Chiefs head into offseason after another playoff letdown

Lots of Kansas City fans watched a game go much differently than we envisioned as Tom Brady stayed in a clean pocket most of the afternoon and picked apart the Chiefs throwing 302 yards, two touchdowns, and rushed for another score.

The Patriots are nonetheless a fearsome opponent, now one victory from a return to the Super Bowl – their seventh since Brady took over for Drew Bledsoe in 2001 – and the clearest reason is their driven, unsympathetic, unstoppable quarterback. Kansas City’s 11-game winning streak mattered even less.

“It’s pretty special to get back to another AFC championship game”, said Brady, who will play for the conference title for the 10th time in his career. Jones was toast previous year against the Chiefs and got pulled.

“It will be fun to play another Peyton Manning-led team, ” said Brady, who had a long run of success against Manning when he was with the Indianapolis Colts.

The Patriots, who lost four of their last six regular-season games while Edelman was out because of a broken foot, are trying to become the first team to win back-to-back National Football League titles since they did it in 2003-04.

As a result, the Patriots are on their way to their fifth consecutive AFC Championship Game against either the Denver Broncos or Pittsburgh Steelers, who play Sunday.

If Denver beats Pittsburgh today, the Patriots visit the Broncos.

Tough on edges and up middle: Sound fundamental play by the defense is what won this game. “Whether we play here or whether we play there, we’re going to have to play really well”. Five plays later, Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski on a 16-yard touchdown pass and the Patriots seized a 21-6 edge. With New England facing a second-and-12 in the final minute, he caught a pass that deflected off Kansas City’s Tamba Hali for 12 yards for a clinching first down. With Edelman and tight end Rob Gronkowski back in the lineup, Tom Brady threw for more than 300 yards for just the second time since Edelman broke his foot. “He’s always been one of the hardest workers I’ve ever played with, one of the most determined young men that’s on this team”.

Smith finished the game completing 29 of 50 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown.

All four have been to the big game in this century, with the Patriots, of course, leading the way.

“This is a good experience for us. We’re going to need it”.

“But I’m proud of my guys”.

“We’re a resilient team”, Fitzgerald said. Linebacker Jamie Collins broke up a pass on third-and-6 from the Patriots 16, setting up a field goal. With no receiver open, Brady took off in a dash for the end zone.

Quarterback Alex Smith said that he thought the Chiefs played with urgency late in the game, and that there’s a “fine line” considering the Chiefs were missing wide receivers and needed the right personnel and plays for that situation.

Sure enough, the Chiefs did not get the onside kick-less than 14 percent of onside kicks worked this year-and they gave up a first down.

The Patriots began strongly with Brady engineering a fluent opening drive that ended with Gronkowski grabbing an eight-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

The Chiefs closed within the final margin after Charcandrick West scored on a 1-yard run with 73 seconds remaining. The Patriots are 18-4 all time in the playoffs at Gillette Stadium….

Belichick and Brady extended their records for most postseason wins by a coach or player.

The defensive line couldn’t contain Smith and he ran for a first down, but Patricia made some adjustments and New England kept Smith relatively well-contained for the rest of the game.