Tom Brady (12) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Divisional round playoff game at Gillette Stadium. Photo Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tom Brady had his weapons back and the New England Patriots are heading to their fifth straight AFC championship game.
With wide receiver Julian Edelman catching 10 passes for 100 yards in his first game since Oct. 25 and tight end Rob Gronkowski, questionable entering the game, catching two touchdown passes, the Patriots disposed of the Kansas City Chiefs 27-20 in the divisional playoff game on Saturday.
Brady joined Kenny Stabler of the Oakland Raiders (1973-77) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to take their teams to five consecutive conference championship games.
The Patriots, seeking their second straight NFL title and the fifth of the Bill Belichick/Brady era, will meet the winner of Sunday’s Broncos-Steelers game next Sunday.
New England will either travel to Denver or host Pittsburgh.
Brady threw for 302 yards in an offense that was almost exclusively passing and put an end to the Chiefs’ 11-game winning streak.
Kansas City came into the game off a 30-0 shellacking of the Houston Texans last week, the Chiefs’ first playoff victory in 21 years.
Kansas City made the game closer on one-yard touchdown run by Carcandrick West with 1:13 left. Kicker Cairo Santos popped an onside kick into the air, right to Gronkowski.
On second down, Brady’s pass went off the hand of linebacker Tamba Hali, then glanced off Gronkowski’s shoulder right to Edelman for his 10th catch of the day.
Brady, who extended his NFL record to 17 games with multi touchdown passes, also scored on a sneak to give the Patriots a 14-3 lead with 5:36 left in the first half.
That came one play after he ran 10 yards down to the one-foot line. It was the sixth rushing touchdown of Brady’s postseason career, second all-time on the New England list. He is also tied for second among all NFL quarterbacks in postseason rushing scores.
Edelman, who had been out with a broken foot, dropped a couple of passes early, but soon got into his usual possession groove. He also ran for 11 yards on an end-around.
Gronkowski, who missed practice Thursday and Friday because of back and knee issues, scored on catches of eight and 16 yards, the seventh and eighth postseason touchdown catches of his NFL career.
Gronk set the franchise and the league records for playoff touchdown passes by a tight end. He caught seven passes for 83 yards.
Brady, looking for his seventh conference title, completed 28-of-42 passes for the 302 yards, tying Peyton Manning with his ninth 300-yard postseason game.
Stephen Gostkowski, who set the franchise scoring record when he kicked the extra point following New England’s touchdown on the first possession of the game, also kicked two field goals.
Alex Smith threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Albert Wilson and Santos kicked two field goals.
Brady threw 11 straight passes on an 80-yard drive down the field on the opening drive and the Patriots never trained. They led 21-6 in the third quarter and New England is 63-0 since 2001 when leading a home game by at least 15 points.
Smith finished 29-of-50 for 241 yards and ran for 44 yards.
Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, who didn’t practice all week because of an ankle injury, was able to play but was not at 100 percent. Neither and neither were linebackers Justin Houston and Hali.
Hali had knee and thumb injuries, and the thumb could have been a factor of the final catch by Edelman.
New England linebackers Jamie Collins (back) and Gerod Mayo (shoulder) left the game in the third quarter because of injuries.
The Chiefs didn’t allow more than 22 points in any game during their winning streak, also forcing at least one turnover in each game. They were unable to turn the Patriots’ over, dropping three potential interceptions.
NOTES: Amid speculation that he might sit out for a series or two as punishment for last week’s off-field incident that sent him to the hospital for a reaction to synthetic marijuana, Patriots defensive end Chandler Jones started. He forced a fumble in the third quarter. … The Patriots ran the ball only once in the first quarter, the fourth time this season they ran one or zero times in an opening quarter. … Kansas City came in 17-11-3 against the Patriots in the regular season and the original AFL teams (the Chiefs started as the Dallas Texans) met for the first time in a playoff game. … WR Keshawn Martin, who caught a 42-yard pass from Tom Brady on New England’s second scoring drive, signed a two-year contract extension worth a reported $3 million. … The Chiefs allowed 11.6 points per game during their 11-game winning streak but yielded 14 in the first half Sunday. … Quarterback Tom Brady tied kicker Adam Vinatieri’s club record of 30 postseason games.
