NFL 2018 AFC Championship Game: Patriots vs. Chiefs preview, statistics, odds

Conor Roche

•
NFL 2018 AFC Championship Game: Patriots vs. Chiefs preview, statistics, odds image

Sunday night's AFC Championship Game presents a potential passing of the torch moment.

A veteran-led New England Patriots head into Kansas City to face a Chiefs team that's full of young stars.

SIGN UP to watch every NFL game during the 2018 postseason on DAZN

For the Patriots, playing in the AFC Championship Game is nothing new. They've made it this far in the last seven seasons, going 4-3 in those games.

Even though they're in the AFC title game for an eighth straight season, this year has been a bit of a challenge for the Patriots. 

Their receiver situation has been in flux all season long. Julian Edelman was suspended for the first four games due to a failed drug test. The team traded for star receiver Josh Gordon from the Cleveland Browns. He had 40 receptions for 728 yards with three touchdowns before leaving the team in December due to personal reasons amid an indefinite suspension from the NFL for failing another drug test. And star tight end Rob Gronkowski has looked slower this season and rumors of retirement have risen.

MORE: X-factor for each AFC championship team

Nonetheless, Tom Brady still prevailed. He had 4,355 passing yards and 29 passing touchdowns in the regular season. 

Brady continued his playoff dominance last weekend. He threw for 343 yards and a touchdown with a 106.5 passer rating in New England's 41-28 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in the Divisional Round.

Brady wasn't the only Patriot with an impressive performance. Rookie running back Sony Michel ran for 129 yards on 24 carries and his backfield partner, James White, had 15 catches for 97 yards. Edelman got into the action as well, finishing with nine receptions for 151 yards.

 

 

For the Chiefs, however, this is new territory. Sunday will be their first AFC Championship Game since 1993, when they were led by veteran quarterback Joe Montana, who was trying to make one last title run in his historic career.

But this Chiefs team isn't led by a veteran quarterback. First-year starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes is one of the favorites to win Most Valuable Player. He threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns in the regular season and led the Chiefs to a 12-4 record, giving them home-field advantage in the playoffs.

Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce had career-years with Mahomes at quarterback. Hill had 87 catches for 1,479 yards and 12 touchdowns. Kelce had 103 catches for 1,336 yards and 10 touchdowns, giving him the most receptions and receiving yards for any tight end this season. 

NFL 2018 Conference Championships: Schedule, results, scores and TV stream in Canada

The Chiefs continued their regular season dominance in the Divisional Round, defeating the Indianapolis Colts, 31-13. 

While Mahomes had a solid game, throwing for 278 yards and rushing for a touchdown, it was two unusual suspects that had great performances.

Damien Williams, who became the starting running back following the release of Kareem Hunt and the injury to Spencer Ware, had 129 rushing yards and a touchdown.

And the Chiefs' defense, which ranked 31st in the league during the regular season, allowed just 266 yards and 15 first downs in the win. The unit also sacked Andrew Luck three times, finding a way to get through a Colts offensive line that allowed the least amount of sacks during the regular season. 

 

 

Sunday night's matchup won't be the first time the Patriots and Chiefs have played each other this season. The two teams met in New England back in Week 6, with the Patriots winning a 43-40 shootout to give the Chiefs their first loss of the season.

Will the same result happen, allowing 41-year-old Tom Brady to continue to hold the throne in the AFC? Or will 23-year-old Patrick Mahomes establish himself as the AFC's new king?

Patriots vs. Chiefs head-to-head stats

  • Both quarterbacks had spectacular performances in the Week 6 matchup between the two teams. Patrick Mahomes had 358 passing yards and four passing touchdowns with a 110 passer rating. Tom Brady had 340 passing yards, two touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) with a 109.2 passer rating.
  • Kansas City had the sixth-worst rushing defense in the regular season. Patriots running back Sony Michel ran for 106 yards in the matchup between the two teams earlier this season.
  • The Chiefs had the No. 1 offense in the regular season. Historically speaking, that doesn't bode well for them. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is 5-1 all-time when facing teams that had the No. 1 offense in the playoffs.
  • Speaking of head coaches, Belichick and Chiefs head coach Andy Reid have coached the most games among active coaches. Belichick leads the head-to-head matchup, holding a 6-2 all-time record against Reid, including a 2-0 record in the playoffs.
  • However, Belichick's teams have only allowed 40 points or more in a game seven times. Three of those occurrences came from Reid's Chiefs.
  • The Patriots were less than stellar on the road this season, finishing with a 3-5 record in road games including three double-digit losses. Kansas City is 8-1 (counting the playoffs) at home this season. Its lone loss was a 29-28 defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers.
  • The Chiefs defense was tied for the most sacks in the league this season, sacking the opposing quarterback 52 times. On the flip side, the Patriots allowed the third fewest sacks, allowing 21 sacks in the regular season.

Patriots vs. Chiefs betting odds

The Chiefs are 3-point favorites at home. The over/under is set at 56 points. 

How to watch Patriots vs. Chiefs in Canada

Every NFL playoff game, including Sunday's contest between the Patriots and Chiefs, is streamed in high-definition on DAZN.

DAZN Canada has also partnered with Bell Media networks (CTV, CTV2 and TSN) to distribute NFL Sunday Ticket across Canada, for Sunday afternoon games. NFL primetime games can be watched on TSN and RDS, with Sunday Night Football and 11 Thursday Night Football games also available on CTV/CTV2. Amazon Prime Video will also stream the 11 Thursday Night Football games broadcast by CTV/CTV2.

However, DAZN is the only place to watch all regular-season (including Thursday night, Sunday night and Monday night games) and playoff games, plus exclusive access to RedZone.

Each game is available LIVE and ON DEMAND.

How to access NFL RedZone and Game Pass in Canada

DAZN provides NFL RedZone and also offers NFL Sunday Ticket access in Canada. Game Pass now lives on DAZN, as well.

SIGN UP for a FREE 30-day trial of DAZN and watch the entire 2018 NFL season

What other NFL content is available on DAZN?

DAZN also streams LIVE 24/7 access to NFL Network, as well as complete coverage of marquee events like the NFL Draft and Combine. 

Archived Super Bowl and NFL playoff games are also available on DAZN.

Conor Roche