Dark Horse Tavern » The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Arizona Cardi

nals 26-14 on Sunday Darwin Thompson Jersey nfl draft , so Monday was the day for head coach Andy Reid’s day-after-the-game press briefing.Here are the key takeaways from his close encounter of the press kind:Reid said that both the Chiefs — and this Monday’s opponent, the Los Angeles Rams — are looking forward to playing in Mexico City.Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty ImagesReid got a big laugh from the press when a reporter with a pronounced Spanish accent asked him about playing in Mexico.“You’re not from Olathe,” Reid deadpanned.“Listen, we’re looking forward to it,” he continued. “Great people there. The fanbase is phenomenal. I think if you asked both teams the same question, [they’d say] we’re fired up to have an opportunity to play there. [That’s] based around the people and the support that the people give us in the National Football League.”Reid was asked if the Chiefs had considered practicing in a high-altitude environment,as the Rams are doing this week.“We looked into all that,” Reid said. “We had plenty of time to look at that. After studying it, we just felt it was best to stay here. We’ll just go down there and play.”Reid was also asked if he is concerned about the field conditions at Estadio Azteca, where the game will be played.Recent news reports have suggested that the field may not be in good condition, but Reid expressed confidence that the NFL is on top of the situation.Reid said that while the Chiefs offensive line gave up five sacks to the Cardinals on Sunday, it was a good learning experience for the makeshift offensive line.Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports“That group hasn’t played a bunch together,” he said. “So they did a couple of things in there that’ll help us down the road here, and we can learn from. It wasn’t just a physical thing — in a couple of cases, it was — but it wasn’t just a physical thing. We seemed to kind of adjust to it in the second half and do a little bit better job. We’ve got to do better, obviously. And that’s what we’re always striving to do. I appreciate their effort, and their ability to make some changes and communicate — to work it out.”That led to a question about the Rams defensive front.“They’ve got a healthy load of good football players, and they’re well-coached Replica Darwin Thompson Jersey ,” Reid said. “We’re going to go back through — like we do each week — and stick to the process. It’ll be a day later than what we normally are for a Sunday game, but we’ll jump right back into making sure we get ourselves right — study them, and make sure we have that part down.”One of the other matchups people will be watching on Monday is the one between Tyreek Hill and former Chief Marcus Peters.“Marcus is a good player,” said Reid. “He was a Pro Bowl player when he was here. There’s a mutual respect there between the two because they’ve played against each other so much. I don’t know if there’s an advantage one way or the other. It’ll be fun to watch.”Reid spoke about how Dee Ford has been playing since his return from the injury he suffered in 2017, and how it was nice to have Justin Houston back on the field on Sunday.Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports“You can see that he’s healthy and playing good football,” said Reid. “Having Justin [on the] opposite [side] just felt right for him. And then Breeland [Speaks] being able to come in and Tanoh [Kpassagnon] being able to come in — that’s a pretty good rotation. To watch Breeland grow over this last little bit when Justin was out — that’s a neat thing. Dee’s healthy, and feels good about the things that he’s doing. He’s doing a good job setting the edge, too, which kind of gets overlooked with his pass rush. He’s playing good football right now.”Reid also spoke about another player returning from an injury last season: Spencer Ware, who scored a touchdown on Sunday.“There was a question whether he’d be able to come back from that injury,” said Reid. “Pretty tough one to come back from. But you know the kid, and you go, ‘Well, if anybody can do it, he can do this.’ He bore down and got after it. Rick [Burkholder] and the trainers worked with him. He was here every day — doing his thing and being diligent like that — so when he goes out and plays, and you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ And he’ll score a touchdown”Other notes from Monday’s press appearanceReid said that there were no injuries to report after Sunday’s game. He was hopeful that the extra day off would help hobbled players get healed in time for Monday’s game, and said that Sammy Watkins and Anthony Hitchens might be ready to go by then.Watkins was inactive on Sunday with a foot injury Stitched Darwin Thompson Jersey , but Hitchens dressed for the game.Reid said that Hitchens had been active on Sunday only in case he was needed.Reid was asked if, at this point of the season, he’d consider Patrick Mahomes to be the league MVP.Reid demurred, saying he wasn’t very good at “all that stuff.” Reid said he understood why reporters had to ask him the question, but he was going to be “a little water around the boulder” about it. KANSAS CITY, Mo. — It’s the dead of winter, meaning the weather in New England can be brutal. And that the Patriots are headed to the Super Bowl.It took them overtime and more of Tom Brady’s brilliance to get there — for the third straight year. While the folks back home dealt with a frigid storm, Brady blew through Kansas City’s exhausted defense on a 75-yard drive to Rex Burkhead’s 2-yard touchdown run in a 37-31 victory Sunday for the AFC championship.The drive, during which New England (13-5) had three third-down conversions, was reminiscent of when the Patriots beat Atlanta in the only Super Bowl to go to OT two years ago.