How the Chiefs can regain some trust against the Patriots

The Kansas City Chiefs are off to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots with the hopes of ending their two-game losing streak.

To be perfectly frank, other than an injury to Patrick Mahomes, there are literally zero excuses if the Chiefs somehow lose this game. Zero. The Patriots are dead last in the AFC standings and have an offense that's so bad it makes the 2023 Chiefs look like the 2018 Chiefs. Bill Belichick is likely on his way out in New England, so Kansas City should honor his legacy by handing him another embarrassing defeat.

If the Chiefs lose this game, their season is over. Maybe not literally, but for all intents and purposes, it is. Even if they win this game, there's no guarantee that confidence will be restored. Winning a game as strong favorites doesn't sway anyone's opinions by itself, but how they win could be a good start.

The Chiefs are (in all likelihood) going to win this game, but here's what they need to do in order to start regaining the trust of their fanbase:

1. Shut down a dreadful offense

The Patriots offense is bad. Like comically bad. As previously stated, this offense makes the current Kansas City offense look like 2018 again. They can't block or stretch the field, and they've almost as bad of a giveaway problem as the Chiefs. Bailey Zappe nor Mac Jones are any good and they both crumble like Grandma's famous Christmas cookies under any pressure. Their running game is serviceable, but nothing to be scared of, Ezekiel Elliott has been fine, although Rhamondre Stevenson will not play in this game.

If the Chargers can successfully shut out this team, the Chiefs can as well. Granted, it's almost impossible in the modern NFL to be shut out twice in the same season, but they're so slow that it may very well happen again.

The Patriots have scored 34 combined points in their past four games, 21 of which came in one half last week against Pittsburgh. Between Weeks 10 and 13, they scored 13 points in three games. Less than five points per game. Given how great the Chiefs' defense is, they can't allow this terrible offense to move the ball.

2. Be efficient against a good defense

Although their record is poor, the Patriots defense is solid. The unit is eighth in yards allowed per game and third in rushing yards allowed/game despite having a useless offense. Given how smart Bill Belichick still is as a defensive mind and how well the unit has played this year, it's not reasonable to expect any offense to hang a boatload of points on them, especially one as disappointing as Kansas City's.

In this game in particular, the Chiefs just need to be efficient. No three and outs, stay out of third and long, convert on third and short, don't go less than 50% in the red zone, and most importantly, zero turnovers.

Would it be awesome if the Chiefs scored 30+ points in this game in one last middle finger to Bill Belichick? Yes, but it's not going to happen—unless their defense contributes some points. All we can really ask for is just be efficient. Don't make any mistakes, convert in the red zone, and don't waste any favorable field position provided by the defense and special teams.

3. No mistakes

The only realistic way the Chiefs lose this game is if they make a bunch of mistakes. Similar to how they lost in Denver, several turnovers and dumb penalties will be the main culprits in a potential defeat.

When it comes to mistakes, the Chiefs have been atrocious. They ran 7th in giveaways per game and 12th in penalties per game. Those have cost the Chiefs multiple games this season and could burn them in playoffs. Although they have had a turnover problem, so has New England. The Patriots only have one fewer giveaway than the Chiefs, but that's not necessarily a good thing.

The Chiefs only have two games this season without a giveaway: Week 5 at Minnesota and Week 12 at Las Vegas. That's been it. To be honest, if the Chiefs have zero giveaways in this game, they should easily win by 10+ points, even with their disappointing offense. The issue is that they've only managed to do that in 15.4% of their games this season, so that's a lot to ask for with this team.

Bailey Zappe won't outscore Patrick Mahomes, but the Chiefs could very well out-mistake the Patriots. In order to reestablish themselves as Super Bowl contenders, they need to prove they can stop making dumb mistakes and turning the ball over and that should start immediately.