Patriots head coach Bill Belichick: Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes-Tyreek

Hill connection can kill teams on short and long pass plays Tonight Andre Tippett Jersey , the New England Patriots will face their biggest challenge of the year when the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs come to town. Combining an explosive offensive attack with an opportunistic yet at times inconsistent defense, the Chiefs are sitting at 5-0 heading into their game against the 3-2 Patriots – a contest that will likely have an enormous impact on the AFC’s playoff picture even this early during the season.Naturally, New England needs to bring its A-game as the Chiefs pose problems on both sides of the football. In the latest episode of the Belestrator, head coach Bill Belichick illustrated just how those problems look like: Belichick and quarterback-turned-commentator took a look at Kansas City’s pass rush, and the team’s explosive passing game led by second-year passer Patrick Mahomes:Belichick and Zolak start by taking a look at Kansas City’s defense, led by linemen Chris Jones and Dee Ford. “[Jones] is long, quick, powerful, he can make plays with his power, with his quickness, with his pursuit; he bats balls, he’s a good pass rusher,” Belichick said about the Chiefs’ starting defensive tackle who is ranked as Pro Football Focus’ 22nd best player at his position this year.“He can ruin the game and so can Dee Ford Womens Irving Fryar Jersey ,” Belichick continued. “This guy’s as fast as a pass rusher as we’ll see all year. He’s got good quickness.” Ford currently leads the Chiefs with 4.0 sacks and with fellow linebacker Justin Houston likely out tonight will play an even more important role when it comes to stopping Tom Brady and the Patriots’ offense. “Those two guys cause a lot of negative plays for the Chiefs defense.”While Jones and Ford are without a doubt outstanding players, the main reason for Kansas City’s success so far in 2018 is the team’s offense led by MVP candidate Patrick Mahomes and explosive pass catchers Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce. New England needs to find a way to slow the two talented receivers down today: the duo has combined for 55 catches this season, for 832 yards and six scores.“We’re dealing with a strong-armed quarterback, and a receiver with explosive speed that can run through any type of defense,” Belichick said about the Mahomes-Hill connection, which hooked up 27 times so far this year. “[Hill] can kill you on the short plays just as quickly as he can kill you on the long ones.”Kelce cannot be forgotten either, though. Arguably the NFL’s second best tight end behind the Patriots’ Rob Gronkowski, the 29-year old leads Kansas City with 28 catches. “Kelce [is] really a go-to guy for them anywhere on the field but particularly in the red area and near the goal line,” said Belichick about him. “This guy’s a really good football player, especially in the red area, third down, and goal-line situations.”Belichick’s breakdown further confirms one thing: New England will have its hands full today. Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon was out for the second straight game, due to an MCL sprain in his right knee.Austin Ekeler started in place of Gordon on Sunday against Cincinnati Color Rush Hjalte Froholdt Jersey , with rookie Justin Jackson, who gained 62 yards during the second half of last week’s comeback win at Pittsburgh, slated for plenty of playing time.The Chargers were without nose tackle Brandon Mebane for a third straight game, as he cares for his newborn daughter. The visiting Bengals were missing two key starters on defense: cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (ankle) and linebacker Vontaze Burfict (concussion).In other Week 14 lineup news around the league:— With James Conner out for Pittsburgh because of an ankle injury, Jaylen Samuels and Stevan Ridley were in line for the bulk of the work in the backfield for the Steelers against Oakland.— San Francisco is missing two key skill-position players, running back Matt Breida (ankle) and wide receiver Pierre Garcon (knee), against Denver. The Broncos lost cornerback Chris Harris Jr. (broken leg) and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (ruptured Achilles tendon) to major injuries last week.— The depleted Arizona wide receiver group got thinner with the loss of Chad Williams, who aggravated a hamstring injury late in the week and was inactive for the game against Detroit.— Dallas left tackle Tyron Smith was active for a key NFC East showdown against Philadelphia, after missing the previous two games with a neck issue. The first- Cowboys, however, held linebacker Sean Lee out for a fifth straight week with a hamstring injury. Eagles defensive tackle Tim Jernigan was inactive again with a back issue after being listed as questionable on the injury report. Jernigan has played just one game this season, two weeks ago.From the earlier games:— Miami’s Danny Amendola played against New England, his former team Youth Hjalte Froholdt Jersey , after sitting out the last game because of a knee injury.— Baltimore put quarterback Joe Flacco on the inactive list for the fourth straight game, despite his return to practice this week with the expectation he would serve as Lamar Jackson’s backup at Kansas City. Instead, Flacco rested his hip injury with Robert Griffin III as the second-stringer behind Jackson.— The New York Giants traveled to Washington without star receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who stayed home with a quadriceps injury. The Redskins were in worse shape, with guard Tony Bergstrom (knee/ankle) the latest offensive lineman to be sidelined— Green Bay was down three starters on the offensive line against Atlanta: left guard Lane Taylor (foot), right guard Byron Bell (knee) and right tackle Bryan Bulaga (knee/illness).— Indianapolis had T.Y. Hilton suited up against Houston, despite a shoulder injury that kept him out of practices this week, but fellow wide receiver Dontrelle Inman was out with a shoulder injury.— Carolina played at Cleveland without kicker Graham Gano, whose knee injury forced the Panthers to sign replacement Chandler Catanzaro, kicked a 59-yard field goal to beat the Browns in overtime earlier this season for Tampa Bay. Browns rookie cornerback Denzel Ward remained in concussion protocol after getting hurt last week, with Terrance Mitchell activated to make his first start after missing eight games with a broken right wrist.— Sam Darnold returned for the New York Jets after a three-game absence because of a foot injury, setting up a matchup of first-round draft pick quarterbacks in Buffalo against Josh Allen. The Jets had running back Isaiah Crowell (toe) and wide receiver Robby Anderson (ankle) back. They were questionable on the injury report.