Patriots-Chiefs Sunday Night Football Predictions
BOSTON (CBS) -- The New England Patriots welcome the 5-0 Kansas City Chiefs to Gillette Stadium for a prime time clash on Sunday night.
The season is still young, but this could be an early preview of what's to come in the playoffs. Here's how the WBZ-TV sports crew sees Sunday's game playing out:
Steve Burton, WBZ-TV Sports
When the Miami Dolphins were in first place by themselves, they got exposed by the Patriots. The Kansas City Chiefs are a whole different story.
This game could be a shootout for the ages. The Patriots have to find a way to slow down Patrick Mahomes, who can improvise on a dime. He even completed a pass with his left hand a few weeks back. There's a reason Kansas City is a perfect 5-0.
But if you protect Tom Brady, his weapons will do the rest.
Patriots 34, Chiefs 28
Dan Roche, WBZ-TV Sports
This game stacks up as the Chiefs high-powered offense attacking the Pats defense and putting up points.
So, what will the Pats do? Tom Brady and his offense will try to control the football with some run and short passes. Time for Josh McDaniels to utilize Edelman, White, Gronk, Dorsett, and maybe Hollister. Control the football.
Patriots 28, Chiefs 24
Levan Reid, WBZ-TV Sports
I should not pick the Pats to win this game. The Chiefs offense is fast and dynamic. Listening to New England players this week, they have said there is not a clear way to mimic the speed of Tyreek Hill or the arm strength of Patrick Mahomes in practice.
But 10 days off is more than enough time for the Pats to prepare for a home game against a second year quarterback playing in his first season. Mahomes has checked all the boxes, but he needs to check one more: Beating Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
The Pats offense will sustain long drives with their running game and the defense will contain Mahomes in the pocket. Brady should pick up his 200th regular season win late Sunday evening.
Patriots 31, Chiefs 24
Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
The Patriots' defense has been much improved lately, but it's come against some rough competition. If Andrew Luck had a professional receiving crew in Week 5, that final scoreboard likely would have looked a lot different.
This week, of course, the challenge is real. And while the Chiefs' defense has been atrocious all year, and while Tom Brady and Co. will put up plenty of points themselves, it's hard to envision the Patriots shutting down that explosive offense. Maybe that's just the flashbacks of Kareem Hunt running buck wild in Week 1 last year that are doing the talking, but until the Patriots prove they can stop this kind of offense, I'm going to take a wait-and-see approach.
Patriots score late to make it interesting, but they don't get the two-point conversion.
Chiefs 37, Patriots 32
Matthew Geagan, CBS Boston
This should be a fun one, especially if you like offense. It may not turn out to be the high-flying offensive tussle that many are predicting, as both teams try to keep the other's offense off the field, but points will be scored.
The Kansas City offense is scary right now, and Mahomes is legit. It's no easy task for a young quarterback to beat the Patriots in Foxboro, especially when Bill Belichick had 10 days to prepare, but Mahomes should be up to the challenge.
Chiefs 31, Patriots 28