"All my rowdy friends are here for the early Sunday afternoon window" doesn't exactly have the right ring to it, does it?
What was originally slated for the primetime airwaves of ESPN has instead been moved to Sunday early afternoon, as the New England Patriots take on the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium (1 p.m. ET, Fox).
New England (3-10) is the only team eliminated from the AFC playoff conversation, even with last week's surprise 21-18 triumph in Pittsburgh. They can still have a macabre role in deciding the AFC playoff picture: the matchup against the Chiefs is another showdown against a team that's in the thick of the playoff hunt, as they'll face Denver and Buffalo after Sunday. Kansas City (8-5) still has an outside shot at earning the top spot on the AFC playoff bracket but has lost three of its past four, including a 20-17 decision to the Buffalo Bills last weekend.
This will be the 40th all-time meeting between the Chiefs and Patriots, with the former leading the series 20-16-3. The two sides last did battle in October 2020, a 26-10 win for Kansas City.
Live updates will commence after kickoff
Pregame
NE INACTIVES:WR Kayshon Boutte, OT Trenton Brown, DE Sam Roberts, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, RB Rhamondre Stevenson, CB Shaun Wade
KC INACTIVES:DT Matt Dickerson, DT Neil Farrell, DE Malik Herring, RB Isiah Pacheco, OT Donovan Smith, DE B.J. Thompson, CB Joshua Williams
GAME-TIME WEATHER: 51 degrees, Cloudy, ESE Wind at 7 MPH, 10 percent chance of precipitation
1st Quarter
New England starts the game with the ball.
Jalen Reagor returns the opening kickoff to the cusp of midfield but Brendan Schooler is flagged 10 yards for holding. The Patriots' first drive starts at their own 13.
New England goes three-and-out on its first drive. Bryce Baring's 47-yard punt is fair caught by Richie James at the Chiefs' 38.
On the first play from scrimmage, Patrick Mahomes finds Noah Gray for 32 yards.
On the next, an illegal hands-to-the-face penalty against Alex Austin immediately give Kansas City a fresh set of downs.
Mahomes finds Kadarius Toney for 16 yards, but Rashee is flagged 10 yards of offensive pass interference
Unable to generate further momentum, the Chiefs try a 39-yard field goal but Harrison Butker misses the attempt. 9:51 left in the 1st.
On 2nd-and-8, New England gets its first first down of the day on a nine-yard pass from Bailey Zappe to Hunter Henry
Zappe finds Henry for another nine-yard gain and first down but Henry is injured on the play
Demario Douglas makes the first catch of his return, going 16 yards to the Kansas City 12
On a six-yard pass to Douglas, the receiver is flagged 15 yards for a facemask
Derailed by a penalty, the Patriots' drive ends with a 41-yard Ryland field goal attempt that misses. 3:35 left in the 1st.
Offsetting penalties are called: Mahomes for intentional grounding while Jonathan Jones gets a illegal contact charge.
A short Mahomes pass to Clyde Edwards-Helaire goes 48 yards, setting the Chiefs up deep in New England territory
Mahomes' 11-yard pass to Rice makes it 1st-and-goal at the New England 4.
TOUCHDOWN CHIEFS: The Chiefs score on a direct snap to Jerrick McKinnon, who throws it to Rice for short score, the first of the day. Butker's extra point is good. 1:30 to go in the 1st, Chiefs 7, Patriots 0
Butker's kickoff is a touchback
New England's next drive is a three-and-out.
Baringer's resulting boot goes 54 yards and is taken back 15 yards by James to the 27, ending the first quarter
END OF THE 1ST, CHIEFS 7, PATRIOTS 0
2nd Quarter
Thanks in part to Christian Barmore's sack of Mahomes, Kansas City goes three-and-out.
The Tommy Townsend punt goes 35 yards and is downed at the New England 39 with 12:56 to go in the 2nd
On the first play, Zappe is sacked by Drue Tranquil
Shortly after returning, Henry goes for a 15-yard reception and gets the first down on 3rd-and-12. Strange was carted off the field
On another throw to Henry, this one for six, Patriots blocker Cole Strange is injured on the play
After a Zappe scramble, he's able to find DeVante Parker for 19 yards and a fresh set of downs at the New England 24
TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS:Facing 4th-and-2 at the New England 16, the Patriots opt to go for it. The result is a 16-yard Zappe pass to Henry, which sets up a tying extra point for Chad Ryland 7:09 to go in the 2nd, Patriots 7, Dolphins 7
Ryland's kickoff is a touchback
Marte Mapu intercepts a Mahomes pass on the opening play on the drive. The 20-yard runback set the offense up at the New England 8.
Zappe appears to find Henry for yet another touchdown but it's nullified by a Connor McDermott holding penalty.
