Patriots fall to 3-11 on season with Week 15 loss to Chiefs

FOXBORO -- For the second straight week, the Patriots played a solid first half of football. That was enough to get it done against the Steelers last week, but not nearly enough for the Patriots to beat Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.

The Patriots fell to the Chiefs, 27-17, at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. New England is now 3-11 on the season.

Mahomes spread the love throughout the game, hitting nine different receivers as he threw for 305 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. Tight end Travis Kelce only had five receptions for 28 yards with his girlfriend, Taylor Swift, watching from the stands, but Mahomes hit running backs Jerick McKinnon and Clyde Edwards-Helair for Kansas City's touchdowns. McKinnon also tossed a touchdown of his own to rookie Rashee Rice, who had 9 receptions for 91 yards for Kansas City.

Bailey Zappe was 23-for-31 for 180 yarsd, a touchdown, and an interception for New England, and once again fell off a cliff in the second half. Zappe and the Patriots managed just 57 yards on 22 offensive plays after halftime.

At least the Carolina Panthers won on Sunday, "improving" their record to 2-12 and keeping keeps the Patriots in the running for the top overall pick. But after New England fans were treated to a road win last week, they probably wouldn't have minded seeing a home victory over Mahomes and the Chiefs on Sunday.

The Patriots went three-and-out to start the game, and after the two teams traded missed field goals, Kansas City struck first. The Chiefs cleared out the right side of the field and got 48 yards off a short screen pass to running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, setting them up at the New England 15. A few plays later, Andy Reid dialed up some trickeration and had McKinnon take a direct snap with Mahomes lined up in a three-point stance. McKinnon flipped it to Rice for a four-yard score, putting Kansas City up 7-0 late in the first quarter.

The Chiefs needed just four plays to cover 69 yards and find the end zone on that drive. 

The Pats went three-and-out on their next possession, but the New England defense then forced the Chiefs to do the same. That's when Zappe and company answered with a 10-play touchdown drive on their own.

Zappe was perfect on the drive, going 7-for-7 for 66 yards, and he capped it off with a great throw to Hunter Henry in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown. That came on a crucial fourth-and-2 for the Patriots, and Zappe made a near-perfect thrown, lofting it so only Henry could come down with the ball.

Mahomes was picked off by Patriots rookie Marte Mapu on his next throw, which gave New England the ball at the KC 8-yard line. But the Patriots couldn't take advantage of that great field position. For a team that has struggled to put points on the board all season, that can't happen when Patrick Mahomes is on the other side of the field.

A holding penalty on offensive lineman Connor McDermott negated another Zappe touchdown to Henry on third-and-goal, and Ezekiel Elliott picked up just six yards on New England's follow-up play. The Patriots settled for a 25-yard field goal from Ryland to take a 10-7 lead, which proved to be costly.

The Chiefs marched 75 yards down the field on 11 plays in just over four minutes before the half, taking a 14-10 lead with 35 seconds left when Mahomes hit McKinnon with a short pass and the running back scampered eight yards into the end zone. It upped Kansas City's total to 81 points scored in the final two minutes before halftime this season.

The Chiefs added another field goal to start the third quarter, though it came with some controversy. Jabrill Peppers recovered a Skyy Moore fumble on Kansas City's third play of the drive, but it was negated when rookie corner Alex Austin was flagged for an extremely questionable hold downfield. Instead of the Pats taking over at their own 41, the Chiefs retained possession. 

Bill Belichick was obviously not happy with the flag, but the New England defense stood tall. They kept Mahomes from connecting with Kelce on two passing attempts in the end zone, and Kansas City had to settle for a 17-10 lead after the drive.

But Zappe, who was 17-for-19 for 141 yards in the first half, struggled after the break for the second straight week. His first pass of the third quarter ended up with the Chiefs. Zappe tried to buy time and eventually went to a covered Pharaoh Brown downfield, and the errant pass was picked off by Willie Gay.

It was not a smart decision by Zappe and it gave Mahomes and company the ball at the New England 7-yard line. Two plays later, Mahomes worked his magic and hit Edwards-Hellair in the back of the end zone to give Kansas City a 24-10 lead.

The Patriots picked up a first down on their next possession, but it ended with Zappe getting sacked on a third-and-12 at midfield. Zappe was sacked four times on Sunday.

After the Patriots punted away, the Chiefs got a 54-yard field goal off the foot of Harrison Butker to make it a three-score game, 27-10.

The New England offense just couldn't get anything going on the third quarter. The Patriots were outgained by Kansas City, 111-12., with a pair of Zappe sacks losing 17 yards for New England.

But the defense got the ball to Zappe and crew at the Kansas City 29-yard line early in the fourth quarter, and the offense took advantage this time. Kadarius Toney (who was the goat for Kansas City' in last weeks loss to the Bills) bobbled a pass from Mahomes over the middle and Jahlani Tavai came down with the interception. A few plays later, second-year running back Kevin Harris broke some tackles and ran it in from 18 yards out. Harris' touchdown came on just his third touch of the season, and made it a 27-17 game with 8:24 to play.

The New England defense continued to make plays, with Mack Wilson sacking Mahomes on a third-and-8 to force a Kansas City punt. But Tommy Townsend's 56-yard punt was downed at the New England 1-yard line, and the Patriots turned it over on downs just three plays later when Zappe's fourth-down pass was too far for Jalen Reagor.

The Patriots will now hit the road to play the Broncos in Denver on Christmas Eve. Denver fell to 7-7 on the season on Saturday with a 42-17 road loss to the Lions in Detroit.