Patriots Pass Past Chiefs, Head To AFC Title Game

The New England Patriots are heading to their fifth straight AFC Title game after defeating the Kansas City Chiefs, 27-20, at Gillette Stadium Saturday. 

Here's some thoughts on the game and what lies ahead for New England:

Brady's Postseason Success Continues- Patriots quarterback Tom Brady continued his postseason dominance, as he completed 28 of 42 pass attempts for 302 yards and two scores on the day. Brady also had a nice 10 yard run to set up his on one yard quarterback keeper touchdown in the second quarter. With a nearly completely healthy group of receivers at his disposal the 38-year-old once again proved he is the G.O.A.T.

Gronk Dominates- It was questionable if Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was going to be able to play a big role in the game, heading into today. The 6-foot-6 star put all concerns of a knee issue to bed with a tremendous performance. On eight targets, the All-Pro caught seven passes for 83 yards. He also hauled in two touchdowns, the second one coming on a tremendous stop-and-go route that left Chiefs' safety Eric Berry in a different time zone.

Edelman Steps Up In Second Half- After struggling to hold onto the ball a bit in the first half and dropping three passes, New England receiver Julian Edelman stepped up in the second half. Playing for the first time since suffering a Jones fracture in a Week 10 win, Edelman helped spur the offense along in the second half, not dropping a pass and getting over the century mark in receiving yards. Overall, Edelman had 10 receptions for 100 yards. For a guy coming off of a serious foot injury, that's an all-time performance. Adding Edelman to the New England offense just makes it so much better, plain and simple.

Defense Bends But Doesn't Break- True to their form the Patriot defense bent against the wiry Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense. While they gave up a couple of second half touchdowns, they made enough stops to put themselves in a position to be celebrating at the end of the game.

Need To Get Better On Third Down Defense- The one area where the Patriots defense really struggled was on third down. The Chiefs completed 12 of 20 third down attempts on the day, largely because of Smith's elusiveness and ability to move out of the pocket. Luckily for New England, they won't face the same type of quarterback next week.

The Streak Ends- In the process of getting the win and moving to the AFC Title game, the Patriots snapped the Chiefs' 11-game winning streak. Like the saying goes "All good things must come to an end."

Reign Of Dominance- The win also further secures the Pats' reign of dominance over the AFC, as they will now head to their fifth straight Title game.

Wait Til Tomorrow- The Patriots must wait until tomorrow's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos, to see who they'll be playing and where they'll be playing next Sunday. If the Broncos win, the Pats will travel to Denver for the game. If the Steelers pull out a victory, they will come to Gillette to face the Pats.