Ups & Downs: Patriots' offense falls off a cliff after halftime for second straight week

FOXBORO -- For the second straight week, it was a tale of two halves for the Patriots. But unlike last week, when a good first half was enough to beat the Steelers, a good first half was not enough to beat the Chiefs in Week 15.

The Patriots played the Chiefs tight for the first 30 minutes of Sunday's showdown at Gillette Stadium, but then didn't put up much of a fight in the second half. Bailey Zappe had another strong first half, but his terrible interception on New England's first offensive play out of halftime led to a touchdown and a 14-point lead for the Chiefs. The Patriots never recovered. 

Penalties and an ultra-conservative approach by Bill Belichick didn't help either, as the Patriots fell to 3-11 on the season with Sunday's 27-17 defeat. Here are the "Ups and Downs" from the game.

DOWNS

Second-Half Zappe

For the second straight week, Zappe was a different quarterback coming out of halftime. His first pass went to the Chiefs, as Zappe threw an ill-advised toss to Pharaoh Brown that was easily picked off by Chiefs linebacker Willie Gay. It was first down and Zappe would have been better off throwing the ball out of bounds.

Kansas City turned it into a touchdown a few plays later to take a 24-10 lead.

Zappe was just 6-for-12 for 39 yards, no touchdowns, and that costly interception in the second half. The Pats' offense mustered just 57 yards its 22 plays in the second half.

Playing it way too safe?

The Patriots got their first touchdown on a 4th-and-2 pass from Zappe to Hunter Henry in the first half. It was aggressive and it paid off.

But then with the team down 17 and facing a 4th-and-3 near midfield at the start of the fourth quarter, Bill Belichick sent out his punt team. There's obviously no guarantee the Patriots would have converted, and Henry was just dinged up on the prior play, but the offense needed something to get them going. Giving them a shot on fourth down could have provided that.

"At that point we had lost three starters and were worried about pass protection, being able to execute in that situation," Belichick explained after the game.

The decision to punt was a little more baffling when Belichick had his offense go for it on a 4th-and-4 when they were down by 10 ahead of the two-minute warning. They didn't convert, but by that point, it was too little, too late anyways.

Penalties

A Brendan Schooler hold brought back a 46-yard kickoff return by Jalen Reagor, setting the Pats up at their own 13-yard line. They went three-and-out.

Demario Douglas wiped out his own reception that would have set the Pats up at the KC 6-yard line when he was flagged for a15-yard facemask. It's not a flag that receivers get often, but it cost the Pats their best chance at an early touchdown. Chad Ryland missed a 41-yard field goal a few plays later. The Pats also had a touchdown taken off the board when Connor McDermott was flagged for a hold, wiping out a 3-yard touchdown pass by Zappe to Hunter Henry.

A really, really (really, really) questionable holding call on rookie corner Alex Austin negated a fumble by KC's Skyy Moore and the ensuing recovery by Jabril Peppers on the Chiefs' first possession of the second half. It's hard to fault Austin for that, since it was a bogus call.

The Pats were flagged for five penalties that cost them 45 yards on Sunday. For a team that has a slim margin of error to begin with, they can't afford to have any of those flags to hit the field.

Chad Ryland misses another

The rookie missed another chip shot, this one from 41 yards out in the first quarter. 

JC Jackson doesn't play

The veteran corner was active for Sunday's game but never saw the field. Austin didn't find out he was starting until he took the field, and other players on the defense were surprised to learn that Jackson wasn't playing.

"He wasn't available, let's leave it at that," Belichick said after the loss.

It's been an up-and-mostly-down year for the corner since returning to New England, and Sunday's perceived benching just adds another layer to it.

UPS

Defense keeps brining it

The Patriots got two turnovers from the defense and a third one that should have been had it not been for the questionable flag on Alex Austin. The defense was hurt on short passes a few times, but completely shut down the KC ground attack, holding Chiefs rushers to 23 yards on 19 carries. 

Christian Barmore was solid throughout the game, picking up another sack when he brought Mahomes down to force a long third down for the Chiefs in the second quarter. He was also pressuring Mahomes and forced him to throw a bad middle over the pass on Marte Mapu's interception. Barmore had a pair of QB hits and four tackles for loss on the day.

The defense continues to shine for the Patriots, but it's hard to appreciate fully given all the struggles on the offensive side of the ball.

First-Half Zappe 

If NFL games were only 30 minutes long, Zappe would be in the MVP conversation. He was 17-for-19 for 141 yards and a touchdown in the first half on Sunday. The Patriots trailed just 14-10 at the break. 

Zappe made a big boy throw on his touchdown pass to Hunter Henry in the second quarter, lofting it just enough so the tight end was the only one who could come down with the ball. Zappe was a perfect 7-for-7 for 66 yards on that drive.

If only that carried over to the second half.

Hunter Henry had a day

The tight end followed up his two-touchdown game against the Steelers with a seven-reception afternoon against the Chiefs. Those seven catches went for a team-high 66 yards and a touchdown, and Henry would have had a second score had it not been for McDermott's hold. 

DeVante Parker too

Parker returned after missing last week's game with a knee injury, and caught all five passes that went his way for 44 yards.

Reagor the return man

Jalen Reagor should return kickoffs the rest of the way. He had 84 yards on his three returns on Sunday, including a nice 40-yarder. 

Panthers win!

If you're focused more on the Patriots' future draft pick, the odds of landing the top overall selection got a little better on Sunday. The Panthers won for just the second time this season, beating the Falcons 9-7 in front of a dozen fans in Charlotte, and now sit just a game ahead of the Patriots in the race for the basement.