5 takeaways from the thrilling victory of the Patriots over the Chiefs

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Five victories over the huge victories of the Patriots against the Chiefs, still unbeaten: 43-40:

Hogan, Gostkowski and Gronkowski answer the call

When Julian Edelman was suspended for the first four weeks and the depth of the Patriots receiver was exhausted, Chris Hogan did not produce as much as expected. Rob Gronkowski had three consecutive weeks with 51 yards receiving or less. And questions have left Stephen Gostkowski behind since the kicker fought a bit in the playoffs last year.

But with Sunday's game in the balance, these three joined Tom Brady – obviously – to rise to the occasion and win a huge victory for New England.

Hogan's highlight was marked by the Patriots' win in third and first place, with a 7:12 playing time and a precarious three-point lead. His first option covered, Brady saw Hogan in single cover and hung up after a long lob with the hope that his receiver could run under him.

At this point, Hogan had two catches for 17 yards, but at this crucial point, the quarterback made his way and the catcher struggled against pass interference to score a 42-yard goal. In the very next game, Brady hit him again in the middle of the field for 19 yards, in a situation where the quarterback finally converted the ball into a 4-yard run.

Gronkowski had also been mainly limited because the Pats had mainly deployed him as a blocker. He had been targeted twice, with a catch for 16 yards. But as the Patriots were looking to take four points in advance, they were thrown after making the Chiefs bump, and Brady went to the end. He hit Gronkowski running from right to left, and after a stiff, tense arm, the big one boomed for a 42-yard gain. Then, after the Chiefs drew, Gronkowski helped the Pats win by beating his man in the solo cover and catching a 39-yard catch.

At that point, it was up to Gostkowski to play – and he was successful on a 28-yard chance. It was the silver shot, his fifth placement of the night, but it was his fourth goal that was actually the most impressive of the group. And could have been just as important.

With 3:15 left, Gostkowski split the amounts with a boot that gave the Caresses an advantage, 40-33.

This shot was almost perfect, and it must have been. It was barely a chance at 50 meters, and if he had missed that, the Chiefs would have had the ball at 40, with a short pitch and the sudden opportunity to control the clock against a defense that had struggled to stop all the way through the second half.

Instead, Gostkowski drilled it, as he did during his nine shots during one night that may have restored some of the confidence in him – and in his team.

Too many big mistakes

The Patriots led 24-9 at half-time and finished with a 500-yard offense. Still, they were lagging behind in the fourth quarter and needed a fierce goalkeeper's placement to save themselves with a win. And the reason is as blatant as the breakdowns that allowed things to come apart.

Four big games allowed the Chiefs to reverse the scoreboard and score 24 points against 24 for the Patriots in 22 minutes to start the second half. Kansas City overthrew New England in all three phases of the game.

The third quarter started with a 67-yard touchdown pass at Kareem Hunt. Brady was undressed after keeping the ball for too long, while trying to extend a game where he could not find a receiver that would open, and KC took over the 29th Patriots before converting to a touchdown four games later. After the Pats recovered from this situation, they made a 97-yard kickoff return that led to another score. Then, once the Pats restored their lead by seven points, Tyreek Hill opened the game and scored 75 yards in the first scrimmage match.

The Patriots entered the game after allowing only 14 passes over 20 yards and one pass for 40 or more passes. Both were among the lowest in the league – and the talent and speed of the Chiefs make this great game an omnipotent opportunity against any opponent – but on Sunday, it was a reminder of how quickly the game can change when fouls as these are allowed. against a good team. Fortunately for the Patriots, the offense this time scored 43 points and did not beat the ball. They could survive.

Course Course

In the face of the AFC's most prolific attack, the nature of the Patriotes' game would have been meaningful if New England simply tried to keep Patrick Mahomes and his multitude of weapons on the sidelines. But when the Pats reached the 30-point mark at the start of the fourth quarter, they played 30 games in the race against 28 laps – and this approach seemed less tied to wasting time than the Patriots' abilities. exploit one of the biggest vulnerabilities of leaders.

