Chiefs beat Patriots in NFL opener | The Kansas City Star
Inside that concrete, characterless room, Derrick Johnson is asked if this is the best regular-season win in his 13 years with the Chiefs.
“I think so,” he said. “I don’t want to put too much sauce on it, because it’s game one. But it is against the Patriots, so it holds a lot of weight.”
Considering the moment and context and opponent, it’s one of the best days the Chiefs have had in decades, even surpassing the blowout win against the Patriots three years ago on a Monday night at Arrowhead Stadium.
Eric Berry of Kansas City Chiefs has potentially torn Achilles tendon | ESPN
"I don't think it's positive [news],'' Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "We'll see what the MRI shows.''
Kansas City Chiefs' Kareem Hunt announces himself with big NFL debut | ESPN
"It seemed like to me [in college at Toledo] that he would be stronger in the fourth quarter than he was early," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. "That was one thing that jumped out to us … as we looked at that.
"He’s a load and he’s talented. He’s a smart kid, which helps at that position because that’s a tough one. You’ve got a lot of things you’ve got to learn as a rookie coming in. I haven’t had a lot of rookies start for me over the years."
Alex Smith shows why he's the man to lead the Chiefs | The Kansas City Star
“There’s so much emotion, so much buildup and anticipation, that sometimes you forget that it’s just one of 16 (games), right?” said Smith, who completed 28 of 35 passes. “I think you have to be able to handle defeat as well as victory the right way, and I think each can deter you.”
He added, “You’ve got to be able to handle it the right way. You’ve got to be able to be resilient.”
Chiefs' Kareem Hunt overcomes fumble to have good game | The Kansas City Star
“It was a lot of learning, I had some ups and downs,” Hunt said. “I had to keep fighting through it. I couldn’t get down on myself. I had to keep making plays.”
Making plays is what Hunt did. All night.
Two touchdown receptions, the second a 78-yard bomb from Alex Smith that gave the Chiefs a one-point lead early early in the fourth quarter, was the biggest.
KC Chiefs vs New England Patriots score & recap, 9/7/17 | The Kansas City Star
“Anytime someone tries to go for it on fourth-and-1, you should feel disrespected,” Chiefs defensive end Allen Bailey said. “They had the momentum going, and they felt like they could crush our will for going for it on fourth-and-1.”
All things are possible for Kansas City Chiefs after win over Patriots | ESPN
All things seem possible now for the Chiefs after their most impressive victory in four seasons (plus one game) with Andy Reid as their coach. The Chiefs have some wins to be proud of in that time, such as one against the Falcons in Atlanta and two over the Oakland Raiders last season.
Chiefs stun Patriots with historic outburst for win in opener |
The performance was so stunning that it led to another aberration seldom seen by the Patriots: Star quarterback Tom Brady questioned the team’s effort and disposition.
“We just didn’t make a lot of plays tonight, actually,” Brady said after the game. “So we just have to be better in a lot of areas, starting with our attitude and our competitiveness. We have to do a lot better than tonight.”
Chiefs’ Alex Smith on Kareem Hunt: ‘What a day for the kid’ | Arrowhead Pride
“I just had to forget about it,” Hunt said on NBC. “I had guys like Justin Houston telling me to forget about the bad plays and play ball. I knew I’m better than that. I had to recover and go out there and make plays.”
Tyreek looked the part of a receiver. The Chiefs still lined him up all over - in the backfield, the slot and out wide. He was a decoy on some plays. There was still enough there that he felt a little gadget-y but the numbers speak for themselves.
KC Chiefs vs NE Patriots score & report card, Sept. 7, 2017 | The Kansas City Star
Reason to hope: The Chiefs showed a tremendous amount of mental toughness early, when they mounted a red-zone stand after a Kareem Hunt fumble and came right back to tie the score at 7-7. That gave the entire team some much-needed momentum and snuffed out whatever “blowout” vibes some may have started to feel. The Chiefs went on to hand the Patriots only their second loss at home to an AFC opponent since 2007. Wow.
Victorious Chiefs leave field at Gillette Stadium | The Kansas City Star
Chiefs leave field big winners over Patriots 42-27
KC Chiefs vs NE Patriots score & q&a, Sept. 7, 2017 | The Kansas City Star
I told you guys that Kareem Hunt had juice. I told you guys to pick him up on your fantasy teams, and that was before projected starter Spencer Ware was lost for the season with a knee injury. Now, you got to see why. This guy has outstanding balance, vision and burst, and he’s a nice threat out of the backfield, too. He’s going to be a very good back in this league, first-quarter fumble aside.
Chiefs 42, Patriots 27: 7 things we learned in the NFL season opener | SBNation.com
Patrick Mahomes was the big acquisition of the offseason for the Chiefs and his performances in preseason got Kansas City fans very excited.
The addition of the rookie and Smith’s contract situation mean it’s likely that this is his last season with the team and many wondered if he’d be able to hold on to the starting job. If Week 1 was any indication, he’s not going to go down without a fight.
Smith racked up 368 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions on the night. It’s only the second time he’s had more than three touchdowns and the seventh time he’s eclipsed 300 yards.
Chiefs' Marcus Peters sits for national anthem in season opener | AP
“I was just stating how I’m black, and I love being black, (and) I’m supporting Colin in what he’s doing as far as raising awareness with the justice system,” Peters said last September. “But I didn’t mean anything (bad) by it.”