The Kansas City Chiefs do not have the quarterback advantage in the Divisional round as they did in the Wild Card round. That's OK because Alex Smith is playing pretty good football this season anyway.
One thing that makes Alex unique is his ability to convert first downs with his legs. The numbers aren't gaudy overall but he had 30 first downs running the ball this season and his rushing improved as the Chiefs win more games (check the stats here). You can't always look at the box score and tell but it seems like every game there is a key rush from Alex. He's smart about when he uses it.
The Patriots and Bill Belichick know all this. They don't want Alex Smith rushing extending the drive on a third and seven. I wondered earlier this week what the Patriots defense would take away from the Chiefs. Could it be Alex Smith's rushing ability?
My guess is that the Patriots are going to have a specific plan for Alex's rushing. Patriots LB Jamie Collins moves around pretty well so I wouldn't be surprised if he's the spy on Alex. If that is the case, that means you're taking a Patriots player out of coverage ... which means something is going to open up. Alex has to capitalize on this, and Travis Kelce has a shot to be the beneficiary.
Or it's possible that Belichick, who I hear is a smart guy, has his own plan and isn't reading a Chiefs blog for advice. That's possible.