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Patriots Take Down the Redskins and Jay Gruden’s Career on Sunday

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New England Patriots Tickets

It was only a matter of time before the Patriots reign of supremacy cost an opposing coach his job. In Week 5, the New England Patriots beat the Washington Redskins 33-7 to improve to 5-0.

Following the game, the Redskins fired their head coach, Jay Gruden after the team fell to 0-5. The Redskins were able to score the first 7 points of the game, but after that, the Patriots shut them down.

Tom Brady returned to form after throwing for over 340 yards and three touchdowns as the Patriots were able to outscore the Redskins 21-0 in the second half alone. Granted this win came against the winless Redskins, but a lot of other players were able to gain some confidence during this win.

Dynamic Offense Returns

The biggest positive the Patriots can take from Sunday’s demolition was the return to form for the running attack. Sony Michel stepped up with 91 yards and a touchdown, and as a team, the Patriots finished with 130 yards for the game. With Michel as the lead back, the Patriots are a team no one wants to face in the playoffs. Brady’s experience and offensive versatility with Michel is tough to stop.

As for the passing game, Julian Edelman returned to his Pro Bowl ways with 8 catches for 110 yards and a touchdown. Two unexpected targets came up big for Brady as well. With tight end depth being an issue this season, Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo were factors in the passing game. They were left wide open on a few occasions, clearly catching the Redskins off guard. Izzo hauled in two catches for 39 yards and a touchdown, while LaCosse kept a drive early in the game with a 22-yard catch. They might not have Gronk anymore but if a few players can step up the tight end position can still be a weapon for the Pats.

Defensive Dominance Continues

The Patriots have quickly gained the reputation as one of the best defenses in the league this season. Their track record is unmatched at this point in the season as they have only allowed two offensive touchdowns in 20 quarters of football this season. This was the first time they trailed all season after the Redskins struck first on Sunday.

However, after that long touchdown, the Patriots went back to their smothering ways. They compiled five more sacks as well as an interception and a fumble recovery. For the fifth game this season, a McCourty intercepted a pass for New England. This time it was Jason McCourty. D’onta Hightower was all over the field with 8 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

The only impressive stat for the Redskins on the day came from their punter Tress Way. The Patriots forced the Redskins to punt 10 times, and surprisingly Way’s leg did not fall off. He recorded 500 yards in punts for an impressive 50-yard average. His 500 yards were 47th most in NFL history for a single game. Not too shabby for a league that has over 16,000 games played

Next Up

The New England Patriots are the last undefeated team in the AFC. They will look to remain perfect against the injury-riddled New York Giants. Daniel Jones has looked impressive in his first three NFL starts, but quarterbacks under the age of 25 are 0-27 at Gillette Stadium during Bill Belichick’s tenure as head coach. Jones will not have many of his top weapons making this an easy victory on paper for the Patriots on Thursday night.

Chiefs Squander a Number of Chances, Suffer First Loss to Colts

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Kansas City Chiefs Tickets

Chiefs Offensive Woes

Well, who saw that coming? The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Indianapolis Colts 19-13 (lowest total for the Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes at quarterback) in a Week 5 battle on Sunday Night Football. This was supposed to be an easy win for Chiefs, but they were not expecting the Colts defense to play as well as they did. The Colts had Patrick Mahomes on the run constantly and sacked him more times than he had been all season coming into this game. Late in the second quarter, LeSean McCoy fumbled inside field goal range to squander what would have been a chance to take the lead. They scored a whopping 3 points in the second half and were finally put away due to a failed onside kick with just over a minute left in the game. The Chiefs only mustered up 36 rushing yards in a lackluster effort to establish a running game. Now 4-1, the Chiefs are still at the top of the AFC West, but have some work to capture the AFC’s top seed.

Colts Old School Dominance

Head coach Frank Reich used his dominant offensive line to bully the Chiefs. The Colts used a smashmouth style of offense to burn the clock and minimize the Chiefs possessions. They pounded the rock 45 times for 180 rushing yards and out possessed the Chiefs 37:15 to 22:45. The Chiefs defensive line provided no pressure and looked like swiss cheese trying to clog running lanes. The Colts strategy was only able to work because their defense was stout enough (even without several key players) to hold the Chiefs offense to their least productive performance of the season. Colts move to 3-2 with this quality win.

What’s next?

Next week the Chiefs will host the Houston Texans. The Texans are coming off a dominating performance against the Falcons. Deshaun Watson threw for over 400 yards and 5 touchdowns. Will Fuller had a historic game going for 217 yards on 14 catches and 3 touchdowns. The secondary of the Chiefs has been prone to giving up big passing plays so expect a shootout at Arrowhead Stadium next Sunday. As for some positive news heading into the Week 6 showdown, the Chiefs might have Tyreek Hill back for the first time since Week 1. Aside from their Week 5 anomaly where they struggled offensively, the Chiefs have been more than capable of putting up big point totals in Hill’s absence.

Kansas City Chiefs Run Out of Detroit After Narrow Week 4 Win

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Kansas City Chiefs Tickets

The Kansas City Chiefs moved to 4-0 in Week 4 as they showed some last-minute heroics (literally). They fell behind 10-0 in the first quarter but made up the deficit in the second quarter to finish the half tied 13-13. Detroit Lions wide receiver Kenny Golladay caught his second touchdown of the day from Matthew Stafford with just 2:26 in the fourth quarter to go up 30-27.

