The Kansas City Chiefs are not an overly impressive team but you can't deny 11 straight wins that have helped them into the Divisional round and a date with the New England Patriots.
We heard Patriots coach Bill Belichick earlier talking about why it's so difficult to game plan for a team that hasn't lost since October. Now Patriots quarterback Tom Brady chimes in with what makes the defense so tough.
"Exactly how they won against Houston is exactly how they beat us (last year)," Brady said on WEEI in Boston. "They just force you into a lot of bad football.
Like with the Texans game, which the Chiefs did not have handed to them. The Chiefs took that game.
"They got guys offensively that can control the clock," Brady continued. "They run the ball a lot. They have a very good quarterback who plays very efficiently. That's what they did to us. That's been a winning formula for them, it's been a winning formula for a long time."
The Chiefs have won 11 straight games with that formula. It's not always pretty but it works. It's also how the Chiefs beat the crap out of the Patriots on national TV in a 41-14 game last year.
"They play very good defense, they rush the quarterback, they get ahead and play on their terms," Brady said. "They do a lot of things defensively and schematic-wise that present problems for the offense. If you get a little hesitant back there as a quarterback, they force you into mistakes.
"They got a lot of playmakers on defense. Derrick Johnson is one of the best linebackers in the league. Eric Berry is one of the best safeties. They got Marcus Peters, one of the best corners. Tamba Hali and Justin Houston, along with the guys on the inside are all, they're all playmakers.
"You really can't fall asleep for one play or else it's a turnover and if it's a turnover they turn those into points and you get behind and they make it a one dimensional game and it just snow balls. That's the kinda team they are. They're good. That's why they're one of the final four remaining here in the AFC. They've had a great season. They've won 11 straight. We have to figure out the formula to beat them."
Not that anything Brady said is wrong but the Patriots often spend the week pumping up the opponent rather than talking a bunch of trash. It seems that they're doing the same thing here. Listen to the full interview here.