Pats Pound Palko, Chiefs On Monday Night Football, 34-3

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Oh, there were highlights! Like this one of Ron Gronkowski scoring a fantastic touchdown on which he seemingly came mere inches from severely injuring his neck.

Julian Edelman’s performance was also a highlight. Most well-known for playing wide receiver (and for some unfortunate legal troubles), Edelman filled in at defensive back on Monday night and played well. He also returned punts, including this one for a touchdown.

“Yeah, we’re going to need to play better than we did offensively tonight if we want to start making some serious improvements down the stretch,” Brady said last night according to Ian Rapoport of the Boston Herald. “We’re 7-3. I don’t think we’re really where we hoped to be at this point. We have a whole season ahead of us and hopefully we can come out and have a good week of practice and move forward.”

For more on this game, check out Chiefs blog Arrowhead Pride and Patriots blog Pats Pulpit.

There was nothing arbitrary about his first score. Known primarily for his work in the red zone, Gronkowski went 52 yards in the first quarter to give the Patriots their first score of the game, crossing the goal-line after flashing some deft footwork to avoid a tackle and stay inbounds about 10 yards out.

While his first score required more grace than brawn, his second was pure violence. He was hit in midair after diving for the end zone, turning him completely upside down. He landed awkwardly on his neck and was clearly dazed after trying to stand up, stumbling to his knees before regaining his balance.

He made his presence felt in the third quarter after a Chiefs punt, returning the kick 66-yards for a touchdown, increasing the Patriots lead to 24-3. On the ensuing kickoff, Edelman shed a block and tackled the kick returner.

Gronkowski bounced off one tackle and rumbled to the endzone, leaping right before he was hit again. The hit flipped him in the air, landing on his head. He was slow to get to the sideline, so it will be something to watch if he’s injured or not.

The play was reviewed, as it looked like Gronkowski might have stepped out of bounds, but as you can see below he was well within the field of play. The call on the field stood and the Patriots took a 7-3 lead.

The normal reaction this is: Who in the world is Tyler Palko?

(Insert joke about Shane Falco and The Replacements.)

For more on this game, visit Patriots blog Pats Pulpit and Chiefs blog Arrowhead Pride.

If there’s hope for the Chiefs, it’s in the Patriots pass defense. Thus far, New England has been anything but stout against opposing quarterbacks, surrendering 308.9 yards per game through the air. The again, Kansas City averages just 182.2 yards per game through the air, so yards could be tough to come by.

Here’s the information for Monday’s game.