Five reasons why the Chiefs will dominate the Patriots

 Travis Kelce, Mecole Hardman and Darwin Thompson:

What are the Patriots best at? Doing their job. While it is a cliche, Belichick is phenomenal at putting players in a position to succeed and do what they do best. That being said, the Patriots do not have a ton of speed in the middle of the field and that could be trouble for the linebacking core against an incredibly fast receiving group.

While I fully expect Belichick’s gameplan to revolve around getting pressure on Mahomes and taking away Tyreek Hill, I think that they have other matchups to be concerned about. Travis Kelce will garner the second-most attention but is simply too athletic and gifted to be taken completely out of the game. I would expect Mahomes to look to him as a safety blanket. On top of that connection, I don’t think enough can be made of the speed matchup the Chiefs provide with Mecole Hardman and now Darwin Thompson.

While LeSean McCoy will see many of this week’s snaps, Darwin Thompson may be the best running back in space on the roster. With good speed and contact balance, Thompson is a mismatch in the screen game. I would be shocked if he did not get a few looks in the game this week. Most of all, however, is the Mecole Hardman factor. While the Patriots will undoubtedly be concerned about Tyreek Hill, there is a real chance for the other speedster on the roster.

Hardman has not garnered a ton of usage in the offense thus far. He is, however, a home run hitter. Every time that he touched the ball, he has a chance to take it the distance. Reid would be foolish not to scheme up ways to get Hardman the ball in the flats and in the middle of the field. Hardman could be in for a really big game.