PLAYER NOTES
–DT Malcom Brown, who injured his knee against Indianapolis, is practicing this week. He has only 10 tackles this year.
–WR Chris Hogan appears to be falling out of favor with Tom Brady. He has only 11 catches this season. At this point, he is likely Brady’s sixth option at receiver after Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Phillip Dorsett and James White.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: RB Sony Michel. The rookie running back, who missed all of the preseason, has progressed nicely since first playing in Week 2 against Jacksonville. Michel struggled in his first two games, but has played better the last weeks with 210 combined yards. Michel has averaged around four yards per carry. Said running back James White, “He’s a guy who’s willing to learn. He’s working extremely hard. Like you said, he missed preseason so he missed those live reps but I’ve been saying the more he gets out there, the more confident he’ll be and the more comfortable he’ll be out there learning the plays, getting the feel for how defenses are going to play him and what not. I’m trying to help him as much as I can, not throw too much at him, but allow him to go out there and play with confidence. He’s a good football player so he’ll continue to get better and better.”
GAME PLAN: Offensively, the Patriots should have little trouble scoring against a Kansas City defense that has given up a lot of yards this season. The Chiefs have the best third-down defense in the league so the Patriots offense must be productive on first and second down. If the Patriots run a hurry-up tempo offense, the Chiefs lack the depth at cornerback to stay with Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski and Josh Gordon.
Defensively, the Patriots must prevent Tyreek Hill from creating big plays – either with his ability to catch the ball deep or his ability to catch screen passes and go 80 yards. The Patriots must also stop Kansas City’s jet sweep – given the speed of Hill.
“Our job is to keep everything inside so if we do miss it we can chase it down,” Deatrich Wise said. “It’s two-way trust. They trust me to stop it and I trust them to help me out if I don’t.”
QUOTES ON GAME: Head coach Bill Belichick on the speed of Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill; “Whoever the fastest player on anybody’s team is probably isn’t as fast as Hill.”
MATCHUPS TO WATCH
–Chiefs WR Tyreek Hill vs. Patriots CBs Stephon Gilmore and Jason McCourty. The Patriots must prevent big plays from Hill. The Patriots could have Gilmore cover Sammy Watkins and have Jason McCourty cover Tyreek Hill with Devin McCourty over the top. The Patriots could also have Gilmore cover Hill with McCourty over the top – or they could keep their corners on the same side because of the Chiefs movement on offense.
–Chiefs TE Travis Kelce vs. Patriots S Patrick Chung. The Patriots will need Chung to play down in the box and prevent Kelce from getting free releases at the line of scrimmage.
