KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Perhaps the Kansas City Chiefs gave their neighbors across the parking lot a little bit of inspiration with their impassioned performance against New England.
Jamaal Charles returned from an ankle injury to score three touchdowns, Alex Smith threw for 248 yards and three scores, and the Chiefs routed the Patriots 41-14 on Monday night, getting the sports week off to a smashing start in Kansas City with the Royals preparing to open the baseball playoffs on Tuesday.
“To have back-to-back events like this, Monday night football and a home playoff game, yeah, it’s special,” Smith said. “Right next door to each other.”
Arrowhead Stadium, which was packed to the brim in red-clad Chiefs fans, is just a short walk from Kauffman Stadium, which will surely be packed with blue when the Royals end a 29-year playoff drought against the Oakland Athletics in the AL wild-card game.
Several members of the Royals even showed up for the Chiefs-Patriots game, including starting pitcher James Shields, drawing huge roars when they were shown on the big screens. And some of the Chiefs said they were thinking about returning the favor, including wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.
Regardless, the Chiefs will be able to spend Tuesday in a celebratory mood.
They held the Patriots’ Tom Brady to 159 yards passing and a touchdown, picking him off twice and returning one for a touchdown. Brady was also strip-sacked by Tamba Hali to set up a Chiefs field goal, capping off a miserable night for the two-time NFL MVP.
“It was just a bad performance by everybody,” Brady said. “We need to make sure we never have this feeling again. We’ve got to figure out what we have to do better.”
The Chiefs forced the Patriots to air it out by stuffing Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley. And when Brady dropped back, their front seven ran roughshod over New England’s suspect offensive line.
It hardly helped the Patriots offense that it was trying to operate on the same night Chiefs fans were trying to reclaim the record for loudest outdoor sports venue. The record was set in the first half, when Guinness World Records noted a noise level of 142.2 decibels — breaking the mark of 137.6 that Seattle Seahawks fans set last season.
“My ears are still ringing,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said with a smile.
Kansas City had 303 yards of offense by halftime, the most against any Belichick-coached team in the first half of a game. That includes his years coaching in Cleveland.
“We just never got anything going. Nothing,” Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “They just executed. They executed perfectly. We were always out of the game, it seemed.”
Here are a few of the reasons why the Patriots were thumped so soundly:
RUN, RUN, RUN: Charles looked just fine on his sprained right ankle, running for 92 yards. He was spelled by Knile Davis, who added 107 yards on 16 carries. “We kept each other fresh,” Davis said. “When he went in, he did his thing. When I went in, I did my thing.”
TENSE MOMENT: Charles briefly went to the locker room after stumbling into the end zone on his third touchdown of the game. He appeared to grab his hamstring, and Reid said that he received an IV, indicating that he might have been cramping. “I feel sore,” Charles admitted afterward.
BRADY’S STRUGGLES: Brady is completing just 59 percent of his passes through his first four games, his worst rate since becoming the Patriots’ starter in 2001. He is also averaging less than 200 yards passing per game. “I wouldn’t say we’ve had a very productive four games to start, but hopefully we can learn from it and understand the things that we’re doing wrong,” he said. “There’s nobody going to dig us out of the hole. We’ve kind of created it for ourselves and we’re going to have to look each other in the eye and see what kind of commitment we’re willing to make.”
KELCE STARS: Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is quickly becoming one of Smith’s favorite targets, had eight catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. “We know what we can do on our offense and our defense,” Kelce said. “Our defense got a lot of turnovers today, and that was awesome to see.”
GAROPPOLO PLAYS: Rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo got into the game in the fourth quarter for New England, when the outcome was already decided. He was 6 of 7 for 70 yards with a touchdown. “I am a relief pitcher, pretty much,” he said, “so that is my job.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Husain Abdullah knew before he even reached the end zone Monday night that he would drop to his knees in thankful prayer after intercepting Tom Brady in the fourth quarter of the Kansas City Chiefs’ 41-14 victory over New England.
