Chiefs vs. Patriots: Key plays that determined the AFC Championship game
By Grant Tuttle
Let’s look back at the key plays that determined the ending of the most magical season for the Chiefs in decades and what we can learn from them.
I may be doing this more for myself than anyone else. I need closure. I need to properly mourn the end to the Kansas City Chiefs 2018-2019 season.
Tom Brady was not quite ready to “pass the torch” to Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs ended up losing the AFC Championship 37-31 in overtime. To propel us into the offseason, I have made a breakdown of the plays that I believe determined the game.
3rd and 7, 8:43 1st Quarter, 0-0
After the Patriots marched down the field with a series of run plays from Sony Michel and a few short passes to James White, the Chiefs finally had a chance to make a stop and get the Patriots offense off of the field. The Chiefs making a stop here would have been a huge swing in momentum as the Chiefs would have a chance to take an early lead if Mahomes and the offense could go down the field and score a touchdown as they had done so frequently this season in the first quarter. Unfortunately, that did not happen.
On this play, the Patriots started their third and long trend. Remember this one. The Chiefs do send one extra guy on a delayed blitz, but the Patriots pick it up very well. Dee Ford starts in coverage within the first five yards, then he shifts off to take routes underneath. Daniel Sorensen, who lines up 15 yards off of the ball, is late rotating down on Edelman in the middle of the field. If Sorensen is lined up closer, there is a chance that Edelman does not find this gap in the coverage. This becomes an easy conversion for Tom Brady. This drive ultimately leads to a touchdown putting the Patriots in front, 7-0.
3rd and 1, 12:54 2nd Quarter, 7-0 Patriots
After the Chiefs squandered their first possession, and then forced a turnover in the end zone, it was imperative that they move the football on the next possession. After a nine yard gain from a pass to Travis Kelce, it became 3rd and 1. The Chiefs needed to keep the drive going for a chance to recover from a poor start.
On this play, it is pretty clear. The Chiefs offensive line did not get very much push and the Patriots defense was not fooled by Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes faking to the outside. The defense swarms to the ball and does not allow Damien Williams to gain anything. This was one of the biggest chances for the Chiefs to flip the momentum in the first half and they blew it.
3rd and 9, 3:57 2nd Quarter, 7-0 Patriots
This is something that people do not hear out of Chiefs fans: Patrick Mahomes screwed up. After the defense made one of their few stops, the Chiefs had a chance to score points before the half. After they got down the field, they found themselves in a 3rd and long in field goal range.
Here’s what happened: Patrick Mahomes tried to make a special play after he got pressured and he took potential points off of the score board. As you can see, Mahomes’ initial reads were not there. So, instead of being safe and dumping it off short of the sticks or throwing it away, he tries to roll out for the home run throw.
Unfortunately, Trey Flowers gets too far up-field and just closes in too fast for Mahomes to make magic. There seemed to be a small window that he could of stepped up in. Instead, he took a larger loss that took the opportunity for points out of the question.
2nd and 1, 0:33 2nd Quarter 7-0 (14-0) Patriots
After a quick thrashing by the Patriots offense, they found themselves in position to score again. With 33 seconds left, the Chiefs goal should be to just survive the half without giving up another touchdown. Instead Phillip Dorsett finds himself open deep down the field on second and short and gets the exact touchdown that the Chiefs the should have been protecting against.
On this play, the Chiefs decide to leave everyone in one-on-one matchups which would be fine if it was at another point of the game. With 33 seconds on the clock, they should not be overly concerned about the run at the 29 yard line. Instead of pressing the line, they should have dropped three deep and make the Patriots run more clock by passing underneath or handing the ball to a running back.