Sports

Patriots-Chiefs Recap: New England Overpowers Kansas City, 34-3

The New England Patriots rode a strong second half to a second straight win.

Playing in front of a national audience on Monday night, the New England Patriots did what good teams do: they took care of business.

The team rode a strong second half to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-3.

Things weren't looking fantastic for the home team early in the first half. The Chiefs moved the ball with ease early, but were unable to capitalize on scoring chances. The Pats offense looked out of sorts, starting slowly and suffering several sacks on quarterback Tom Brady.

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here are some quick thoughts on the game:

Offensive MVP: Rob Gronkowski, tight end. Gronk put on a fantastic display, catching four balls for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns involved fantastic efforts — the first required fantastic control to stay in bounds, the latter a flip that must have hurt something.

Find out what's happening in Wrenthamwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Gronkowski is putting up a strong case that he is the best tight end in the game.

Defensive MVP: Kyle Arrington, cornerback. Arrington is somehow the NFL leader in interceptions thus far this season. A lot of them (like the two he got Monday night) have come off odd bounces, but an interception is an interception.

Even beyond the turnovers, Arrington has proved to be the most consistent member of a rather bad defensive secondary.

Surprise performer: Shane Vereen, running back. Vereen has been the invisible man in the team's running back rotation. He missed the entire preseason with injury, and saw fellow rookie Stevan Ridley take up the "change of pace" carries.

Vereen, though, put together a good performance in garbage time, racking up 39 yards on eight carries and the game's final touchdown. If this performance is indicative of his talents, he might start seeing more work in this offense.

Improved, but still needs work: the defensive secondary. The team's defense has been improving as of late, though it's not as if they've been playing the '99 Rams. Still, the opposing teams have been able to move the ball without much trouble.

If this team is to win playoff games, its defense must gel, and prove it's able to stop good receivers.

Needs work: the offensive line. Brady's protectors looked rather flustered against the likes of Tamba Hali in the first half, allowing three sacks (and one forced fumble by Brady).

That's not a good sign, especially after a bad night against the Giants two weeks ago. One positive, though, was that the unit was able to rebound in the second half (some good runs and screens helped).


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Wrentham