Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots – Game Pick
The NFL regular season get underway on Thursday night with the Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots. Here is my pick on the game.
Why the Chiefs can win
In this matchup of Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots, the Patriots are a huge 9 point favorites. But anything can happen in week one as every NFL team is optimistic about their chances.
The Chiefs are the under dog, but they do have a few things going for them in this game. For one, they have some good pass rushers in Justin Houston and Dee Ford. Both are capable of applying pressure on a quarterback.
It’s hard to get Tom Brady off his game but a great pass rush and hits on the quarterback is a proven way to do it. The Chiefs also have talent in their secondary as Marcus Peters is an emerging force at cornerback and Eric Berry is still one of the better safeties in the league.
And for the Chiefs to win the defense will need to force some turnovers with the offense giving up none themselves. Quarterback Alex Smith and the offense must run the ball effectively and control time of possession.
If the Chiefs can carry out these tasks, then they have a shot a pulling off the upset. But they’ll have to be flawless and find a way to put a lot of points on the board.
Why the Patriots might lose
The New England Patriots have a high-powered offense but they may have one small weakness. With LeGarette Blount no longer on the team, the Patriots must find another source for gaining the tough yards.
They have some talent at the position but none of the backs they have this season are known as primary ball carriers. So the Patriots will have to use running back by committee in 2017.
James White will get more carries this year, with Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead adding a change of pace. Former Buffalo Bill Mike Gillislee could emerge as the guy, but for now it’s a question mark in the Patriots offense.
However, Tom Brady will still put points on the board regardless. But if the Patriots can’t run the ball consistently this will help the Chiefs cause. Sure, the short passing game with the Patriots running backs is hard to stop. But there’s no battering ram like Blount to soften up defenses.
Also, the loss of Julian Edelman is a big one. However, Edelman was Tom Brady’s most reliable target and his presence in the offense was huge. The Patriots have plenty of receivers to turn to but losing Edelman has to hurt them at least in a small way.
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Who wins in Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots?
I’ve pointed out some reasons why the Patriots might lose this game and they’re legit reasons. But while the Chiefs do have an outside shot at an upset, I don’t see it happening.
Even without Julian Edelman and LeGarrette Blount, the New England Patriots still have too many weapons on offense for the Chiefs to stop. Even if the Chiefs can stay with them early, I the Patriots will pull away eventually.
The Chiefs don’t have the fire power to put enough points on the board to hang with the Patriots. I see it being close early on but Brady and the Patriots will pull away in the second half to get a comfortable win at home.
Winner: Patriots
Score prediction: 30-20 Patriots
Points spread: Patriots -9
Over/under: 48.5 – Over