Patriots will prepare for red-hot Chiefs and we’ll wonder what might have been against bungling Bengals
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady fumbles the ball as he gets hit by Kansas City Chiefs outside linebacker Tamba Hali.
COMMENTARY
Just when it seemed that the New England Patriots were, once again, on to face Cincinnati, chaos ensued, delivering a different cyclical sort of matchup instead, scheduled for next Saturday afternoon at Gillette Stadium.
It will indeed be the Kansas City Chiefs — who shut down the Houston Texans, 30-0, in their wild-card game — heading to Foxborough next weekend for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs. A few hours after the Chiefs wrapped their rout, the Cincinnati Bengals were 1:36 from winning their first playoff game under head coach Marvin Lewis against the Pittsburgh Steelers and earning themselves a date with the Patriots, but…well, a Bengal can’t change its stripes overnight.
Cincinnati running back Jeremy Hill fumbled, the Steelers drove, and the Bengals lost their composure, which was probably inevitable for a team that clearly can’t be Lewis’ to coach anymore. Pittsburgh’s Chris Boswell kicked a 35-yard field goal with 14 seconds remaining, sending his team to a ridiculous, 18-16 win, and on to Denver to face the Broncos.
While Patriot fans sat back and giggled at the sheer stupidity of the Bengals — 15-yard penalties on linebacker Vontaze Burfict for walloping Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown and another on cornerback Adam Jones put the Steelers in field-goal position — there was also regret and angst after the final whistle. For a number of reasons:
1. The Bengals, as presumed, were a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any given moment. The fact that they didn’t blow up their Super Bowl hopes until the waning moments against Pittsburgh was an upset in itself. Can you imagine that group of knuckleheads coming into Gillette Stadium next weekend with the monkey off the playoff streak off its back? The Patriots would have demolished them. Either that or Burfict might have killed Julian Edelman.
2. The Chiefs were probably the team the Patriots least wanted to face among the group of potential divisional-round opponents that also included the Bengals and the Texans, who received a performance for the ages Saturday from quarterback Brian Hoyer (not the good ages … four interceptions). Andy Reid’s Chiefs have now won a remarkable 11 games in a row, which means the Patriots will have to be the team to end the run if they wish to return to the AFC Championship Game. Increasing the challenge, the Patriots will have to do it with a banged-up offense that could be vulnerable up against the Chiefs’ swarming defense. Of course, the last time these two teams met, the Chiefs won, 41-14. It was Sept. 29, 2014, and some people (gulp) thought it might be time to discuss turning to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in lieu of Tom Brady to prepare for the future.
3. That dangerous Steelers team that many think has the ability to beat the Broncos, thus sending the AFC title game to Foxborough (provided the Patriots beat the Chiefs), might not be quite such a dangerous Steelers team heading into Denver. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a shoulder injury after Burfict sacked him on the final play of the third quarter Saturday night. He returned late in the fourth quarter, after backup quarterback Landry Jones looked about as good as Hoyer. Though he appeared to have little zip on his throws, Roethlisberger helped lead the Steelers down the field. Mix in the report that Brown may have suffered a concussion on the hit by Burfict, and the Pittsburgh offense seems likely to be in trouble against what is arguably the best defense in the NFL.
The Chiefs may also be down a wide receiver, losing the pivotal Jeremy Maclin to a knee injury Saturday against the Texans. That would leave quarterback Alex Smith relying on tight end Travis Kelce and a group of options that might pale in comparison to Brandon (NoNo) LaFell. The Patriots are five-point favorites despite the fact that they went 2-4 down the stretch of the regular season while the Chiefs were perfect. We know enough by now to understand the lack of importance in all that though.
Odds aside, the Chiefs pose a lot of problems defensively, especially for a Patriots team with an offensive line that is in shambles. Even with a healthy Edelman being returned to Brady’s arsenal, there are going to be some matchup issues for the unit that might have experienced its lowest point of the last two seasons during the 2014 loss at Kansas City.
There is also that whole blowout to settle. While some might argue the Patriots should have sent the Chiefs a thank you card for the way that loss spurred them on their way to a Super Bowl title, it also serves as the beginning of a two-season arc that has included both celebration and persecution. On to Cincinnati.
On to Cincinnati.
Kansas City had not won a playoff game since 1994 until their Saturday afternoon win over the Texans, but Reid seemingly had his Chiefs in a little better frame of mind than Lewis had the Bengals heading into wild-card weekend. Whereas Cincinnati proved to be a party bus ripe for toppling, the Chiefs are more composed, more focused.
Kansas City was 11-5 during the regular season, and nearly overtook the Broncos for the AFC West title. Sending either them or the full-strength Steelers to Denver posed issues for the Broncos. Considering the current states of Steelers and Broncos, their upcoming game may be one that evokes the “won in the trenches’’ cliche, with both Roethlisberger and Peyton Manning unable to throw the ball with much efficiency. The Broncos have opened as a three-point favorite.
Meanwhile, Patriots fans will focus on the Chiefs, wondering what might have been had the Bengals’ circus come to town.
“The [expletive] officials did a horrible job, the whole [expletive] game,’’ Cincinnati’s Jones said after the loss. “What the [expletive] is the difference from the hit Vontaze had than the other hit [from Bengals defensive back Shawn Williams earlier in the game]? What’s the difference? Tell me. Then they have Jerry Porter in the middle of the field. He’s not even supposed to be on the [expletive] field. I’m done talking to you [expletives].’’
Damn. That would have been fun.
We’re on to Kansas City instead.
Contact Eric Wilbur at: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @GlobeEricWilbur and Facebook www.facebook.com/GlobeEricWilbur.
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