes were on Smith, and he out-dueled Tom Brady in Foxborough. This was the greatest game of Alex Smith’s career.
Kareem Hunt
Man, what can you say about Hunt’s performance? Hunt’s night couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start, fumbling on the Chiefs first offensive drive. From that point on, Hunt was nothing short of spectacular. 248 yards from scrimmage, 3 touchdowns. Hunt was the motor of the offense, especially when it counted in the second half. John Dorsey stole Hunt in the third round, and this kid is gonna be special.
Tyreek Hill
Tyreek Hill did everything we could have wished for in his first game as the Chiefs number one receiver. Seven receptions for 133 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown. Hill proved tonight that he has what it takes to be a number one receiver in this game.
Justin Houston
Chiefs Kingdom, Justin Houston is back! Not only did Houston notch a pair of sacks on Brady, but he was excellent in run defense. Houston made several key stops in the backfield in this one, but none bigger than his fourth down stop with the Patriots driving in Chiefs territory in the fourth quarter. This is a hard team to get pressure against, but Houston looked great. He is going to feast this season.
Marcus Peters
Marcus Peters is becoming one of the top shutdown corners is the league before our very eyes. Tom Brady threw at Marcus Peters one time in this game, ONE TIME! That pass was incomplete. Peters completely shut down his side of the field, that was a huge key to the Chiefs defense being able to execute their game plan.
Terrance Mitchell
Thought long and hard about putting Mitchell as a winner here, but the kid had a solid game. There were a couple of penalties that were just killer, but Mitchell recovered and made some really nice plays—none bigger than his breakup of a deep pass to Brandon Cooks late in the fourth quarter. Mitchell was bad at times, but he stepped up when it counted.
Offensive Line
The offensive line was incredible in this game. Alex Smith had plenty of time to throw, and Kareem Hunt had massive holes to run through. Despite a few holding penalties, the o-line was excellent.
CHIEFS KINGDOM
Enjoy this one. This night was special.
Losers
Run Defense
Obviously, the run defense came up big when it mattered, stuffing New England twice on fourth and short. Still, the defense was gashed for 124 yards and 3 scores on the ground. There were some things to like about the defense in this one, but definitely still some work to do. This becomes a much bigger issue with the potential loss of Eric Berry.
Travis Kelce
I had a hard time putting Kelce here. He came up with a big third down conversion near the end of the first half, as well as picking up multiple first downs on effective shovel pass plays. What got Kelce on this list was his 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the third quarter. Kansas City was trailing by three, deep in their own territory. Kelce’s penalty wiped out an eight yard gain, and forced the Chiefs in position to punt. New England nearly took the lead by ten on their next drive. Travis Kelce almost cost the Chiefs big in this one.
Dee Ford
Look, Ford wasn’t horrible in this game, he simply just wasn’t good enough. He managed to bring a little bit of pressure on Brady, but failed to hit him. Also, as per usual, Ford was exposed when the Patriots ran his way. I like Ford, but he still has some work to do.
Undisciplined players
Whew, that was ugly. Fifteen penalties for 139 yards, unacceptable. I was really surprised to see this out of the Chiefs, Andy Reid’s teams are typically very well disciplined. A lot of people are gonna get an ear-full from Reid this week.
This was a great, great win for the Chiefs, stomping the reigning champs at Foxborough. And, if they take care of business over the next 4 months, giving themselves the opportunity to force the AFC playoffs to come through Kansas City. Chiefs Kingdom, enjoy this one. Our team is 1-0.