Chiefs vs. Patriots 2016 final score: New England advances to AFC Championship with 27-20 win
The Patriots will play in the AFC Championship after beating the Chiefs in the Divisional Round on Saturday.
Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
The New England Patriots cruised to an easy 27-20 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the first AFC Divisional Round playoff game on Saturday. The Chiefs didn't play terrible football, but they were unable to consistently limit Tom Brady and the tough New England offense, and when the Patriots took a lead in the first quarter, they never looked back.
The Chiefs’ defensive front looked good as usual, but the Patriots exploited them by spreading out, limiting the damage done. They forced the Chiefs’ secondary to beat them, and Brady was able to do his damage all over the field, including with his legs. It was enough to keep the Chiefs’ defense on the field for too long.
Brady had an efficient game for the Patriots. He threw for just over 300 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no picks and was not sacked at all. The Patriots rushed for fewer than 50 yards as a team, but they didn't need it. Alex Smith threw for over 200 yards and had a touchdown for the Chiefs, but it wasn't enough to give them the win. They rushed for over 100 yards, with Charcandrick West picking up over 61 yards for the Chiefs.
It was a great first half for Brady and the Patriots. Brady threw for over 150 yards and a touchdown with no picks and was not sacked in the opening half, and he also ran for 10 yards and a touchdown. Brady's first touchdown was an 8-yard strike to Rob Gronkowski early in the first quarter.
Brady had his rushing touchdown late in the second quarter, while the Chiefs only managed a pair of field goals from Cairo Santos going into the second half. The play above was ruled not a touchdown upon review, despite many thinking Brady was in. On the very next play, Brady carried a QB sneak and scored from one yard out.
The Patriots kept up the pressure in the third quarter, when Brady hit Gronkowski for his second touchdown pass of the day. Kansas City did finally find the end zone when Smith hit Albert Wilson for a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it a one-score game. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, their defense simply could not reliably stop Brady and the Patriots, and within five minutes they put up six more points with two field goals from Stephen Gostkowski.
New England was able to kill plenty of clock and the Chiefs’ lack of offensive spark prevented them from mounting any kind of comeback late in the fourth. The Chiefs did have a good drive at the end, but they took too long to get to the line of scrimmage and even went back to the huddle multiple times. They found the end zone again but they had killed so much of the clock that the Patriots easily took the win.
The Patriots advance to the AFC Championship, where they will face either the Denver Broncos or the Pittsburgh Steelers, who play each other on Sunday afternoon.
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