Arrowheadlines: Kansas City Chiefs News 1/12

Chiefs vs. Patriots: 10 Stats to Know from The Mothership

1. The Chiefs and Patriots have played 33 times in history but never in the playoffs until now

August 27, 19993

The Chiefs have a 17-13-3 record in the all-time series.

The most recent game was just last season, when the Chiefs won 41-14 at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night Football.

That was also the night that Chiefs Kingdom once again proved who the loudest fans in the NFL are by breaking the Guinness World Record with a roar of 142.2 decibels.

The last time the Chiefs traveled to Foxborough, home of the Patriots, they fell by a score of 34-3.

In the Huddle: Three Observations Heading into the Postseason from The Mothership

What a great season it has been to be a member of the Kansas City Chiefs staff! 12-5 and heading into the Divisional Playoffs on a 11-game winning streak is as exciting as it gets. This season has been a tremendous opportunity and I will share three of my observations from the regular season:

Salute to Service Game

The Kansas City Chiefs do a tremendous job honoring our armed forces. I am truly privileged that they put their trust in me to plan and coordinate the military integration for our Salute to Service game. I want to thank all the service members who participated in this event as every service was well represented. We had an incredible on-field formation saluting the flag during the National Anthem as well as a member of each service running out with his or her branch's flag during team introductions.

Social Recap: Joe Montana Congratulates Alex Smith from The Mothership

Melissa Etheridge may need to delay the start of her concert Saturday.

KCChiefs.com Poll: Chiefs vs. Texans: Wild Card Top Plays

What makes Boston sports so special? Start with the Patriots' pile of championships from The Kansas City Star

13 Years Old.

9 Parades.

Take that, World.

Sign Kid, as he is known to millions of Boston sports fans, was born a week before the New England Patriots beat the Oakland Raiders in the infamous Tuck Rule Game on Jan. 15, 2002.

That victory in the divisional playoff during a blizzard is widely viewed as the launching point of both a Patriots dynasty and an unmatched run of professional sports championships for Boston's four major pro sports teams.

The core fan base of those teams, which extends from Waterville, Maine, in the north and east to Waterbury, Conn., in the south and west, has enjoyed a combustible run of championships, chokes, heartache and euphoria during Sign Kid's brief lifetime.

Mainly, it's been about the rings. Four for the Patriots, three for the Red Sox and one each for the Bruins and Celtics.

All in less than 14 years.

Unsung heroes from Chiefs' playoff victory over Houston from Chiefs Digest

In the NFL, a team does not win 11 straight games and advance in the league's playoffs on just the performances from 22 starters.

In the Chiefs' playoff victory over the Houston Texans, there were quite a few background players from the roster that played major roles in the 30-0 shutout.

Here are three:

Tom Brady says the Chiefs 'force you into a lot of bad football' from ESPN

"They play very good defense, they rush the quarterback, they get ahead, they play on their terms," Brady said on WEEI. "They do a lot of things effectively, and schematic-wise, they present problems for an offense.

"Then if you get a little hesitant back there as a quarterback, they force you into mistakes. They have a lot of playmakers on defense ... so 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. Then you get behind and it's a one-dimensional game, and it just snowballs. That's the kind of team they are ... so we have to figure out a formula to beat them."

Kick-return touchdown highlights Knile Davis' run to redemption from The Kansas City Star

"That was the best feeling ever," Davis said.

Even coach Andy Reid, the man essentially responsible for Davis' decreased playing time on offense, was happy for him.

"It's a crazy thing, but he's a huge part of our team," Reid said. "I think I mention him about every week just because the other guys are getting the credit. We have confidence that he can step in and play ... so for him to do what he did yesterday, once he hit that son of a gun -€” he's been so close - once he hit that son of a gun nobody was going to catch him."

Fullback Anthony Sherman was among the Chiefs who were happy for Davis.

