Patriots offense aces test, defense…not so much

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FOXBORO - The Patriots knew what their plan would be against the Chiefs, both offensively and defensively. 

Offensively they didn't see much, if anything, they weren't expecting and it showed. They ran it when and where they wanted to. Power out of their I-formation. Power out of the shotgun. Fullback isolations. End-arounds. And they found mismatches against Kansas City's man schemes all night. 

No gimmicks. Easy pickings for Tom Brady. Unless you confused him a tad, he was going to end up leading an offense that approaches 500 total yards. They hit that number on the button Sunday night. 

TOM E. CURRAN'S HARD TRUTHS:

Defensively the Patriots wanted to take away Travis Kelce. His size and athleticism made him a big play waiting to happen, and Patrick Mahomes goes to him in critical situations. So what did Bill Belichick and Brian Flores' defense do? They took Kelce away, often sending two defenders at him in coverage. He finished with five catches for 61 yards -- all of which came in the first half. 

But the Patriots didn't devote the same types of resources to Tyreek Hill, and he ended up burning them to the point that the Patriots allowed 40 points to an Andy Reid offense for the third time since 2014. 

This week's Report Card, like the high-scoring outcome at Gillette Stadium, is a tad predictable. Good grades for throughout the offense. Not so much for the defense. Let's get to them...

QUARTERBACK: B+

RUNNING BACK: B
Sony Michel cracked the 100-yard mark for the second time in his career despite having 10 of his carries go for 3 or fewer yards (not including a goal-line plunge). He admitted after the game he feels as though he's still leaving yardage on the field, but he continues to be productive back there. That's opened up the play-action passing game, which has accounted for chunk plays in recent weeks. As a receiver, James White continues to be Mr. Dependable, as he picked up a 17-yard catch-and-run on the game's final drive to keep things moving. He also ran six times for 39 yards, showing that he can run between the tackles if defenses are going to go light and let him mosey through the box. Kenjon Barner gave this group a little jolt early as he ran three times for 16 yards, including one carry for 10 yards where he broke a tackle. 

RECEIVER: B
Julian Edelman's touchdown catch in the second quarter was one of the easier scoring grabs he's made -- Kendall Fuller almost fell down as Edelman breezed by on his way to the corner of the end zone -- but it obviously ended up being critical to the outcome. It came as some surprise that the Patriots didn't try to pepper Edelman with more targets, but the Chiefs opted for coverage over pass-rush in several key spots, forcing Brady to go elsewhere. Hogan's late grabs were clutch . . . and they helped make up for moments in the third when Brady seemed to overlook Hogan for potential scores twice. Josh Gordon and Brady still aren't quite on the same page with the back-shoulder throws they've attempted in recent weeks, but he played 63 snaps of a possible 78 (only Edelman played more), and he showed good effort throughout the night. He fought for a deep attempt that drew a pass-interference flag in the end zone. He also broke up a potential interception that could've led to a longer Patriots drive had Brady not been strip-sacked.

TIGHT END: B+

OFFENSIVE LINE: A-
This group deserves a great deal of credit for what the Patriots were able to do on the ground (173 yards on 38 carries). They had to work for it, too. The longest Patriots run of the night was 15 yards. They also played smart, not accumulating any penalty yardage. Brady's goal-line run was particularly interesting to watch because the Chiefs only rushed three. Hard there for the line not to try to find someone to block down field there when Brady starts scrambling, but they had to play it straight on the off chance Brady might flip it forward into the end zone. Even if they look like they're spectating on that snap, it's better than picking up a penalty in the red zone. David Andrews (and Sony Michel) had a rough go in pass protection on Chris Jones for one snap, allowing a Brady sack. But this group only allowed two hits (not including the one Brady brought upon himself before fumbling), and Shaq Mason and Joe Thuney were forces in the run. 

SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
This is a brutally tough grade. The kick coverage would likely get an "F" is that was all we looked at. But the 97-yard return allowed -- "Brutal," said Matthew Slater -- only counts as a portion of the overall mark, though. Same goes for the Patriots squib kick gone wrong early in the game. How to weigh those against the 50-yarder Stephen Gostkowski drilled to make it a seven-point game in the fourth quarter? To the open end of the stadium, no less? He made five field goals and four extra points by the time the night was over. And the Patriots needed all of them. No punts from this group Sunday, but what they put on tape was only the definition of a mixed bag thanks to the kicker who didn't miss. 

DEFENSIVE LINE: C+
Lawrence Guy and Danny Shelton were asked to step up in the absence of Malcom Brown and they provided some resistance against the run. The Chiefs, however, still averaged 5.5 yards per carry. Woof. What this group needed, in particular in the second half, was more in the way of a pass-rush. Adrian Clayborn provided a pair of pressures in the first half that resulted in third-down failures by the Chiefs, but they couldn't generate much in the way of pressure in the final 30 minutes. Patrick Mahomes wasn't sacked, and he was hit three times by this crowd. 

LINEBACKER: B
Dont'a Hightower couldn't be corralled by the Chiefs early. He dropped into coverage, he jammed Travis Kelce at the line of scrimmage, he rushed the passer. He picked Mahomes on the second Chiefs drive of the game. Then he put a hit on Mahomes (after jamming Kelce) that forced the young quarterback into a red-zone pick. He also blew up a short play-action pass to the flat for a loss. Elandon Roberts appeared to have one of his better games as a member of the Patriots, knocking down a pass to force the Chiefs to settle for a field goal in the third quarter. He also came up with a pair of run stuffs on the night and wasn't targeted in 10 coverage snaps. Kyle Van Noy missed a tackle on Kareem Hunt early, and he whiffed on another in space on Tyreek Hill -- which, in fairness, is a difficult task for a player about 50 pounds lighter than Van Noy. But the Patriots could've used some better tackling from this level, which is why their grade is where it is. 

SECONDARY: D

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