NFL Latest: Patriots lose 2 linebackers to injury

Patriots defensive lineman Chandler Jones forced Knile Davis’ fumble on the Chiefs’ first possession of the second half, then Brady added another touchdown pass to Gronkowski to make it 21-6.

For the Chiefs, quarterback Alex Smith completed 29 of his 50 pass attempts for 246 yards and one touchdown. The Patriots are aiming for their fifth consecutive conference title game appearance, which would tie the record held by the Raiders (1973-77). Tom’s squad was a sure-fire lock for the No. 1 seed in the AFC, but a 20-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins blew it for the defending Super Bowl champions, per Fox News.

There will be a game-long battle between the well-drilled Chiefs secondary, led by Marcus Peters (eight interceptions in the regular season, and two more against Houston) and the inspirational Eric Berry, against Brady’s offensive weapons, led by the imposing Rob Gronkowski.

The Chiefs earned a bye to this round after beating the Houston Texans on the road last week, 30-0. The Chiefs did enough to win easily, but I don’t imagine it will be quite so easy against New England. Edelman is playing for the first time since breaking a bone in his foot in Week 10. That was in the Super Bowl previous year when they didn’t run Marshawn Lynch from the one-yard line in the final minute against the Patriots.

STANDING IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Steven Jackson was out of football when Belichick called just before Christmas, looking for someone to replace injured running backs Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount.

The Patriots know how tough it is to get a win against the Chiefs, as the last time these two teams played, Kansas City won 41-14 in September of 2014. Edelman’s return is so much more than just getting Brady’s go-to guy back on the field.

New England center Bryan Stork is questionable to return against the Kansas City Chiefs with an ankle injury.

When asked about the impact on this game, Belichick said “I can just xerox you a copy of the game plan, you can just send it to Kansas City”. The Chiefs managed to keep him out, but only for one more play.

Patriots players said they would have no trouble putting the incident aside. Amendola had stepped into Edelman’s role as he recovered from injury but now could see a favorable matchup with weapons being reintroduced into the New England offense. Patriots snare the onside kick try and they go on to win over Kansas City 27-20 and advance in the National Football League playoffs.