Brady: Patriots Will Need 'Great Effort' To Beat Chiefs
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's been over 15 months since the Patriots suffered an embarrassing 41-14 loss at the hands of the Kansas City Chiefs, their opponent this weekend in the AFC Divisional round.
A lot has changed since that forgettable night in Missouri, as the Patriots quickly moved "On to Cincinnati" and would only lose two more games en route to a Super Bowl XLIX title. As for the Chiefs, they missed the postseason last year but now come to town one of the hottest teams in the league. Many of the same players will suit up for Saturday's playoff matchup at Gillette, as their dangerous pass rush and talented secondary, now with rookie of the year candidate Marcus Peters shadowing receivers, will be making life hard for quarterback Tom Brady.
Brady knows this, and he also knows you can learn from your errors of the past. The Patriots have dusted off the game film from last season's drubbing at Arrowhead and sat through that nightmare, making sure they don't make the same mistakes twice when things kick off on Saturday.
"We've studied it. They played really well that night and we didn't play very well. Hopefully we can flip the script in this opportunity we have," Brady said Tuesday.
The Chiefs come in winners of 11 straight, allowing just 11.6 points per game during that successful stretch. Their defense that has a knack for forcing the opposition to make mistakes, finishing the regular season a plus-14 in turnover differential, so Brady and his teammates know they have a small margin of error this weekend.
"It's going to take a great effort; they have a lot of good players, a great front, a great group of linebackers and as good a secondary as anyone we've faced. They have a great scheme and put a lot of pressure on you. If you don't handle it they take advantage," said Brady. "Coach [Bill Belichick] talks about the turnover margin that has been heavily in their favor, especially in their wins down the stretch.
"They do a great job at complimentary football. When they get turnovers they turn them into points," Brady continued. "They're good in the kicking game and the defense can tee off. It creates this snowball effect and then the game is out of hand. That's what happened last week to Houston. They had a seven point lead on the opening kickoff and then you feel like, 'man, we have to get back into this game.' You don't want to get down 14-0 in the middle of the second quarter – that's not the way you want to play this team."
It will certainly help New England that both Julian Edelman (foot) and Sebastian Vollmer (ankle) will likely return from their lengthy injury absences. Vollmer will help combat that KC pass rush, as will the quick pass opportunities Edelman opens up for the Brady.
"The more dependable and consistent players out there the better it's going to be," he said.
It will be easy to see Brady's intensity ratchet up a bit now that the Patriots are playing "win or go home" football, and it will only continue as they get closer to game time. This may even lead to some angry looks or shouts on the field, as Brady even admitted Tuesday that he's not the easiest teammate to work with. But he puts that pressure on himself and his teammates throughout the season so when it comes time for these important games, they're ready for anything.
"There is always a sense of urgency, and every day you're trying to create that so you can realize the importance of what we're trying to do for ourselves and for our team. There are a lot of people who sacrifice a lot to get to this point," said Brady. "This is when you have to be at your best."
Tune in to Patriots-Chiefs Saturday night on 98.5 The Sports Hub and WBZ-TV — the flagship stations of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins on 98.5FM at 1:30pm with Patriots Preview, following by three hours of postgame coverage after the game. Coverage begins on WBZ-TV with Patriots GameDay at 2pm, with Patriots 5th Quarter immediately after the game!