That ended up being too much time for Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs marched down the field and on 2nd and goal from the Lions 1-yard line and 24 seconds on the clock Darrel Williams punched in the go-ahead touchdown with some help from the offensive line. Mahomes had his worst game of the season throwing for only 315 yards and failing to throw a touchdown pass. This game was more about the Lions than the Chiefs. The Lions proved that they can play with the best teams in the league as they were able to slow down the reigning MVP.

The Chiefs are going to host the 2-2 Indianapolis Colts in a Week 5 match up. The Colts have struggled this season, failing to capture winnable games under the leadership of Jacoby Brissett. The Colts defense have injuries to key players such as All-Pro linebacker Darius Leonard and T.Y. Hilton. If they fail to return for next week, Chiefs roll to a 5-0 record. It appears that Tyreek Hill will be out again in week 5 with his shoulder injury but is now considered week-to-week.

Patriots Survive Against Bills Mafia with Stout Defense and Special Teams

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New England Patriots Tickets

A win is a win right? The New England Patriots held on for dear life for a 16-10 win against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. It was a long day for Tom Brady who failed to throw a touchdown and surprisingly threw an interception as the Patriots were inside the Bills’ 5-yard line looking to put the game away.

In the first quarter, the Pats jumped out to a 13-0 lead and looked well on their way to an easy win. Brady led a drive that finished with a 4-yard touchdown run by Brandon Bolden. The next touchdown came on a blocked punt by the Patriots that was recovered by Matthew Slater in the end zone.

However, Brady struggled for the entirety of the game and the Bills scored the next ten points. Another Gostkowski field goal saw the lead restored to 16-10. Patriots fans caught a break after starting quarterback Josh Allen went out with a head injury late in the game. The Patriots were able to keep Matt Barkley off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter, but never put the game away either. The game ended 16-10, and the Patriots escaped with a win to take hold of first place in the AFC East.

Defense Does It Again

The New England defense is becoming vaunted in a hurry. This was the first time all season they surrendered a touchdown to the opposing offense. Their numbers were still extremely impressive. The Patriots racked up 5 sacks and 4 interceptions. Although Josh Allen scored a rushing touchdown, he was confused all day long. He threw three of the four interceptions, only had 153 yards passing and a quarterback rating of 24. The stars included Jamie Collins (1 interception, 1 sack), JC Jackson (2 interceptions) and Devin McCourty who recorded an interception for his fourth straight game to start the season.

Offensive Struggles

New England’s offense only mustered 224 total yards and Tom Brady had his lowest quarterback rating since 2006. Sony Michel only recorded 63 yards rushing and never found that big play to help spark a drive. Running back James White led the team with 8 catches for 57 yards illustrating the lack of a downfield passing attack for the Pats. The Patriots will need to forget this performance quick and focus on their next opponent. Performances like these don’t happen often for the Patriots. However, they escaped with a win to keep pace with Kansas City Chiefs, who also improved to 4-0. These two teams look to be on pace for an AFC Championship Game.

Up Next for the New England Patriots is a road game against the 0-4 Washington Redskins.

Star of the Game: Kyle Van Noy – 8 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 quarterback hits

Another Chiefs Offensive Explosion Leads to An Impressive 3-0 Start

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Kansas City Chiefs Tickets

In the highly anticipated Week 3 match up, the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Baltimore Ravens in a game that did not disappoint. Both teams entered the game 2-0 but the Chiefs came out victorious. Patrick Mahomes torched the Ravens defense, throwing for 374 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 33-28 victory at Arrowhead Stadium. Even with Tyreek Hill sidelined due to injury again, the Chiefs offense was efficient and solid. Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens jumped out to a 6-0 lead but then Mahomes took over.

Chiefs Take Command Early

Mahomes completed at least one pass to eight different receivers in the contest showing they can share the ball around and still play winning football. Free agent signing LeSean McCoy had his best game of the season in Week 3 and got the Chiefs on the board with a second quarter rushing touchdown. After that, Mahomes took the reins and dialed up two touchdowns from long distance. He connected on a beautiful pass to Demarcus Robinson (who made an even better catch) and then on the next drive threw a bullet to Mecole Hardman in stride and the Chiefs were off and running.

Ravens Comeback Comes Up Short

The Ravens, led by Lamar Jackson, came on strong in the fourth quarter scoring 2 touchdowns (failing to convert both 2-point conversions) and kicking a field goal. But it was just not enough to overcome the deficit that the Chiefs built up in the quarter scoring 23 unanswered points. Lamar Jackson failed to throw for a touchdown for the first time this season and the one dimensional nature of the Ravens offense hurt them on Sunday. The star for the Ravens was Mark Ingram who ran for 103 yards on only 16 carries and 3 touchdowns. He added 4 catches for 32 yards as well (hopefully you started him in fantasy, unlike me). Both teams came to play and showed that they are true contenders as they are the only teams in their respective divisions with winning records.

Next Up

Next week the Chiefs head to Detroit to take on the undefeated Lions in a 1:00 EST match up. The Lions have beat two quality teams in the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles while tying the Arizona Cardinals. With no aspect of Detroit’s game really standing out in any way, expect the Chiefs to roll to a 4-0 record next Sunday. Even a quality defense such as the Ravens were unable to keep the Chiefs from scoring under 30 points.

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