The Kansas City Chiefs travel to take on the New England Patriots on Saturday afternoon in the Divisional Round of the AFC playoffs.
Here are 10 stats to know about the game:
1. The Chiefs and Patriots have played 33 times in history but never in the playoffs until now
August 27, 1993
The Chiefs have a 17-13-3 record in the all-time series.
The most recent game was just last season, when the Chiefs won 41-14 at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night Football.
That was also the night that Chiefs Kingdom once again proved who the loudest fans in the NFL are by breaking the Guinness World Record with a roar of 142.2 decibels.
The last time the Chiefs traveled to Foxborough, home of the Patriots, they fell by a score of 34-3.
2. Chiefs vs. Patriots team comparison
|
Chiefs vs. Patriots Team Comparison | ||
|
CHIEFS |
PATRIOTS | |
|
Record |
11-5 |
12-4 |
|
Division Standings |
2nd (AFCW) |
1st (AFCE) |
|
Turnover Margin (NFL Rank) |
+14 (2nd) |
+7 (T-5th) |
|
Offense (NFL Rank) | ||
|
Net Yards Per Game |
331.2 (27th) |
374.4 (6th) |
|
Yards Per Play |
5.55 (12th) |
5.71 (6th) |
|
Points Per Game |
25.3 (9th) |
29.1 (3rd) |
|
Possession Average |
30:55 (13th) |
30:13 (18th) |
|
Net Rushing Yards Per Game |
127.8 (6th) |
87.8 (30th) |
|
Net Passing Yards Per Game |
203.4 (30th) |
286.7 (5th) |
|
Had Intercepted/Yards |
7/116 |
7/181 |
|
Sacks Allowed/Yards |
46/-238.0 (T-26th) |
38/-225.0 (19th) |
|
Fumbles/Lost |
16/8 |
14/7 |
|
Third Down Pct. |
38.2 (T-19th) |
40.9 (11th) |
|
Red Zone TC Pct. |
57.4% (14th) |
65.6% (4th) |
|
Giveaways |
15 (2nd) |
14 (1st) |
|
Defense (NFL Rank) | ||
|
Net Yards Per Game |
329.3 (7th) |
339.4 (9th) |
|
Yards Per Play |
5.08 (6th) |
5.21 (7th) |
|
Points Per Game |
17.9 (3rd) |
19.7 (10th) |
|
Net Rushing Yards/Game |
98.2 (8th) |
98.8 (9th) |
|
Net Passing Yards Per Game |
231.1 (9th) |
240.7 (17th) |
|
Intercepted By/Yards |
22/477 |
12/176 |
|
Sacks For/Yards |
47/-290.0 (4th) |
49/-358.0 (2nd) |
|
Opponent Fumbles/Lost |
19/7 |
28/9 |
|
Third Down Pct. |
33.2% (2nd) |
37.3% (10th) |
|
Red Zone TD Pct. |
60.0% (T-21st) |
57.1% (T-16th) |
|
Takeaways |
29 (5th) |
21 (T-22nd) |
|
Special Teams (NFL Rank) | ||
|
Punts-Average Yards (Gross) |
44.4 (22nd) |
45.4 (15th) |
|
Punts-Average Yards (Net) |
40.8 (8th) |
39.9 (15th) |
|
Punt Returns-Average Per |
7.9 (19th) |
10.1 (8th) |
|
Punt Returns-Average Per Allowed |
6.5 (9th) |
8.9 (20th) |
|
Kickoff Returns-Average Per |
22.6 (21st) |
18.8 (31st) |
|
Kickoff Returns-Average per Allowed |
24.7 (19th) |
18.1 (2nd) |
|
Field Goals Made/Attempted |
30/37 (26th) |
33/36 (T-5th) |
|
Penalties (NFL Rank) | ||
|
Penalties Against/Yards |
104/878.0 (T-11th) |
96/859.0 (T-5th) |
|
Opp. Penalties Against/Yards |
110/941.0 (19th) |
112/1013.0 (T-15th) |
3. Chiefs vs. Patriots Individual Comparison
|
Chiefs vs. Patriots 2015 Individuals Comparison | |||
|
CHIEFS |
PATRIOTS | ||
|
PASSING YARDS | |||
|
Smith |
3486 |
Brady |
4770 |
|
RUSHING YARDS | |||
|
West |
634 |
Bolden |
207 |
|
Smith |
498 |
White |
56 |
|
Ware |
403 |
Brady |
53 |
|
RECEIVING YARDS | |||
|
Maclin |
1088 |
Gronkowski |
1176 |
|
Kelce |
875 |
Edelman |
692 |
|
Wilson |
451 |
Amendola |
648 |
|
POINTS SCORED | |||
|
Santos |
129 |
Gostkowski |
151 |
|
Maclin |
48 |
Gronkowski |
66 |
|
Ware |
36 |
Edelman |
42 |
|
INTERCEPTIONS | |||
|
Peters |
8 |
Ryan |
4 |
|
Parker |
3 |
Harmon |
3 |
|
Five Tied |
2 |
Butler |
2 |
|
Branch |
1 | ||
|
SACKS | |||
|
Houston |
7.5 |
Jones |
12.5 |
|
Hali |
6.5 |
Sheard |
8.0 |
|
Howard |
5.5 |
Ninkovich |
6.5 |
|
Parker |
5.0 |
Collins |
5.5 |
|
DEFENSIVE TACKLES | |||
|
Johnson |
116 |
Collins |
89 |
|
Parker |
78 |
Chung |
82 |
|
Berry |
61 |
Ryan |
74 |
|
KICKOFF RETURNS (AVG.) | |||
|
Davis |
24 (25.1) |
Martin |
10 (25.7) |
