The Day After: Grading the Chiefs win over the Patriots

The Kansas City Chiefs ruined the Patriots banner party and Alex Smith had possibly his biggest game on possibly the biggest stage of the regular season.

The New England Patriots celebrated on Thursday night. Patriots fans celebrated on Thursday night. Like an election night gone wrong, what began as a celebratory party ended with shock and disbelief. Even for the winning party, there was a hint of disbelief on how the night had gone. As the last second ticked off the clock, the only celebrating in Foxboro would come from the visiting locker room.

Records fell on a night of many firsts for both the Chiefs and the Patriots. Alex Smith went 28-35 for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns. Rookie sensation Kareem Hunt ran for 148 yards on 17 carries with a touchdown as well as 5 catches for 98 yards and 2 touchdowns. Hunt’s 239 yards on Thursday night was a NFL record. On a night all about champions, it was the Chiefs who walked away looking like royalty. Here is a closer look at how this historic night went down.

Let’s break down the game with The Day After, taking a closer look at each quarter and how the game finished up.

1st Half

Following an inspiring pre-game celebration that included the unveiling of the Patriots’ fifth Super Bowl banner, New England’s players and fans were pumped up. The Patriots carried this enthusiasm over to the first drive of the game and burned through the Chiefs defense, scoring on a 9-play drive with a short goal line run by Mike Gillislee.

On the Chiefs first offensive play, Alex Smith handed the ball to Kareem Hunt. Hunt, who never lost a fumble in college, coughed up the ball on his first NFL carry. How often does a lost fumble become a good thing? That fumble changed the direction of the game.

The Chiefs defense held strong on a 4th and 1, giving the Chiefs the ball back without consequences from Hunt’s fumble. Kansas City then drove the ball 90 yards on 12 plays as Smith found Demetrius Harris for a 7-yard touchdown.

New England answered on their next two drives. The Chiefs showed that uncomfortable “bend but don’t break” defense as they allowed the Patriots to go down field before holding firm, forcing a field goal. On their next offensive drive, Brady continued to pick on the defense, moving the team 82 yards for Gillislee’s second 2-yard touchdown run. Brady picked on Terrance Mitchell and Philip Gaines the entire 1st half, and both struggled to make plays while allowing the Patriots to make play after play.

With just under 3 minutes to play in the first half, Alex Smith led the Chiefs on another 12-play, 90+-yard drive which ended in a 3-yard touchdown pass to Hunt. His first of his career. The Chiefs went into halftime down by 3. 17-14.

Kareem Hunt looked good after his fumble. Alex Smith was extremely efficient. Defensively the first half wasn’t pretty. Going into halftime only down by 3 seemed like a win, as the game looked like it was on the verge of getting out of hand early. In order to leave with a win, the Chiefs would need some special things to happen, and boy did they.