March 28, 2024

Chiefs offense hums in rout of Patriots

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs gave their neighbors across the parking lot a little bit of inspiration with their impassioned performance against New England.

Jamaal Charles returned from an ankle injury to score three touchdowns, Alex Smith threw for 248 yards and three scores, and the Chiefs routed the Patriots 41-14 on Monday night, getting the sports week off to a smashing start in Kansas City with the Royals preparing to open the baseball playoffs on Tuesday.

“To have back-to-back events like this, Monday night football and a home playoff game, yeah, it’s special,” Smith said. “Right next door to each other.”

Arrowhead Stadium, which was packed to the brim in red-clad Chiefs fans, is just a short walk from Kauffman Stadium, which will surely be packed with blue when the Royals end a 29-year playoff drought against the Oakland Athletics in the AL wild-card game.

Several members of the Royals even showed up for the Chiefs-Patriots game, including starting pitcher James Shields, drawing huge roars when they were shown on the big screens. And some of the Chiefs said they were thinking about returning the favor, including wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.

Regardless, the Chiefs will be able to spend Tuesday in a celebratory mood.

They held the Patriots’ Tom Brady to 159 yards passing and a touchdown, picking him off twice and returning one for a touchdown. Brady was also strip-sacked by Tamba Hali to set up a Chiefs field goal, capping off a miserable night for the two-time NFL MVP.

“It was just a bad performance by everybody,” Brady said. “We need to make sure we never have this feeling again. We’ve got to figure out what we have to do better.”

The Chiefs forced the Patriots to air it out by stuffing Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley. And when Brady dropped back, their front seven ran roughshod over New England’s suspect offensive line.

It hardly helped the Patriots offense that it was trying to operate on the same night Chiefs fans were trying to reclaim the record for loudest outdoor sports venue. The record was set in the first half, when Guinness World Records noted a noise level of 142.2 decibels — breaking the mark of 137.6 that Seattle Seahawks fans set last season.

“My ears are still ringing,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said with a smile.

Kansas City had 303 yards of offense by halftime, the most against any Belichick-coached team in the first half of a game. That includes his years coaching in Cleveland.

“We just never got anything going. Nothing,” Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “They just executed. They executed perfectly. We were always out of the game, it seemed.”