Oct 11, 2018

NFL Week 6 Predictions

"I wanted to prove a lot of people right." These are the words that Drew Bree's spoke in regards to breaking Peyton Manning's all-time passing yards record in Monday Night's game versus the Redskins. Brees finished the night with a career 72,103 passing yards but the record was not the only thing he proved right.

The Saints started the year off slow, losing to the Buccaneers and edging out a victory over Cleveland in the first two week of the season. Since then, the Saints have won three consecutive games and averaged 39.6 points en route to a 4-1 record, tops in the NFC South.

Saints' QB Drew Brees after breaking the all-time passing yards record (via Daily Snark)

Only three other teams have matched or surpassed the Saints 4-1 record. All three won in week five.

The Bengals scored 24 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Dolphins and stay atop on the AFC North. The Los Angeles Rams narrowly escaped Seattle with a 33-31 victory to remain undefeated. Finally, the Kansas City Chiefs continued to man-handle defenses as Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chief's offense put up 30 points against the Jaguars.

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS VS. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS

Chiefs' running back Kareem Hunt (no copyright intended)

Prior to the start of the 2018 season, I picked the Chiefs to be at or around 8-8. I was skeptical of Patrick Mahomes considering the sample size was small. So far Mahomes has arguably been the best player in football. Can he keep up his MVP like style of play? Week six is where Mahomes may have finally met his match.

The Chiefs travel to Foxborough to take on the defending AFC Champion New England Patriots. The week six match-up is the first time the teams have met since the 2017 season opener which saw the Chiefs leave New England with a 42-27 victory.

Kareem Hunt began his historic rookie campaign on opening night 2017 and Patrick Mahomes could become second Chiefs' rookie to make the biggest impact of their career in New England.

The Chiefs come into week six trying to avoid another collapse after a 5-0 start in back-to-back seasons. Kansas City started 2017 undefeated until a week six loss led to six more in the next seven games. A similar collapse is not expected but a loss this week is.

Throw everything you know out the door about the 2018 season. The stats, records, trades and rankings. What are we left with?

Tom Brady versus Patrick Mahomes.

Mahomes is the hot hand and Brady is, to some, the greatest quarterback ever. Both have fairly similar numbers with Brady only one touchdown pass behind Mahomes for the NFL lead. Mahomes drives the ball down the field with force and looks for the big play. Brady eats away at defenses with quick slants and throws over the middle.

Both have deep threats in the form of Tyreek Hill and Josh Gordon. Each team has elite tight ends with the likes of Travis Kelce and Rob Gronkowski that can make any play on the field. The Chiefs have the advantage in the run game which gives them the ability to open up the offense more and let us be honest, offense is the only side of the ball that matters in this game.

Both teams will score and the game will be a shootout. That in mind, all signs point to Kansas City coming to Foxborough and demolishing the Patriots for the second year in a row but New England never goes quietly.

People questioned Tom Brady last season before he led the Patriots to a near Super Bowl victory. Many did the same this year before a 38-7 victory of the Dolphins and another 38-point outing last week against the Colts. Health on their side, the Patriots are destined to dominate the AFC East and week six will be proof New England can dominate the entire conference as well.

A high scoring game will make for good television. Patrick Mahomes will continue his gunslinger ways throwing for over 350 yards while Tom Brady plays the short game. Defenses will have no say in the outcome as touchdowns will be scored at will and points will be flung on the scoreboard like beers at a Yankees game. Down to the wire is how I predict the game to end as the Patriots narrowly hand the Chiefs their first loss of the 2018 season with a finish leaving us begging for a playoff rematch.

FINAL SCORE: Patriots 34, Chiefs 30