Patriots already have their sights on rematch with high-powered Chiefs

FOXBOROUGH — After Sunday’s game, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was asked if he’ll watch the AFC title game between the Patriots and Chiefs.

“I’ll watch it,” he replied. “I hope they play for about three days. Really, I hope it lasts three days and they finally just call it a draw.”

Any residual bitterness from Rivers aside, with apologies to the folks in Los Angeles and Indy, this is the AFC title game everyone was looking for. Right?

“No. 1 and No. 2 seed,” Phillip Dorsett said after Sunday’s win over the Chargers that landed New England in its eighth straight AFC title contest. “It’s going to be tough. But we’re ready for it. We’ll be ready. We’re going to enjoy this one and we have to get back (Monday).”

“(They're) the best team in the AFC — the one seed,” Julian Edelman said of the Chiefs. “We’re going to go on the road in a hostile environment in Kansas City. They have a really good football team. It's going to start with an unbelievable week of practice (and) preparation -- we need to do that to give us the best shot to win.”

That preparation will inevitably start with a look back at the October showdown, a 43-40 win for New England at Gillette that was one of the most remarkable games of the year. For the Patriots, what was the biggest takeaway from that one, and what can be gleaned from that game in advance of the AFC championship?

It all depends on whom you talk to.



As an offense, it was a dream. The Patriots ran up 500 total yards of offense and put 43 points on the board, both season-highs. Brady went 24-for-35 for 340 yards with a touchdown, while four players had at least 50 receiving yards, and rookie running back Sony Michel had 106 rushing yards on 24 carries.

“We made a lot of plays,” recalled left tackle Trent Brown. “It was definitely a shootout — two good teams.”

“It was a shootout. A shootout. Offenses going wild,” said Dorsett. “I’m not going to sit here and say I expect the same thing, because I don’t know. But if you watch how us and them play, that’s probably what to expect.

“That’s an electric offense. They have a lot of good players. Their quarterback is good. And No. 10, that receiver, he’s electric. It’s going to be tough.

On defense, it was a white-knuckle ride. The 40 points yielded by New England that night represented a season-high for points allowed, while Tyreek Hill and Kareem Hunt had 100-plus yards receiving and Patrick Mahomes’ 327 passing yards were the third-most yards allowed through the air.