Talk about a reality check.
The Kansas City Chiefs played spoilers on Thursday night, as it came into Gillette Stadium and dethroned the Super Bowl champs 42-27 in the season opener.
This marks the most points the Patriots have given up in Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach.
New England head coach Bill Belichick’s decision to go for it on fourth down in the first quarter after already being up 7-0, proved to be costly in the waning minutes.
After Chiefs’ rookie running back Kareem Hunt scampered for a four-yard touchdown run midway in the fourth quarter, it put the visitors up 35-27, putting the hosts in an uncomfortable position of trying to march down the field and converting on a two point conversion.
This forced Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and company to be one-dimensional and heave the ball on streak routes down the field.
Offensively, nobody besides Mike Gillislee is worth mentioning, as the running back had three touchdowns on the ground, which was a career high for the former Buffalo Bill.
Quesions arise, especially at the wide receiver position, as Danny Amendola had to leave the game with concussion-like symptoms in the fourth quarter. With the team already losing Julian Edelman for the season with an ACL tear, along with placing Malcolm Mitchell on injured reserve, what seemed like a strength for the Patriots has suddenly become a major area of concern.
The Patriots will have to work on their defense, as Kansas City dipped and dunked its way down the field to start, and then took the top off the secondary with two plays over 70 yards that resulted in scores.
Simply put, New England has a lot to work on before heading down to square off against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