"(I'm just) super proud, super happy for him (for) just every day, coming to work, plugging away and just doing the stuff he needs to do," Sherman said.

Knile Davis was just following his coach's advice from ESPN

"Our rule is that if we get our hands on the ball, we're going to come out (of the end zone) with it," said Toub, the Chiefs' special-teams coordinator. "Unless we're catching the ball going backwards (and) eight, nine (yards) deep, we'll stay in. Or if it's a dribbler and they created some hang time by us not fielding it right away, we'll stay in.

"But if we catch the ball cleanly and you watch our tape, we're coming out. We like to put pressure on the kickoff team, I think the opposing teams know that."

Davis followed Toub's advice perfectly for perhaps the biggest play in Kansas City's 30-0 playoff win over the Houston Texans on Saturday. Davis received the opening kickoff six yards deep in the end zone and didn't hesitate to bring it out.

Defensive snap-count observations: Chiefs have four-man rotation at outside linebacker from The Kansas city Star

The [Chiefs] have a pretty good rotation going along the defensive line, and this is a positive. Take a look at Poe's snap percentage -€” 78 percent is right around the sweet spot for him. These guys are getting plenty of rest, and this allows the guys to go 100 percent when they're in the game. The interior defensive line was a strength.

Snap counts show interesting numbers for Chiefs at outside linebacker from ESPN

It's interesting that Ford played only about half of the time. He missed two days of practice last week because of a concussion, but returned for their final workout of the week. The Chiefs evidently prefer Zombo to Ford on running downs.

Chiefs' Andy Reid credits officials for keeping the peace against Texans from The Kansas City Star

"You know what, I'm going to compliment the officials on this one because they don't ever get any compliments," Reid said. "They asked me before the game ... and just said ‘Listen, we don't want to call anything, but excessive celebration and the fighting part of it ... if you could just remind your team about that. We don't want to call it, but if we're in that position, we're going to have to and that would be a shame if that affected your game.' "

Perhaps playing against J.J. Watt brought out the best in Eric Fisher from ESPN

In Houston, they thought Fisher's extra shove of Watt to be a little something dirty. In Kansas City, they're more interested in the fact it came from Fisher.

The play showed Fisher has something, a fire perhaps, that hasn't been readily apparent since he joined the Chiefs as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2013. Then, a few plays later, Fisher was the first teammate into the end zone to congratulate wide receiver Chris Conley after he caught a 9-yard touchdown pass to give the Chiefs a 20-0 lead.

It was enough to make observers wonder: Who is this guy?

NFL Network to air first-ever full replay of Super Bowl I on Friday from The Kansas City Star

Since the day the very first Super Bowl aired on Jan. 15, 1967, there has never been a complete replay of the game shown on television. The footage was either lost or recorded over, and no full video version of the game existed.

Until now.

The NFL Network announced Monday that it will air "Super Bowl I: The Lost Game" at 7 p.m. on Friday, which also happens to be the 49th anniversary of the game, the result of which was a 35-10 win by the Green Bay Packers over the Chiefs.

Super Bowl I broadcast will make for great Chiefs pregame viewing from ESPN

Both CBS and NBC broadcast the game on that January day in 1967, but neither network bothered to keep a copy. NFL Films, in what it said was an exhaustive search, went about tracking all 145 plays from the game. Once accomplished, it put them together in a coherent package and accompanied the video with the NBC Radio audio from the game.

A trio of Packers who played in the game will be interviewed during the three-hour broadcast. It's a shame the NFL Network apparently won't have a Chiefs player on the broadcast as well.

Playoff paths: Ranking the difficulty of every Super Bowl path from ESPN

It's tempting to write off Kansas City's 30-0 win over Houston on Saturday as the product of a Brian Hoyer disaster movie, but that sells the Chiefs short. It would be fair to say they left a few plays on the field and didn't produce a perfect performance, but it wasn't as if Hoyer was Jay Cutler without a contact lens during the season. He threw seven picks on 369 attempts; Hoyer's 1.9 percent interception rate was better than the league average of 2.4 percent. Forcing him into four picks was a reminder that this is a truly great defense.

