Six Chiefs players to watch for in Sunday’s Patriots game

Patriots

The Chiefs may be faltering, but they still have a lot of talent.

Travis Kelce and Patrick Mahomes look to end their two-game losing streak when they face the Patriots on Sunday. Stephen Maduro/Getty Images

The last time the Patriots hosted the Chiefs in Foxborough, both teams were AFC class. A lot has changed in New England and around the league since the 2019 showdown, but one thing remains the same: the Chiefs are still among the league’s elite.

Kanas City has won two Super Bowls since that game in December 2019, and Patrick Mahomes captured his first Lombardi Trophy two months later and earned his second last season. Because of that, the Chiefs are still seen as one of the teams to beat even though they are 8-5 and have lost two in a row, as they don’t look like the Super Bowl version of themselves lately.

As Mahomes and his team look to right the ship against the 3-10 Patriots at Gillette Stadium, here are six Chiefs players to watch in Sunday’s matchup.

Patrick Mahomes

Obviously, the two-time MVP is a player to watch during Sunday’s game. But the usually impressive quarterback hasn’t had the production we’re used to seeing so far in 2023.

Mahomes’ 261.4 passing yards per game, 4.7 touchdown percentage, 2.3 interception percentage and 93.3 passer rating are on pace to be the worst marks of his career. Of course, his receivers haven’t been up to par this season and are likely the root of Mahomes’ poor production. Those numbers would also be considered good statistics for many other quarterbacks in the league.

Still, Mahomes hasn’t been able to overcome the disappointing talent around him to make up the Chiefs’ offense. They are averaging just 22.5 points per game this season, scoring fewer than 20 points in three of their last four games.

Sunday’s game also doesn’t necessarily look too promising for Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense to reverse their struggles of late. The Patriots have allowed fewer than 200 passing yards in three of their last four games, with Justin Herbert’s 212-yard day in Week 13 being the only one to break that mark of late.

In terms of how well he has played against the Patriots in his career, Mahomes has played pretty well. If you remember, he put up good numbers in both starts he made against them in his first season as the Chiefs’ top quarterback, throwing for 647 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions against the Patriots that year.

However, the last two games have not been as impressive for Mahomes and the Chiefs offense. Mahomes threw for a touchdown and an interception in the 2019 matchup against New England, struggling to finish off drives while cruising to a 23-16 victory. A year later, Mahomes and the Chiefs’ offense struggled again against the Patriots. They only had six points in almost three quarters before a Brian Hoyer fumble helped change the game as Kansas City’s offense scored 19 of its 26 points in the victory.

Obviously, Mahomes is still arguably the best quarterback in the league. But it seems like the Patriots are getting to play him at a good time.

Travis Kelce

Of course, the superstar tight end is the other player you can’t ignore when talking about the Chiefs.

Amid all the struggles of the Chiefs’ pass catchers this season, Kelce is still pretty reliable. He has 80 receptions for 896 yards and five touchdowns this season, putting him on pace to have one of the best seasons of his 11-year career.

Kelce also hasn’t necessarily struggled lately like the rest of the Chiefs’ offense. He has 23 receptions for 299 yards since his bye week, but he also only has one touchdown in Kanas City’s last six games.

The Patriots have been able to keep Kelce in check (at least relatively speaking) since Mahomes became their starting quarterback in 2018. In his last four games against New England, Kelce only recorded 15 receptions for 220 yards and a touchdown, adding a ground annotation. in the 2019 regular season matchup between the two teams.

Kelce has made headlines for other reasons outside of football in recent months, as his relationship with Taylor Swift became public. For those of you wondering, Kelce has played pretty well when he’s been around this season. He has recorded 44 receptions for 596 yards and two touchdowns in the six games SWfit attended and the Chiefs went 4-2 in those games.

It is still unknown if Swift will be at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

Rashee Rice

If there’s anyone who has emerged outside of Kelce among the Chiefs’ skill position players playing Sunday (running back Isiah Pacheco is out), it’s the rookie receiver.

Rice has progressed throughout the season, recording at least 60 receiving yards in each of the last three games. In fact, he had an eight-catch, 107-yard day against the Raiders in Week 12 before having a seven-catch, 72-yard day against the Bills last week, recording a touchdown in each game.

As mentioned above, opposing quarterbacks haven’t been able to have much success against the Patriots through the air lately. So naturally, the receivers haven’t been able to have big days either, as New England has mostly been able to play top receivers outside of a back-to-back stretch in late October and early November, when Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle and Terry McLaurin had a notable game against the Patriots.

A big reason for the Patriots’ pass defense’s success lately is Jonathan Jones. After dealing with an ankle injury for much of the early part of the season, Jones has played like he did for much of last season, allowing 21 receptions on 34 targets for just 179 yards and one touchdown in the seven games, according to Pro Football Focus. .

If Jones plays Rice on Sunday, it would be a good test for each side to see how good each player can be.

Chris Jones

The top defensive tackle still looks good this season despite missing all of training camp and the season opener due to a contract buyout.

Jones has 7.5 sacks and 24 combined tackles this season, adding 51 pressures and 16 career stops. But he might actually be peaking at the right time for Kansas City, recording 14 pressures over the last two games even though he didn’t have any sacks.

The interior of the Patriots offensive line has been shaky for much of the season, but players like David Andrews and Cole Strange have improved as the season has progressed. Still, Andrews, Strange and Sidy Sow have combined to allow five sacks and 12 pressures in the Patriots’ last three games, according to PFF. So it hasn’t been too good either.

Trent McDuffie and L’Jarius Sneed

The Chiefs don’t have the sixth-best pass defense in the league with only one elite interior pass rusher. They also have a couple of standouts in their secondary.

McDuffie, in particular, has become one of the best cornerbacks in the game this season after the Chiefs selected him in the 2022 draft, trading up with the Patriots to select him. The second-year cornerback has allowed 47 receptions on 70 targets for 494 yards and two touchdowns this season. While he has yet to record an interception, McDuffie actually leads the league in forced fumbles, stripping the ball five times this season.

Meanwhile, Sneed has performed well on the outside this season. He has allowed 35 receptions on 67 targets for 348 yards with two interceptions and no touchdowns allowed this season. In fact, he’s coming off a stellar performance against the Bills, allowing just one reception on seven targets and the only grab was for just one yard.

Obviously, that’s not the kind of news the Patriots want to hear, as they’re already dealing with a battered receiver room. But Demario Douglas is expected to return Sunday and DeVante Parker could also play. He is listed as questionable after missing last week’s game against the Steelers.