By Ian S. Palmer
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The reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots enter the NFL playoffs this week with a tough task as they face the hottest team in the league in their AFC Divisional Round playoff game. The Patriots and Chiefs will clash at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro this Saturday, January 16. New England enjoyed a bye last weekend while the Chiefs won their 11th game in a row by downing the Houston Texans 30-0 on the road. Kansas City finished the campaign on a 10-game winning streak and finished 11-5 to make the postseason as a wildcard team by finishing second in the AFC West.
Chiefs vs Patriots – BOVADA NFL BETTING LINE:
- Bovada currently lists New England at -5.5 at -110 with Kansas City +5.5 at -110
New England ended the year with a 12-4 record to capture the AFC East, but they lost the number-one seed by dropping their season finale to the Miami Dolphins. The Patriots cold be boosted by the return of receiver Julian Edelman this weekend. He’s been out of the lineup since week 10. Kansas City finally won a playoff game after 22 years when they shutout the Texans last week and the last time the met New England they were 41-14 winners at home. Kansas is on the road this time around though and they’ll be without the injured Jamaal Charles with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The Chiefs have a solid running game and gained 141 yards against Houston. Running back Spencer Ware led the way with 16 rushes for 67 yards and quarterback Alex Smith carried the ball five times for another 27 yards. Smith has thrown 11 touchdown passes in his last seven outings and has been picked off seven times. His passing percentage against Houston was 77.3 per cent and he threw for 190 yards along with a touchdown pass and a pick off.
Smith teamed up well with tight end Travis Kelce as Kelce caught eight passes for 128 yards. He also had a touchdown and 98 yards the last time Kansas played New England. The Patriots haven’t looked too good with their passing defense lately as they’ve conceded 296 yards per outing over their last three contests. The Chiefs’ defense has given up only 11.6 points per contest over their past 11 games. They forced Houston into five turnovers last week with a fumble recovery and four interceptions. Kansas has gone 8-3 against the spread during their recent winning streak.
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The Patriots struggled at the end of the season by losing four times in their last half dozen games. The bye should help them though since they’ve been hit with injuries. Quarterback Tom Brady suffered an ankle injury in the final game against Miami, but should be ready to go. In addition, wide receiver Julian Edelman is expected back along with offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer, defensive end Chandler Jones and linebacker Dont’a Hightower. However, top running back LeGarrette Blount is still on the sidelines with a hip problem.
The Patriots will be counting on Brady to lead the way after leading his conference in touchdown passes this season with 35. Edelman will help if he’s back since he had seven touchdowns and 692 yards this year in just nine games. If Edelman isn’t at his best then Danny Amendola could be a key as he had 648 receiving yards this campaign. Tight end Rob Gronkowski is also a key player as he led New England with 11 touchdowns and 1,176 this year. His average of 16.3 yards per reception was also a team high.
Kansas City has an excellent passing defense though by ranking ninth in the league at 231 yards against per game. Jones and Hightower will help the front seven since Jones led the pass-rush with 12.5 sacks while Hightower recorded 3.5. The Chiefs’ offensive line allowed three sacks against Houston last week. New England has gone 4-1-2 against the spread in their last seven home encounters.
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