The Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots took to the field Thursday night for the first game of the NFL season. This game had the potential to be an offensive shootout and it started out that way. The Chiefs defense was the key to this game, as they gave Tom Brady headaches all game. The Chiefs were led by a third-round rookie in Kareem Hunt, who had a record setting night in his NFL debut. The Chiefs also got help from the "game manager" Alex Smith who had a near perfect performance. The Chiefs ran away in the second half, beating the Patriots 42-27.
Offensive Onslaught
The Patriots and Chiefs were trading scores early and often in the first half, as both offenses seemed like they had no rust on them. The rust came to the Patriots in the second half, as the only put up ten points in the final two quarters. The Chiefs, on the other hand, poured in the points, scoring 28 points in the second half. Alex Smith was the source of the Chiefs success Thursday night, as he had one of his best games as a pro. Smith threw for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns. The big part of his stat line was zero interceptions. Smith is the second QB to throw for 300+ yards, 3 touchdowns and no picks against Bill Belichick. Smith also added two 70+ yard bombs to his stat line.
Even though Smith had a great game he was outshined by a rookie in his debut.
Rookie Kareem Hunt didn't start the game how he finished it. He fumbled on his first carry but that didn't stop him, as he came back with a vengeance. He totaled 246 scrimmage yards in his debut which is the most any rookie had in his NFL debut since the 1970 merger.
Hunt was a standout back at Toledo and he proved that the Chiefs have nothing to worry about at the running back position after Spencer Ware's injury.
Super beat down
The Patriots came out with some energy because their Super Bowl banner was getting raised before kickoff. That didn't last all game though, as the Pats struggled all night on both sides of the ball.
Tom Brady has a lackluster performance, throwing for 267 and zero touchdowns. The Pats offense looked sluggish in the second half, as they were shut down by the Chiefs. Are we seeing the first glimpse of the Madden Curse for Brady? He looked like a 40-year old QB last night, not finding his groove and missing open targets. It's only one game but it wasn't a great performance by the defending champs.
The Chiefs showed no fear against the defending champs, taking it to them on both sides of the ball. It's only week one, but it looked like the Pats didn't dig deep enough to pull off the win. The Chiefs are looking like a top team in the league, while the Pats are searching for answers after week one.
