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.
3rd Quarter
The Chiefs and Patriots traded punts on their first drives of the 2nd half, and then the fun started.
On the first play of their second possession of the half, Alex Smith heaved a ball downfield to a wide open Tyreek Hill. Seventy five yards later, Hill gave the peace sign to those chasing him as the Chiefs took a 21-17 lead.
Two drives later, helped by two penalties by Terrance Mitchell and a 22-yard reception by Danny Amendola, Gillislee scored his third touchdown of the night on a 1-yard run. The Patriots added a field goal on their next drive to go up six, 27-21.
THE FINAL QUARTER
Alex Smith went into the fourth quarter like a man being pushed towards greatness. Two plays into the fourth quarter, Smith threw deep again. This time, a perfectly placed ball to Kareem Hunt turned into an incredible 78-yard touchdown. The offense that Chiefs fans have been begging for was starting to show signs of life.
On the Patriots ensuing drive they were faced with another 4th and 1. Again the Chiefs defense refused to budge.
With under 9 minutes remaining in the game, the Chiefs matriculated on down the field with Hunt scoring his third touchdown as he dived for the far pylon on a 4-yard rush. The offense had opened up. The defense had buckled down.
This was Tom Brady’s stage. Down at home, big game atmosphere. However, those hopes of another Brady comeback went crashing down, much like Brady did as Justin Houston pile drove him into the turf. The feeling in the air was that the game was lost already. On that same play Eric Berry, who had an outstanding game, was carted off due to an apparent Achilles injury.
Even with the Berry injury, the confidence was overwhelming coming from the Chiefs. After two incomplete passes the Patriots punted back to the Chiefs. On the next play Kareem Hunt ran to the left for a gain of 58 yards. The following play sent Charcandrick West 21 yards into the end zone. Two sacks by Allen Bailey and Justin Houston forced another punt from the Patriots own end zone. The Chiefs would run the clock down and finish in the victory formation.
Takeaways
The Chiefs beat down the defending champions, on the road, on a banner night. Do not allow anyone to make light of this. The Chiefs are 1 of 3 AFC teams to win in Foxboro in the last 50 or so games. It was the most points ever allowed by a Bill Belichick team. Kareem Hunt had the most yards gained in a debut with 246. The Chiefs gained a total of 537 yards, more than any other Patriots team had allowed in 17 years. The Patriots had won 87 consecutive home games when leading at the half. Tom Brady was severely outplayed.
The Chiefs looked like the better team on Thursday. There are no excuses. The Chiefs are legit and they appear eager to prove it. Kareem Hunt captivated the entire country. Alex Smith looked better than ever. THE CHIEFS ARE LEGIT. Football is a game of adjustments and the Chiefs showed that the second half. The defense shut down Tom Brady and the offense in a way that was almost uncomfortable to watch. Almost.
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The magnitude of winning this game is unprecedented. To go into Foxboro and slap the Patriots around like the Chiefs did is extremely impressive. No one saw this coming, not even those in the winning locker room.