“Overtime, on the road against a great team,” Brady said. “They had no quit. Neither did we. We played our best football at the end. I don’t know, man, I’m tired. That was a hell of a game.”Awaiting them in Atlanta are the Los Angeles Rams, who won 26-23 in overtime in New Orleans for the NFC championship. The Rams (15-3) last made the Super Bowl in 2002 while based in St. Louis, losing to the Patriots.New England benefited from two critical replay reviews and made its ninth Super Bowl with Brady at quarterback and Bill Belichick as coach.“This is crazy,” said Brady, who was 30 of 46 for 348 yards. “What a game.”It’s the first time both conference title games went to OT. The last time both visitors won conference championship matches was 2012.Several times Darwin Thompson Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , the Patriots appeared to have it won, only to see Kansas City (13-5) come back in spectacular fashion.Brady, at 41 already the oldest quarterback to have played in a Super Bowl, drove New England 65 yards in 1:24 to Burkhead’s go-ahead 4-yard touchdown with 39 seconds left in regulation. That was enough, though, for his far younger counterpart, the 23-year-old All-Pro Patrick Mahomes, to take the Chiefs 48 yards to Harrison Butker’s 39-yard field goal with 8 seconds left to force overtime.It was a sizzling offensive showing in the fourth quarter after defense had been in charge most of the way. Indeed, the Chiefs were blanked in the opening half for the first time all season.And they never saw the ball in overtime, which along with the two replay decisions might call into play NFL rules and officiating.“I thought if we got the chance,” Mahomes said, “we’d score.”Mahomes finished 16 of 31 for 295 yards and three touchdowns.New England became the third franchise to reach three Super Bowls in a row. And Belichick now has 30 postseason victories, more than Bill Walsh and Don Shula combined. That Hall of Fame coaching duo also won five Super Bowls; Belichick shoots for No. 6 in two weeks.An apparent muff by the usually reliable Julian Edelman on a fourth-quarter punt return was overturned by a lengthy video review, prompting raucous booing and some demonstrative arguing from the usually laid-back Andy Reid. Edelman definitely touched his next try when Brady’s pass deflected off his hands directly to safety Daniel Sorensen. His 22-yard return set up Kansas City at the Patriots 23, and Damien Williams, who scored three times, had no defender near him down the left sideline for the score that made it 21-17, KC’s first lead.Back came Brady Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys Stitched , engineering a 75-yard march on which Chris Hogan’s diving one-handed catch on third down appeared to touch the ground. Reid challenged — and lost.Minutes later, rookie Sony Michel scored from the 10, his second TD of the night.With 3½ minutes remaining, there was plenty of time for more points. Williams’ 2-yard run gave the Chiefs a 28-24 edge that New England took up most of the remaining time overcoming before Butker’s field goal sent it to overtime.The Chiefs hadn’t been blanked in any half this season, but they barely were a presence in the first 30 minutes, when they had the ball for 8:53. Mahomes was sacked three times for 43 yards; Kansas City’s record-setting attack ran only 16 plays and gained a mere 32 yards.The zero disappeared quickly in the third quarter. Finally given solid protection, Mahomes unleashed a 54-yard completion to Sammy Watkins over All-Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore. He then hit another All-Pro, tight end Travis Kelce, on a slant to make it 14-7 — and awaken the slumbering crowd.But one of several bad decisions further damaged Kansas City when Tyreek Hill, the All-Pro flex player, retreated deep in Chiefs territory returning a punt. Eventually, KC had to punt and the Patriots had excellent field position, setting up a 47-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski.Not one to be shy about innovation, Mahomes completely sidearmed a throw to Watkins for 10 yards on a third down, then a dump-off to Williams covered 33. Kelce drew a pass interference call on J.C. Jackson in the end zone, and Mahomes threw a strike to Williams for the score.Although the Chiefs were on their heels much of the night, they were down only 17-14.LOPSIDED FIRST HALFJust as they did last week in manhandling the Chargers early and cruising, the Patriots delivered a message — and a touchdown — on their first series. It was a classic Discount Darwin Thompson Jersey , covering 80 yards in 15 plays and using up more than eight minutes. Michel, who had 113 yards rushing, scored from the 1.But Brady made a rare mistakes on the next dominant drive. His third-down pass from the 1 for Rob Gronkowski was short and Reggie Ragland picked it off.Brady had never thrown an interception from the 1.When the Chiefs finally got a trademark big play on Mahomes’ 42-yard completion to Hill, it went for naught. Mahomes overthrew a wide-open Williams near the end zone, then took a 14-yard sack to send KC out of field goal range.Big mistake.The Patriots kept dominating the line of scrimmage, Brady took them 90 yards and connected with Phillip Dorsett over sloppy coverage by Steven Nelson to make it 14-0 with 27 seconds left in the half.STATSIn Week 6, the Patriots beat the Chiefs 43-40 in a game featuring 946 yards total offense. This one had 814. … New England has played in eight straight AFC title games, but this is its first road playoff win since the 2006 season vs. San Diego. … Brady match former Patriots K Adam Vinatieri, now with the Colts, for most wins in NFL history (236). … Kansas City’s defense tied for first in the NFL with 52 sacks, but had none on Sunday. New England had four.COIN TOSSReid’s decision to defer after winning the opening coin toss proved unwise as New England had 22 plays in the opening period, and Kansas City had seven. Then, the Chiefs lost the more important toss before overtime. Less than five minutes later, they were headed to the offseason.UP NEXTThe New England Patriots head to Atlanta to play the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl.