vs. 

10                               3

Week 11 NFL Game Thread

New England Patirots (6-3) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (4-5)

Monday, November 21st, 2011 | 8:30 PM ET

TV: ESPN | Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Chiefs Coverage: Arrowhead Pride

First half thoughts:

• Not a good start for the Patriots, especially on the offensive side of the ball.  Tom Brady began the game 1/5, and against a Chiefs defense that had just nine sacks on the year (six of them coming from Tamba Hali), he couldn't seem to find any time to throw the football.  Things improved in the second quarter, with Brady finding tight end Rob Gronkowski wide open for the middle for a long touchdown. 
• Aside from a couple of Danny Woodhead runs in the two minute drill, the team hasn't had much to talk about in the running game either.
• Defensively, the Patriots have been pretty solid thus far.  Patriots defensive end Andre Carter has had a very solid game both as a pass rusher and run defender. Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko has kept an up tempo style of offense going for the Chiefs, and has found some quick completions.
• On the Chiefs field goal drive, the Patriots did a nice job stopping Kansas City in the red zone.  However, the chip shot field goal was set up by a long Thomas Jones run that was boosted by a terrible angle taken by James Ihedigbo.  Overall, the Patriots run defense has been a bit spotty.  Dexter McCluster has found some good running lanes, but the Patriots have neutralized the majority of Chiefs' runs.
• The Patriots are up just 10-3 at halftime, and this just hasn't been a very exciting game.  The Patriots get the ball to start the second half, so hopefully they can start to get the tempo going.