Coaching staff continuity has been overlooked factor in Chiefs' success from ESPN

That continuity could get disrupted sooner or later. Pederson, the offensive coordinator, interviewed on Sunday to be the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Whether or not he gets that job, Reid will eventually have to fill one or more staff vacancies.

"It's happened," Reid said. "I've been through it before (in Philadelphia).

"That's what happens. It's kind of a neat thing for the guys that have that opportunity. There are only 32 in the whole world so when you have an opportunity to do it it's kind of a nice compliment to your hard work and endurance in some cases."

Patriots' Tom Brady at his best when postseason pressure ramps up from ESPN

The pressure of the playoffs, and how it can affect players, was evident in the wild-card round.

Houston Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer, making his first career postseason start, struggled badly. And then there was 26-year-old Minnesota Vikings kicker Blair Walsh missing a 27-yard field goal late in the fourth quarter in a 10-9 loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

In his weekly appearance on sports radio WEEI on Monday, Brady spoke in general terms of the weekend games and said: "I think it goes to show you what playoff football is all about. You can't take anything for granted. When your whole season is on the line, there is just a different level of pressure. Some guys it gets the best out of you. Some guys it doesn't."

Vote: Which former No. 1 overall pick would you want quarterbacking your team this weekend? from ESPN

Which quarterback would you want on your team? Vote below:

Game Preview: New England Patriots host Kansas City Chiefs in divisional playoff game from Patriots.com

BROADCAST INFORMATION

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen locally on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Evan Washburn will work the sidelines. The game will be produced by Mark Wolff and directed by Bob Fishman.

NATIONAL RADIO: This week's game will be broadcast to a national audience on Westwood One. Dan Miller and Tony Boselli will call the game with Ross Tucker with Ross Tucker providing sideline analysis.

Buckley: Chiefs low on hate meter from The Boston Herald

As near as I can figure, the only Boston-Kansas City playoff action - ever -€” took place in 2013 when Sporting Kansas City knocked the Revolution out of the MLS playoffs. That might be a big deal to La Familia Kraft, which owns both the Pats and the Revolution, but it won't be enough to light the torches come Saturday.

Pats-Chiefs is going to be huge. So huge that subplots won't be needed. Just the game will be enough, thank you.

Patriots-Chiefs: Seven Scary Stats For New England Ahead Of Divisional-Round Matchup from CBS Boston

2.) 47

Sacks.

If there's any way to stymie a potentially potent Patriots offense, it is to get pressure. And it just so happens that the Chiefs are pretty darn good at getting to the quarterback.

The 47 sacks for the Chiefs have them ranked fourth on the season, and they were split among Justin Houston (7.5), Tamba Hali (6.5), Jaye Howard (5.5), Ron Parker (5), Allen Bailey (4.5), Derrick Johnson (4), Dee Ford (4) and six others. In that sense, it's not one threat for which the Patriots have to game-plan, a la J.J. Watt. Instead, it's a multi-faceted front that can cause a lot of headaches and disruptions.

This is where Sebastian Vollmer's status comes into play. By all accounts, the tackle is going to give it a go. But just how effective he is may well be the factor that decides this game.

Brady: Chiefs "force you into a lot of bad football" from ProFootballTalk

The Patriots offense that finished the regular season looked vulnerable to that kind of defensive approach, which makes getting players like wide receiver Julian Edelman and tackle Sebastian Vollmer back into the lineup significant for their chances of getting a better result this time around.

Every Turnover a Trophy for Opportunistic Chiefs Defense from The Associated Press via ABC News

Of all the reasons why the Chiefs have won 11 straight games, and ended a 22-year streak without a playoff win, their ability to create turnovers may be the biggest. They've gone from one of the worst teams in the NFL at creating them to one of the best — and they have taken care of the ball themselves at the same time.

"They've got a real knack for creating issues in the passing game and then capitalizing on bad mistakes," said Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who will try to avoid all those pitfalls when New England hosts Kansas City in the divisional round on Saturday.

"All their guys seem to catch the ball very well," McDaniels said. "There are a lot of guys who have vision on the quarterback, and their coverage is tight. They compete and contest every throw and you're going to have to really do a good job of execution to avoid giving them opportunities."

The Biggest Surprises Of Wild-Card Weekend from FiveThirtyEight Sports

What the stats saw coming

The Chiefs ran the ball all over the Texans. KC came into its game against Houston with the league's top rushing attack according to Football Outsiders' DVOA metric, and the Texans boasted a decent but not great rushing D during the regular season. So it shouldn't have come as much of a surprise that the Chiefs ran for 141 yards during their 30-0 annihilation of the Texans.

The Patriots will absolutely own the Chiefs -- in jersey sales from FOX Sports

According to statistics compiled in the DICK's Sporting Goods jersey report, no current Chiefs player wears a jersey that's remotely considered to be a top-seller.

The most popular Chief isn't even a part of this playoff run.

BILL WILLIAMSON: ANDY REID NOT GETTING CREDIT HE DESERVES from Today's Pigskin

There are eight NFL teams remaining in the final phase of the 2015 season. Reid's Chiefs are arguably the most dangerous team left in the fight. Kansas City has won 11 straight and are fresh off a 30-0 win at Houston in the Wild Card round. The Chiefs head to a divisional round game at New England a five-point underdog.

But those in the NFL community know the Chiefs have a strong chance because of their balance, their preparation, and yes, their coach.

The public is relearning something that we once knew and forgot... Reid is an upper-echelon coach. I will not go as far as saying Reid is elite. That list is probably only as long as Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and perhaps Bruce Arians at this point.

However, Reid is a top-flight coach and it's time he's recognized for it.

Titans interview Chiefs' Chris Ballard for GM position from The Associated Press via The St. Joseph News-Press

He has been with the Chiefs the past three seasons starting as director of player personnel, overseeing the college and pro scouting departments. He was promoted to director of football operations last spring, two days after the Chiefs beat the Texans in an AFC wild-card game. He spent a week with cornerback Marcus Peters before the Chiefs took him in the first round, and Peters now is a defensive rookie of the year candidate with eight interceptions.

Ballard spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Bears starting as an area scout in 2001 before becoming director of pro scouting in 2012.

Matt Patricia does not comment on Cleveland Browns coaching interview, focused on Kansas City Chiefs from MassLive

On Monday, Patricia declined to comment on how the interview went, or what the experience was like.

"I mean, really for me, this is all about Kansas City right now," Patricia said. "That is where my focus is and that is kind of where my attention is. Talking about Kansas City."

Josh McDaniels expects to see best of Chiefs' defense from 247Sports

"They're very talented at all three levels of the defense," McDaniels said on a conference call Monday, via Patriots.com. "Obviously they've given up very few points and played their best football down the stretch, which is an issue in terms of just being able to try to finish drives or get into the red area in the first place and try to score points on them."

The Chiefs allowed opposing offenses to convert on just 33 percent of third-down opportunities during the regular season, a mark which ranked second in the NFL behind the Texans. The defense's 17.9 points allowed per game, meanwhile, ranked third and the 329.3 yards allowed per game ranked seventh.

But it has been as much about limiting as it has been about taking away.

Kansas City intercepted 22 passes and recovered seven fumbles through 16 games as well.

Felger & Mazz Video: Chiefs Not Good Enough To Beat Patriots At Gillette from CBS Boston

"If you play like crap, they can sit there and take the game from you if you want to give it to them. But they're not going to come in and beat you. There is a difference," he said. "Baltimore, in the past, could come in and take it from you. I don't think Kansas City can come in and take it from you if you play well. If you play like crap they'll play well, score 23 points and maybe [beat you]. But I'd be stunned if the Pats lose this game."

