Another title defense begins!

[Amy]

It's opening night. While I don't know how many people will see this, since most people here seemed to have moved to Redit, I'm still going to do these.

In Patriot news, Malcolm Mitchell was put on short term IR today.

I'd also like to give Vontaze Burfict a gratz. He deserved that extension, and his suspension for a legal hit is a joke.

Foxborough weather is in the low 60s, and there is a slim change of rain.


In something interesting, KC only has 51 guys on it's roster. Therefore, they have only 5 inactives: QB Tyler Bray, CB D.J. White, LB Reggie Ragland, OL Parker Ehinger, and DL Jarvis Jenkins.

The Pats inactives are T Cam Fleming, OL Cole Croston, S Nate Ebner, WR Matthew Slater, LB Harvey Langi, DL Vincent Valentine, and TE Jacob Hollister.

Without Ebner and Slater, special teams are down two key guys. If KC wins tonight, that could very well be a key reason.

Go Pats!

[Amy]

First Quarter

KC won the toss and deferred. Bill Vinovich is the ref.

Pats P1: We start at the 27. On the first play of the drive, Brady well overthrows a wide open Allen. The next three plays go to the running backs and Burkhead and White gain a total of 17 yards.

TB12 then hits Cooks to 17, goes huury up and after a 5 yard run by White, he finds Danny for 16. He goes to Cooks again and while the throw was incomplete, PI was called on Mitchell.

On the first and goal from the 2 play, Gillislee scores. It comes back on offsetting calls (holding on Solder, and unknown on KC). After a throw away, Gillislee gets the 2 yard TD run.

Pats 7, KC 0. 12:08 left.

KC P1: They start at the 25. Hunt runs for 8, fumbles, and the Pats recover! Devin with the recovery.

Pats P2: We start at the KC 32. Brady overthrows Gronk. White gets the next two plays and gains a total of 13 yards. Brady goes back to Gronk and once more it's incomplete. Gronk looks for flags on both plays, but there were (correctly) none. A handoff to Burkhead loses a yard.

On 3rd and 11 from the 20, KC jumps, and Brady finds Gronk for a 20 yard TD. It was overturned on replay (again correctly), and that gave us 3rd and 6, thanks to the offsides call on Dee Ford.

On 3rd and 6, Brady finds Danny. Danny is stopped less than a yard short. That gave us fourth and inches inside the 10. We go for it. Gillislee is stoped by Berry.

KC P2: They start at the 10 with 9:25 left. They have a great drive. The smartly go right back to Hunt and he gets 9. On second and 1, they direct snap to Kelce. He runs for 4 and the first.

After that, Alex Smith goes to the air. He finds Hill (14), Harris (8), and Hunt (5). They give it back to Hunt for a 9 yard run, and a shovel ass to Wilson picks up a first down.

On the next play, the snap is high. Smith controls it and finds Hill for 12. A pass to Conley for 15 gets them first and goal at the 9. After a throw away, and a 2 yard run by Hunt, Smith finds Harris for a 7 yard TD.

7-7. 3:03 left.

Pats P3: We start at the 25. We use the rest of the quarter. Gillislee leads with a 3 yard run. Brady then finds Danny for 26, and Cooks for 15.

Hogan gets a touch on an end around for 13. Gillislee gets a 2 yard run, but they are called for 12 on D. After an incomplete pass to Burkhead in the endzone, White gets two carries. We'll either have 4 and inches, or first and goal from the 5.

[Amy]

Second Quarter.

As it turns out, we have 4th and inches. This time we take the FG try.

It's good, 10-7. 14:56 left.

I think I would have gone for it there, too.

KC P3: They start at the 45 after a nice return and a facemask call on King. But, KC ends up going three and out! Flowers ends the drive with a sack on 3rd and 6.

Pats P4: We start at the 18 with 13:17 left.

