Chiefs vs. Patriots predictions: AA writers believe K.C. will keep rolling

After the Chiefs’ dominating win against the Ravens last week, the majority of our writers predict the Chiefs to beat the Patriots.

Last week, the Kansas City Chiefs were getting ready to take on the Baltimore Ravens for Monday Night Football. With both teams looking good going into the matchup, our writers offered mixed predictions with seven predicting a Ravens win and four predicting a Chiefs win.

The Chiefs proved those seven writers wrong, as they came out of the gates hot and never let up. The Ravens got on the board first with a field goal, but the Chiefs responded with a touchdown quickly after and never gave up their lead.

It wasn’t even the Chiefs’ best performance, as there were several mistakes like a Darwin Thompson fumble and some missed kicks by kicker Harrison Butker. But the Chiefs made play after play and their mistakes did not matter. They controlled the game from start to finish and look like the NFL’s best team.

Now they’re preparing to take on the New England Patriots who are led this year by quarterback Cam Newton. Newton looked great through the first two weeks of the season, but last week against the Las Vegas Raiders he was mediocre, completing 17/28 passes for 162 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception.

It was a combination of running backs Sony Michel, Rex Burkhead, and J.J. Taylor that controlled the game for the Patriots. Michel took advantage of his 9 carriers and rushed for 117 yards. Burkhead rushed 6 times for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Taylor had the most carries at 11 and gained 43 yards.

The Patriots put up 36 points against the Raiders, but with the Chiefs offense playing like it’s been playing and a defense that just held the Ravens to 20 points, they’ll have to step it up.

Both teams are facing injuries to key players and practice Friday will help answer whether or not the teams will be missing anyone for Sunday’s game. For the Chiefs, most players are trending towards playing but defensive tackle Chris Jones re-injured his groin against the Ravens and has been limited in practice all week.

For the Patriots, wide receiver Julian Edelman has been limited this week with a knee injury and running back Sony Michel has been limped with a quad injury. Offensive linemen Isaiah Wynn and Shaw Mason have also been limited in practice, both with calf injuries.

After doubting the Chiefs last week, our writers have increased confidence in the team, with the majority predicting the Chiefs to win. Here are our full writer predictions:

Drew Brooks: Chiefs 34, Patriots 20

After last week’s total domination, I can’t doubt the Chiefs again. I thought that they couldn’t win them all, but if this team plays like it did against the Ravens and cleans up its sloppy mistakes, it can easily go undefeated. I think this another game that the Chiefs control from start to finish. I’m looking for Butker to have a perfect game after missing some kicks against the Ravens.

Matt Conner: Chiefs 27, Patriots 20

The Chiefs worked too damn hard to put themselves up early in the race for the No. 1 seed to overlook anyone else. The Patriots will come to play with a solid game plan, as per the usual, and Andy Reid will certainly pull out a few more tricks to stave off a lesser-talented Patriots team. Expect Patrick Mahomes to do what he must to keep the Chiefs unbeaten.

Lyle Graversen: Chiefs 31, Patriots 23

The Patriots have actually been much better than I anticipated and I think they’ll keep this game close. Cam Newton can make enough plays to extend drives along with their running game to keep possession and prevent the Chiefs from running things up. At the end of the day though the Chiefs just have too many playmakers to keep pace with.

Sterling Holmes: Chiefs 31, Patriots 20

Has anyone else noticed a recent trend where the Chiefs are giving up 20 points a game? They have done so in 4 straight games and that is more than enough for the offense to work with. While the Patriots have been a lot better than expected, especially offensively, the Chiefs just proved by dominating the Ravens that they are the best team in the NFL. Andy Reid is looking like coach of the year while the linebackers completely turned it on last week after a brutal first 2 weeks and I think that improvement continues.

Jake Kokoris: Chiefs 27, Patriots 17

I think the offense struggles early but finds their groove after a big strike from Mahomes to Hill/Hardman. The Pats defense is pretty stout statistically, but they just don’t have the personnel to make the Chiefs too uncomfortable anymore. The Chiefs secondary is ultra-thin, but this Pats offense is not going to be very threatening vertically. By the way, I don’t think I can ever root against K.C. again after last week.

Jordan Mannix: Chiefs 35, Patriots 24

The Chiefs are coming off of a huge victory in primetime against a Super Bowl contender with a stingy defense, the Tom Brady-less Patriots are not. The Chiefs have answered the bell so far in the start to their title defense and Sunday afternoon should be no different. The Patriots once vaunted defense has declined precipitously, and given Cam Newton is arguably a lesser version of Lamar Jackson the Chiefs should win this game handily.

Ellen Mathis: Patriots 24, Chiefs 20

Well, the Chiefs proved me wrong last week. I hope they do it again. The thing that cost the Ravens in last week’s game was the fact that they did not stick with what was working. I don’t think Bill Belichick makes that same mistake. The Patriots have a good run game and will have James White back this week. I think Cam Newton will cause problems for the defense. I also think they stick with the run game which keeps Patrick on the sidelines, win the time of possession, and ultimately walk away with a win in a relatively low scoring game.

Byron Smith: Chiefs 35, Patriots 21
This Chiefs team showed lasy week that they will beat any team, any time, and make it look effortless. Belichick is always scary to play against, however, and although some defenders opted out and much of his offense is very different now, he is still Belichick. But it’s also Mahomes, and a defense that is starting to look good again, so I’ll give the Chiefs the edge.

Kelly Thompson: Chiefs 31, Patriots 23

The Chiefs rolled through what is essentially a superior form of the Patriots on Monday night by defeating the Baltimore Ravens. Baltimore has a more aggressive/better running quarterback and running game, an equally good (or better) offensive line, and a more athletic defense than does New England. Bill Belichick often gameplans well against Andy Reid (though not always), so this game may be closer, but the result should not be different. Chiefs move to 4-0.

Grant Tuttle: Chiefs 27, Patriots 21

I expect Patrick Mahomes to do Mahomes-ian things. He should have some opportunities to find Sammy Watkins and Travis Kelce in the middle of the field while Bill Belichick attempts to nullify Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Tyreek Hill. That being said, the Patriots will try to stick to a running game as much as possible. It wouldn’t be surprising to me if the Pats decided to run the ball 35-45 times. They will do their very best to keep the Chiefs off of the field, but their defense is better than New England will likely give them credit for. Look for Mahomes to kill with paper cuts and then a quick attack over the top. It will be a good game, but Kansas City will come out on top.

Farzin Vousoughian: Chiefs 41, Patriots 17

The Patriots defense is good. But if the Chiefs showed us anything Monday night, it’s that they can dominate any defense. Expect another big game from Patrick Mahomes.