Although undefeated, Kansas City reached Gillette Stadium with an average of 5.8 yards per rush in the NFL. Their opponents, who were playing mostly from behind, had eclipsed 100 yards in four of the next five competitions. And after playing on the ground in the past two weeks, the Patriots have been able to take advantage.

Sony Michel led the way with 106 yards and two touchdowns in 24 races, although James White and Kenjon Barner added 55 yards on nine runs, bringing the total to 173 for the night team. The average overdue (4.8) was actually lower than the Chiefs' performance this year, but after the Chiefs tied the match at 40, the Patats returned to the ground with the first set of downs. And when Michel hit the finish line in third place and that 1 to 2 minutes from the end, it was the 15th leading downhill of New England won by the race.

Sony repeats. TD2 for @ Flyguy2stackz.#KCvsNE | #GoPats pic.twitter.com/i7kCRzDSEQ

– Patriots of New England (@Patriots) October 15, 2018

There were criticisms of Michel and the Patriotes' decision to pass a first-round pick on a halfback in this spring's draft, but in the perfect three-game Pats game, he racked up at least 98 yards. and a score in each match. . Although he missed the first game of the season (and the entire pre-season), then two weeks without a future, he now has a lead of 1,066 yards and 11 touchdowns.

White is a playmaker in the passing game, although Michel gave the Patriots the ability to punish teams fighting to stop the race. Last year against the leaders, they could not, even in short-distance situations. Sunday night, they did it.

Hightower makes an impact

After missing most of last season due to injury, Dont'a Hightower has been invisible for most of the first five games of the season. Sunday night, however, the linebacker delivered two decisive games that helped the Patriots take the advantage in the first half.

The first was the first interception of Hightower's regular season, when he fooled the Kansas City rookie quarterback by simulating a blitz, stepping back into the cover, and making a head for himself in time to grab a shot targeted for striker Travis Kelce. He returned to the Chiefs' 4-yard line and organized the first touchdown of the match.

The second came just before the half when the Chiefs moved the ball and were about to score. This time, Hightower was in pursuit of Mahomes. He threw the QB to the right side and grabbed the Mahomes jersey while he was about to throw. Under this pressure, the draw went to traffic and was diverted before falling into the hands of Duron Harmon.

The Closer makes its appearance just before half-time. @ dharm32 | #KCvsNE | #GoPats pic.twitter.com/WtkNLnxAA6

– Patriots of New England (@Patriots) October 15, 2018

While Kansas City was about to start the game in the second half, that number prevented the Chiefs from having a chance to score goals – and seeing how the second half went, whether KC had a touchdown or even a goal in the field, the strategy in the last moments could have been different.

The AFC photo

From Detroit to 1 or 2, the Patriots began to focus three weeks ago. They had three home games looming, two against the teams leading their division and their conference.

They won all three wins and suddenly found the position that allowed them to reach their goals for the regular season. They are tied with the Dolphins at the top of AFC East with a 4-2 record. It is up to Miami and three other clubs for the second best performance of the AFC. Due to their victory on Sunday, they are no more than a Chiefs match for the No. 1 mark of the conference.

Given the tiebreakers, a Sunday defeat would have left New England four games behind Kansas City, and the Chiefs are also the only AFC team to have scored more points. The Patriots will then face the Bears, who are 3-2 after losing to the Dolphins in overtime, and then face the Bills before the schedule turns in November.

It's a step back from Sunday night, but these two flip-flops are on the road – and these Patriots have not yet proven they can defeat Gillette. They are 4-0 in Foxborough, but 0-2 away from Foxborough. They have already been twice disappointed by these defeats.

They are back in a good position, but again, the Pats find themselves with a stretching formation in front of them. We now know that they are able to compete at the top of the conference. But until they travel for four of their next five games, we may not know how good they really are.