Hot Chiefs, cold Patriots to meet in AFC playoffs from The Associated Press via The Concord Monitor

To stick around, they'll have to snap the Chiefs' 11-game winning streak - 10 straight to end the regular season and a 30-0 playoff victory over the Houston Texans on Saturday.

"They've been playing at an extremely high level. But at the end of the day, it's not really about momentum," Patriots special teamer Matthew Slater said.

"It's about executing on Saturday. And whatever team executes better and makes more plays is probably going to leave the game happy."

Brady, Edelman, Vollmer All Participate In Patriots Practice from CBS Boston

Edelman said he is more focused than anxious to get back into some game action.

"I'm feeling good. We've been working hard every day, doing everything I can to get myself ready for the next day," he said following practice. "I want to go full throttle regardless. If it goes, it goes."

He wouldn't talk about the injury, instead zeroing in on the Kansas City Chiefs.

NFL playoffs: Looking ahead to some second-round knockouts coming in Carolina, Denver from The Washington Post

It really comes down to whether the opening-round playoff bye has cured much of what has been ailing he Patriots on offense. Will wide receiver Julian Edelman and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer return to the lineup? Will Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski be completely unencumbered? Brady, remember, hurt his ankle in the loss at Miami that ended the regular season and cost the Patriots the AFC's top seed.

The Chiefs have a chance. And it becomes a really good chance if the Patriots still are not at their best.

One Superfan staying home, other fans heading to New England from KCTV5

Greet says he's seen some great Chiefs teams and some no so great ones. He says this team is special.

"They're a team. They're all working together. The defense has really gelled<" Greer commented.

These days, Redman is retired, but remains a big fan.

"I do miss it. Going to New England doesn't scare me. They'll be hard team, but I think we win and I think we take it to the Super Bowl," Greer stated.

Greer's not going, but may Chiefs fans are scrambling to find a cheap ticket to Boston. It's a good problem to have.

Even on the road fans of a team can take over a crowd.

BILL BELICHICK ON KANSAS CITY DEFENSE: ‘YOU JUST CAN'T GET AWAY FROM THEM' from WEEI

On the back end, there's rookie Marcus Peters out of Washington. He led the Chiefs with eight interceptions, including a 90-yard pick-6.

"He'€™s an instinctive player and he does get his hands on a lot of balls," Belichick said. "They have a good defense so there are a lot of guys that really benefit from each other, complement each other. The pass rush helps the coverage and the coverage helps the pass rush and the running game helps the passing game and the quarterback helps the coverage because of his ability to run and so forth. Defensively they get a lot of pressure on the quarterback.

"They force a lot of errant throws or throws under duress. The secondary does a nice job of playing the ball and they play good team defense. Peters has done a good job for them, and he'€™s also been opportunistic, been able to take advantage of some plays that have come his way as have other guys in the secondary. Collectively, it'€™s a good defense, not predicated on any one guy, but they all play well together and they have a lot of good players. They'€™re all problems really."

Chiefs fans unseal special book to celebrate end of playoff drought from KCTV5

The crowd came to see history. Many of the people gathered Monday night were there eight years ago when the book was signed and sealed in support of then head coach Herm Edwards.

"After nine straight losses at the end of the 2007 season," Holthus remembered.

The idea was to boost a losing team to a playoff win. Sandy Hudson was one of the fans who signed the book.

"It was so long ago I can't remember. I'm anxious to see what we wrote in there," Hudson stated.

Brazilian who was more marked in the NFL playoffs from Brazilian Voice [translated from the original Portuguese]

As each field goal is worth three points and each extra point another, it ended the round with 12 points - almost half of the 30 that the Kansas City Chiefs made ​​up of the Houston Texans.