|
PUNT RETURNS (AVG) | |||
|
Hammond Jr. |
14 (11.9) |
Amendola |
23 (12.0) |
|
FIELD GOALS | |||
|
Santos |
30/37 (81.1%) |
Gostkowski |
33/36 (91.7%) |
|
PUNTS (GROSS/NET AVG) | |||
|
Colquitt |
75 (44.4/40.8) |
Allen |
73 (46.0/39.9) |
4. Alex Smith's postseason numbers are pretty good and so are his numbers against the Patriots
In four postseason games, Alex Smith has completed 61 percent of his passes for an average of 266 yards with 10 touchdowns and 1 interception (which came last Saturday against the Texans).
In his three years with the Chiefs, Smith has 5 postseason touchdowns, which is just 3 shy of the franchise record currently held by Hall of Famer Len Dawson, who had 7 touchdown passes in 8 career postseason games.
After his first 5 passing attempts on Saturday, Smith extended his postseason passing streak to 119 passes without an interception, which is the longest streak in NFL postseason history. But on his sixth pass, Smith was intercepted by Brian Cushing, who caught the defected pass before it hit the ground.
Earlier this season, Smith threw 312 passes without throwing an interception, giving him the second longest streak in the NFL during regular season play.
Smith has played the Patriots once in his career, which was last season at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday Night Football, when he finished 20 of 26 for 248 yards and 3 touchdowns in the 41-14 victory.
But these are completely different teams in completely different situations. This is the playoffs and an area that Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have thrived.
5. Tom Brady's postseason success
Here's a list of a few of the postseason records Patriots quarterback Tom Brady currently holds:
Starts: 29
Wins: 21
TD passes: 53
TD passes (single game): 6
Yards passing: 7,345
Completions: 683
Conference championships: 6
6. Current winning streak shows Chiefs clicking on all cylinders
Over the past 11 games for the Chiefs, all wins, they've averaged 28 points per game and allowed just 11.6.
Last week against the Texans in the 30-0 victory, the Chiefs defense finished with the first shutout in a postseason game in franchise history, and the first shutout in an AFC Wild Card game since 2003 (NYJ vs IND).
That's impressive.
7. Alex Smith's legs have been doing some damage
In 2015, Alex Smith rushed 84 times for 498 yards (5.9 ypc), an average of 31.1 yards per game.
Smith finished the season ranked third among quarterbacks with 30 first-down rushes behind only Cam Newton (56) and Russell Wilson (31).
Smith had 17 rushes of 10-plus yards in the regular season.
8. Patriots find offensive success early in the game
The Patriots led the NFL in the regular season by scoring 55 points on their first offensive possessions, which was well above the NFL average of 29.
The Chiefs ranked third with 48 points scored on their first possession.
Overall, the Patriots averaged more than 29 points per game, which was third best in the NFL behind the Carolina Panthers (31.3) and Arizona Cardinals (30.6).
9. The Gronk effect
In the 2015 regular season, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski caught 72 passes for 1,176 yards with 11 touchdowns.
He is second among all tight ends in postseason history with 7 touchdowns.
10. Travis Kelce currently leads NFL in postseason yards receiving
After his 8-catch, 128-yard performance against the Houston Texans, tight end Travis Kelce leads the NFL in postseason yards.
His performance marks the third-best individual performance in franchise history for yards receiving, trailing Dwayne Bowe's 150 yards (at IND, 2014) and Stephone Paige's 142 yards (at MIA, 1991).
He's the fifth player in franchise history to catch at least 8 passes in a postseason game.
LAST TIME THEY MET
