Ahead of their matchup on Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) are ready for the New England Patriots (2-1).
So much so, that Chiefs’ defensive-end Frank Clark is already comparing his group to ‘top dog’ teams of the past, like Brady’s Patriots and Jordan’s Bulls.
“You go down the history of sports, the Patriots, the Chicago Bulls, different teams in their own rights, when they were winning, you talk about how they used to win, and did people cheer for them? No, not necessarily,” Clark said after defeating the Ravens. “Everybody wants to see the top dog get knocked off.”
The Patriots will play the Chiefs in Kansas City for the first time since the 2018 AFC Championship game, in which the Patriots pulled off a thrilling 37-31 overtime win. This time, however, the Patriots are led by quarterback Cam Newton — and the question remains whether or not the Chiefs can find a weakness in the Patriots’ own-version of Superman.
Here’s what else the Chiefs are saying about the Patriots:
On playing a competitive team, like the Patriots, that’s prepared to “give their best shot”:
Head coach Andy Reid: “There’s nobody better to answer that question than the Patriots. They’ve done it for so many years. Bill’s been phenomenal with it and we’ve had just one taste here of it. But, we understand that. We understand that you get people’s best shot. When you play the Patriots, you’re always going to get their best shot. That’s how we’re looking at it and we have looked at it throughout the weeks here.”
He added: “Well, some of the things are the same but they’re mixing it up and I think what you see is, they play the strength of the players. So that’s what they’re doing and it’s a tribute to them for coaching that way. That’s what I see. Listen, you’re following the greatest ever with a guy who is a great player too, so it’s a unique situation and they’re making it, just with different strengths. They’re doing a nice job with it.”
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes: “I mean, luckily for us, we’ve played them a good amount of times. That’s when you see all the different types of stuff that they presented us and offenses like us. You know there’s going to be un-scouted stuff, but there’s going to be stuff that [Belichick’s] going to throw out there. I mean, that’s why he’s one of the best coaches of all time, and we have to make sure that we are able to make adjustments quickly and find ways to not have negative plays and have positive ones.”
Thoughts on Cam Newton:
Reid: “Cam can do anything. He’s been the passer, he’s been the runner, he’s been the whole deal. You have to prepare for everything. Yeah, they have the run game that’s tremendous. You also have a guy that can throw the football. I’ve played against Cam enough and seen him enough to know how explosive he is doing both.”
Safety Juan Thornhill: “I mean Cam [Newton], he’s a heck of a quarterback, he’s a heck of an athlete. Going against these guys, they’re very fundamentally sound, so it’s definitely going to be a good game on our end.”
Mahomes: “I wish I could do some of the things that he does as far as how physical he is and the way he’s able to make plays happen. He’s a great football player. Like you said, I watched when he was at Auburn. I guess he went to Blinn College, which is down there kind of close to East Texas. He played against like TJC [Tyler Junior College] and some of those junior colleges. I saw his highlights then when I was back in high school in those days. He’s a great football player and he’s in a great spot now and he’s playing really good football. I think it’s going to be a great challenge to go up against his team, knowing that they’re going to be able to really move the football. Hopefully our defense is going to come out there and play like they did this last week.”
Patriots offense:
Reid: “They do a heck of a job on the offensive side. They’ve got a great coordinator who has been doing it a long time and done it a bunch of different ways, and they’ve got good players — Cam being in a role there that he has fully accepted —and I think he’s enjoying, so he’s doing a great job. So, we anticipate them being able to run the ball, but don’t be fooled because Cam can throw the ball, too, very well. And they mix it up and have the flexibility to do so. Then defensively, likewise, they’re always very well-coached, their scheme is as sound as can be and they do quite a few things out of it.”
He added: “You know any Bill Belichick team is going to be well-coached in having answers. I think he’s probably enjoying that and it sure looks like they’re playing good football. And Josh [McDaniels], we saw what he did with Tim Tebow and now we’re seeing it with Cam. He’s just doing it a little different because Cam has an unbelievable arm and has probably a little better feel for the pass game right now than what Tim did. He’s using every factor of Cam. I think Cam’s enjoying that and they’re playing really good football there.”
The Defense:
Tackle Eric Fisher: “They have a good defense. Obviously, they’ve won football games and defense is a big part of that. And you know, I think as an O-Line, we’re just trying to prepare with the same mentality. Making sure we’re studying, making sure we’re watching the film, what they’re doing, and just practicing the right way. We practice with a game-like tempo, and I think that’s been paying off for us and to keep that going, it’s a challenge, but it’s what we’re up for and Coach Reid doesn’t accept anything but it — so you know we’re excited for another challenge this week and the challenges will just continue. We got a big bullseye on our back coming off the Super Bowl win, and we started this thing right, we just got people going.”
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