FIELD GOAL PATRIOTS: With the penalty derailing momentum, the Patriots take the lead on a 29-yard field goal from Ryland 4:47 to go in the 2nd, Patriots 10, Chiefs 7
Ryland's kickoff is a touchback
A 3rd-and-3 becomes eight when Kansas City is flagged for a false start.
The penalty means nothing to Mahomes, who finds Justin Watson for 31 and another entry into New England territory
On 3rd-and-9, Mahomes hits up Rice for 20 yards going into the two-minute warning
Mahomes gets Kansas City to the New England 12, setting up 3rd-and-1 on a seven-yard throw to rice. New England calls its first timeout at 0:50
Kansas City gets the first on a short run for Edwards-Helaire. Timeout Kansas City at 0:45
On 1st-and-goal, Mahomes finds Toney for two. Second timeout for Kansas City at 0:40
TOUCHDOWN CHIEFS: Mahomes finds Jerrick McKinnon for an eight-yard score. Butker's extra point is good. 0:35 to go in the 2nd, Chiefs 14, Patriots 10
Butker's kickoff is a touchback.
A three-yard rush for Ezekiel Elliott ends the first half
HALFTIME: CHIEFS 14, PATRIOTS 10
3rd Quarter
Ryland's opening kickoff is a touchback
On the first play of the second half, Mahomes finds Rice, who gets to the cusp of midfield. Rice fumbled but quickly recovered
A Skyy Moore fumble is forced and recovered by Jabrill Peppers but Austin is flagged for defensive holding.
Mahomes follows up with two incompletions but he finds Rice for 11 for a new set of downs
FIELD GOAL CHIEFS: Two touchdown attempts to Kelce fall incomplete and the Chiefs settle for a field goal. Butker's 29-yard kick is good 10:29 to go in the 3rd, Chiefs 17, Patriots 10
Reagor takes Butker's kickoff to his 21
The drive ends as soon as it began, as Zappe is intercepted by Willie Gay Jr., who returns it 22 yards to the seven
TOUCHDOWN CHIEFS: Mahomes needs just two play to capitalize, find Edwards-Helaire for six yards. The extra point is good. 9:22 to go in the 3rd, Chiefs 24, Patriots 10
Reagor returns the kickoff to the New England 35.
Zappe finds Henry for nine yards at the edge of midfield
The next three plays all yield negative yardage, including an 11-yard sack of Zappe by Jaylen Watson
Baringer's punt goes 38 yards and is downed at the Kansas City 26. 6:33 to go in the 3rd
The Chiefs pick up consecutive first downs, with a 17-yard reception for Marquez Valdez-Scantling and a 23-yard carry for Edwards-Helaire
Following a three-yard loss for Edwards-Helaire, Kansas City calls its first timeout at 4:28
FIELD GOAL CHIEFS: Butker boots a 54-yard field goal to make it a three-possession game. 3:40 to go in the 3rd, Chiefs 27, Patriots 10
Butker's kick is a touchback
Zappe is sacked again and loses a fumble, forced by CharlesOmenihu. It's recovered by McDermott.
New England can't do much more with it, leading to a Baringer punt. It's fielded at the eight by James, and he goes 18 yards to the Kansas City 26. Timeout for a Matthew Slater injury.
Kansas City goes three-and-out. The Townsend punt goes 44 yards and returned for six by Myles Bryant. New England takes over at its own 35.
The third quarter end on a seven-yard Zappe pass to Elliott.
END OF THE 3RD: CHIEFS 27, PATRIOTS 10
4th Quarter
A Zappe pass to Henry, originally ruled a first down, is changed upon a Kansas CIty challenge. Henry was injured on the play.
Baringer's punt goes to the Kansas City 15. 14:39 left in the 4th.
On a pass from Mahomes to Edwards-Helaire, Ja'Whaun Bentley is injured
Deatrich Wise and Mack Wilson end the drive with a 10-yard takedown of Mahomes.
Townsend's punt gets a 14-yard return for Bryant. At the 27, New England takes over with 11:22 left
Patriots go three-and-out. Baringer punt goes to the 24.
Mahomes' first pass is intercepted by Jalani Tavai, takes it back to the Kansas City 29
TOUCHDOWN PATRIOTS: The Patriots stay alive, at least temporarily, as Kevin Harris scores from 18 away. The Ryland extra point is good 8:24 to go in the 4th, Chiefs 27, Patriots 17
The Ryland kickoff is a touchback
Kansas City picks up three first downs but is forced to punt. The Townsend punt is downed at the 1.
Short runs and incompletions more or less end the Patriots' final drive, allowing Kansas City to run the clock out to more or less the conclusion.
FINAL: CHIEFS 27, PATRIOTS 17