We start off on the ground. Hogan sweeps for 4, and Gillislee also gets 4. On 3rd and 2, Brady finds Danny for 22. On the next play Brady goes deep to Burkhead, it's incomplete. Dee Ford gets away with a hold, but to Ford's credit, he shields the hold from being able to be seen. After Hogan's third sweep gets stopped for no gain, Brady converts 3rd and 10 with a 15 yard pass to Gronk.

Gillislee gets the next four plays and gains 31 yard on the four runs We had a 2nd and goal from the 5. Brady had forever to throw and threw the ball away, but Mitchell was called for holding. On the new 1st and goal from the 2 and half, Gillislee scores.

17-7 Pats. 7:27 left.

KC P4: They start at the 23. 4 runs, then a sack by Flowers and Wise. KC punts.

Pats P5: We start at the 40 after Thomas gets called for fair catch interference on Danny. 3:44 left. Three and out. Cooks with a 3rd down drop.

KC P5: They start at the 8 after a hold by Zombo. 2:47 left.

They run Hunt for 14, but it came back on holding on Fisher. On the first and 14, Hunt gets 7.

The Pats called time out 1 with 2:07 left.

Smith finds Wilson for 9 and a first down.

Two minute warning.

After the warning, Alex Smith goes to the air. He finds Kelce for 14, Wilson for 12. He had to scramble and got 7 yards, then he threw to Conley and missed. On 3rd and 3, he throws to Thomas, Chung deflects it, and Hill caught it off the deflection for 12.

KC takes timeout #1 with :49 left.

Smith went back to the air. He found West for 5, then Wilson for no gain, then Hill for 8. On the next play he went to Robinson in the end zone. It was incomplete, but Butler was called for PI. The crowd didn't like it, but the right call. On first and goal, Smith tossed a screen to Thomas who lost two yards.

KC takes timeout #2 with :17 left.

On second and goal from the 3, Smith finds Hunt for a 3 yard TD.

17-14 Pats. :13 left.

Pats P6. We start at the 20, kneel down, and go to the half.

[Amy]

Third Quarter.

KC P6: They start at the 25. KC goes four and out.

Pats P7: We start at the 17 with 11:53 left. We go five and out.

KC P7: They start at the 25 after Hill fumbles, KC recovers the fumble, and Sorensen is flagged for pulling a player off the pile. 9:28 left.

Wow. They have a one play drive. Smith to Hill. 75 yards. TD. Gilmour seems to have blown the coverage.

21-17 KC. 9:19 left.

Pats P8: We start at the 25. The Pats run six plays and then punt. I don't like some of the play calls. KC playing solid D.

KC P8: They start at the 14 with 7:08 left. Three and out!

Hightower hurt on the first play of the drive. Please, don't let it be a bad one.

Pats P9: We start at the 46 with 6:22 left.

Brady goes to Gronk in the first play of the drive. It's incomplete, but Mitchell is called for holding Cooks before the pass. The next play Brady finds Danny for 22. Then he goes to Cooks, and Mitchell is called for PI at the 1. Gilislee needs two carries to get yard, but he does score his third touchdown of the game.

Pats 24-21. 5:01 left.

KC P9: They start at the 13 after returning it out of the endzone. They three and out! On first down they get 9 on shovel pass to Kelce. After the play, Kelce is called for taunting. The down counted and they lost yards. After a run of one yard on second down, Flowers sacks Smith and they punt.

They had to punt three times. We had two running into the kicker calls. One on Bolden, and on the next punt, one on Marsh.

Hightower is questionable to return.

Pats P10: We start at the 28 2:50 left.

We start with a 54 yard pass to Cooks. Then we give White four carrries. He gets 10 total yards, but the last one was a six yard loss. It gave us 3rd and goal from the 10.

On thay play, Brady found White for a TD, but he was past the line of scrimmage. We had to settle for a 32 yard FG.

27-21 Pats :09 left.

KC P10: They start at the 10 with :04 left. They had a false start, and then a 12 yard run by Hunt. They'll start the 4th with a second and 3.

