Chiefs at Patriots
THE STORY: For one of the few times during the Bill Belichick reign, the New England Patriots were dealing with more questions than they had answers heading into last week's AFC East showdown at the New York Jets. Facing the prospect of a third straight defeat for the first time in nine years, the Patriots regained their footing and hammered the archrival Jets 37-16. With one crisis averted and back in its familiar perch atop the division, New England faces what appears to be a rout in the making when it hosts the bruised and battered Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. The Chiefs have lost two straight following a four-game winning streak.
TV: ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET. LINE: Patriots -13, O/U 48
ABOUT THE CHIEFS (4-5): After opening the season with three disastrous losses, Kansas City appeared ready to seize control of the AFC West by ripping off four consecutive wins, including victories over division rivals Oakland and San Diego. Then came lopsided home defeats to previously winless Miami and Tim Tebow-led Denver last week, a game in which Matt Cassel may have been lost for the season with a hand injury that required surgery. Having already lost star RB Jamaal Charles for the season in Week 2, the Chiefs will go be forced to start QB Tyler Palko, who has 13 career pass attempts to his credit.
ABOUT THE PATRIOTS (6-3): After three straight weeks of failing to surpass 20 points, New England got its high-powered offense back on track as Tom Brady threw for 329 yards and three touchdowns in carving up the Jets. Equally important for the Patriots was the performance of its much-maligned defense, which is ranked dead last in the league but registered five sacks – including a franchise-record 4.5 by Andre Carter. Second-year TE Rob Gronkowski continues to be a force with eight catches for a career-high 113 yards and two TDs. WR Wes Welker leads the league in receptions (72) and yards (1,006).
EXTRA POINTS:
1. The teams last met in the season opener in 2008. Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury, opening the door for Cassel to take over as starter.
2. The Patriots are 9-1 in their last 10 Monday Night Football games.
3. Gronkowski had 18 TD passes in 25 career games. Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe has 19 scoring passes during that same span – second only to Detroit’s Calvin Johnson (23)