In front of a crowd that set the new record for highest decibel level at an NFL Game, the Chiefs dismanteled the Patriots 41-14 on Monday Night Football. The Patriots struggling offensive line combined with Brady's accuracy issues doomed them against Tamba Hali and Justin Houston while the Patriots had no answer for the Chiefs balanced offensive attack. The Chiefs had a strong opening possession, reaching the Patriots 46, but were forced to punt. After a Patriots three-and-out, the Chiefs struck with 11-play, 73-yard drive, with Jamaal Charles scoring on a 2-yard touchdown run. The Patriots managed to reach the Chiefs 42-yard line on their next drive but were once again forced to punt. On the Chiefs' next possession, Knile Davis powered his way for a 48-yard carry to the Patriots 38-yard line. Next, Alex Smith hit star tight-end Travis Kelce on a 33-yard catch-and-run to the Patriots 5-yard line. Finally, Smith hit Charles for a five-yard touchdown pass, extending the Chiefs lead to 14-0. The Patriots once again drove into Chiefs' territory on their next drive, but again punted away. Later, the Chiefs drove all the way to the Patriots 4-yard line, and Smith hit Dwayne Bowe at the Patriots 1-yard line, which should have ended the half, but Logan Ryan was called for a hands-to-the face on Donnie Avery, allowing one more play, and Cairo Santos booted a 22-yard chip-shot field goal for a 17-0 Chiefs lead at halftime. The Chiefs had gained 303 yards of offense in the first half, the most allowed in one half by the Patriots under Belichick. Both teams punted on their initial second-half possession, but on 2nd and 7 on the Patriots' next possession, Tamba Hali, almost completely untouched by left tackle Nate Solder, strip-sacked Brady and recovered for Kansas City at the Patriots 9. Two plays later, Smith threw a quick pass to Charles out of the backfield for a touchdown, Charles' third, increasing Kansas City's lead to 24-0. On the Patriots' second play of their next drive, a miscommunication between Brady and Edelman led to an interception by Sean Smith who returned the ball 34 yards to the New England 13 yard line. The Patriots defense managed to keep Kansas City out of the end zone, but Santos booted a 31-yard field goal, giving Kansas City a 27-0 lead. On the Patriots next drive, Vereen ran for 9 yards on 1st down. After being stuffed for no gain on the next play, Brady hit Vereen for a 28-yard gain to the Chiefs 44. On the very next play, Brady hit Brandon LaFell who broke through three defenders and raced off for a 44-yard touchdown, making the score 27-7. However, the Chiefs couldn't be stopped. Kansas City answered right back, marching 80 yards in 12 plays, converting two third-and-longs in the process, and scoring on Smith's two-yard touchdown strike to Kelce extending the lead to 34-7, and killing any hope of a Patriots comeback. On the ensuing Patriots drive, facing a 3rd-and-4 from their own 26, Husain Abdullah intercepted a Brady pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, giving the Chiefs a 41-7 lead. Abdullah fell to his knees in a Muslim prayer, and was flagged for unnecessary roughness. This caused controversy as many thought it was for his praying. With the deficit an insurmountable 41-7, Brady was benched and rookie Jimmy Garoppolo stepped in. Garoppolo completed 3 passes on the drive: a 5-yard pass to Edelman, a 37-yard screen to LaFell, then a 13-yard touchdown pass to Rob Gronkowski, for a 41-14 score. After both teams punted, the Chiefs ran out the rest of the clock to end the game. Jamaal Charles was the main weapon of the Chiefs' offense, totaling 108 yards from scrimmage (92 rushing, 16 receiving) and three touchdowns. Knile Davis ran the ball 16 times for 107 yards. Alex Smith was 20/26 for 236 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Chiefs forced three turnovers and converted them into 17 points while committing no turnovers themselves. Brady completed 14 of 23 passes for a pedestrian 159 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions while being sacked 3 times. Brandon LaFell was the sole offensive star for the Patriots, catching 6 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown.  The 27 point margin of defeat represented the second largest loss for the Patriots in the Bill Belichick era (the Patriots' worst loss was a 31-point loss (31-0) to the Bills in Week 1 of the 2003 season). With the loss, the Patriots' record dropped to 2-2. In his regular press conference the ensuing Wednesday, when asked about the loss (primarily by Albert Breer) he replied with his now famous line, "We're on to Cincinnati". The Patriots would proceed to win ten of their final twelve regular season games, clinch the #1 seed, win the AFC Championship, and win the Super Bowl, making that quote a piece of Patriots lore. Following their Super Bowl victory over the Seahawks, several Patriots players, including Brady himself, pointed to this game as the turning point in the Patriots season.

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