[Amy]

Fourth Quarter:

They get the lead back. Kelce with a 5 yard shovel pass, Hunt for a 78 yard td pass.

28-27 KC. 14:07 left.

The difference in the game is that we have two drives that were inside the ten and that we got FGs out of, and one that we got nothing out of. But, give credit to KCs defense, they are holding when they need to.

Pats P11: We start at the 25. Brady finds White for 27, then Hogan for 8. On 2nd and 2, Brady overthrows Cook. On 3rd and 2, White catches a pass and gets stopped just shy of the first down. On 4th and inches, they stop us.

I don't like back to back passes on 2nd and 2 and 3rd and 2. I think one of those should have been a run.

KC P11: They start at the 40 with 12:21 left. Three and out! They try to draw us off, we don't jump. They take the delay on 4th and 1, and punt.

Danny Amendola is in the concussion protocol.

Pats P12: We start at the 13 with 10:28 left. 5 plays and a punt.

With Danny down for the game, where is Dion Lewis? Get him in the game.

KC P12: They start at the 41 with 8:55 left.

They drive. Smith finds Hill for 9. Hunt runs for 7. Smith finds Hunt for 4 then Conley for 24. Smith has a throw away, then he finds WIlson for 11.

KC takes timeout #1 at with 5:19 left.

Hunt scores on a sweep, a 4 yard TD run.

Hill is leaving the field, injury status unknown.

KC 35-27. 5:14 left.

Pats P13: We start at the 25. Three and out. Brady sacked by Houston on first down.

Hill has cramps, and is probable to return. Eric Berry hurt and taken to the locker room on a cart. Achillies injury, and will not return. KC is also looking at Peters on the sideline.

KC P13: They start at the 21 with 4:13 left. Two play drive. Hunt for 48, West for 21.

KC 42-27. 4:00 left.

Pats P14: We start at the 14. Three and out. 2 sacks on the drive.

KC P14: They start at the Pats 42.

Three runs and a 12 man on D call on the Pats gets us to the two minute warning.

After the warning, KC kneels three times in a row.



While the loss is disappointing, naturally, it's not a terrible loss. We left too many points on the field, and that was partly KC doing, and partly some iffy play calling.

I don't think we were fast on offense enough in the second half.

We also outplayed them on special teams.

On the bad side, we kept giving up big plays. We did that in the preseason, too, and we need to get that fixed.

But, on the good side, the last time we lost to KC at night, we won the Super Bowl!

[Amy]

Next day thoughts:

1. KC played good on both sides of the ball, but they made a lot of mistakes, too. They had a ton of penalities.

2. The officiating was top notch. The crew did a great job, and while they did miss two holds on KC, in both cases the DBs made arm grabs and used both players bodies to block the view of the official. You can't be mad when a guy does not call something he cannot see.

3. We need to fix the big play issues. We gave them up in preseason, and we did again last night. If we keep doing that, this will be a long season.

4. I did not like our short yardage playcalling. We ran heavy sets up the middle too much in X and 2, or X and 1, or X and inches. It played to KCs strengths.

5. Hunt is good. KC has a star in the making with him.

6. Cooks is good. Once the timing gets better, we should have a scary offense.

7. Gilislee is decent, but played too much last night. Burkhead and Lewis should have played a bit more.

8. Brady looked rusty, but otherwise fine.

9. I complained about this last year, and I still am. Do not take 40 yard deep shots on 3rd and 2. Get the first down!

10. Lastly, we left too many points on the field. We moved the ball well on them for most of the game. We just settled for 3, or less, too often.

[ScottDCP]

My impression of Gillislee from his time in Buffalo is that his greatest abilities are quick decision-making and a consistent belief on the parts of defenders that he is slower than he really is. He hits the hole quickly once it opens, and then it usually looks like guys take bad angles on him. From his first carry as a Bill to his last, it was a story of being underestimated and using it to his advantage.