Vince Wilfork is asked if this win is another step forward for his defense.
It's a step in the right direction. Each week you get tougher and tougher. I think you have to be able to move forward and get better each week because the opponents get tougher, games get tougher. Later in the season, you have to be able to win ball games in November and December, so that's where we are. It wasn't perfect out there, but at the same time, we made a lot of plays tonight and it's very exciting to give up just three points as a defense, which was very exciting. We put a lot of emphasis on coming out and attacking third down and certain situations and I think we just came up big. Turnover's helped. Sacks helped. Guys just doing their jobs – that's the main thing. Guys stepped up big when we needed it. We had some guys down where, coming into this game, guys knew we had to be out there and make plays. And they got through it with a lot of confidence – a lot of confidence and it showed tonight. You can't take anything away from these guys. They work hard and there is just so much trust. I mean, the commitment to this team is everything for us, and it showed tonight.
James Ihedigbo responds to a question about the impressive defensive performance despite missing several starters.
"It's a testament to guys stepping up. It's great when you have the depth where key guys can go down and then you can have a performance like this on defense and especially in the secondary. Hats off to Kyle Arrington for having the performance that he did. And Phillip Adams, he played outstanding all game and ended up with a key interception down there in the red zone. And [Antwaun] Molden played great, too."
"Oh, of course [turnovers can bring a defense together]. Any time you're playing a team where you have the mindset that you're going to dominate and going out there and actually doing it. Our offense is explosive and our goal on defense is to get them the ball as much as we can. When we go out and do that and you have big plays like that, it's great. Brings the defense close and it's a lot of energy."
Marcus Cannon gets emotional after being asked about seeing the field for the first time.
"The coaching staff gave me a chance to play and it was awesome."
TEAM TALK
- Post Game Notes: Patriots vs. Chiefs. Team and player milestones reached, records set and trends continued.
- Erik Scalavino analyzes the Patriots win over the Chiefs and the Swiss Army knife of a player they have in Julian Edelman.
- Post Game Pressers: Bill Belichick (8.34 min. video), Tom Brady (2.39 min. video), Vince Wilfork (3.43 min. video) and Kyle Arrington (4.38 min. video)
- Player Interviews: Rob Gronkowski (2.49 min.), James Ihedigbo (3.09 min.) and Julian Edelman (2.17 min.)
- Post Game Quotes: Patriots and Chiefs.
- Patriots Today - Patriots pick off Chiefs. (3.51 min. video)
- Patriots Post Game Show with Adam Jones. (2 hour program)
LOCAL LINKS
- Jackie MacMullan reports Rob Gronkowski is scoring touchdowns at a record clip and becoming a New England folk hero.
- Ian Rapoport points out all the similarities and connections between the Pats and Chiefs ended once the game got going.
- Shalise Manza Young says it took them a while to get rolling against the Chiefs last night, but once the Patriots did, there was no stopping them.
- Mike Reiss gives us his initial reaction after the Patriots win over the Chiefs.
- Christopher Price lists ten things we learned Monday night: The legend of Rob Gronkowski continues to grow.
- Kirk Minihane says the Patriots win was impressive, but hardly convincing, against a sub-.500 team.
- Tom E. Curran talks with ex-Chief Brian Waters about blowout etiquette. Waters says the onus is on everybody to play 60 minutes.
- Michael Hurley can't believe some are talking about the Patriots running up the score, and other leftover Patriots thoughts.
- Bob Ryan heaps the praise on the pass-catching, tackle-breaking, bronco-busting tight end named Rob Gronkowski.
- Tom E. Curran says it's Gronk's world and we're just living in it.
- Monique Walker talks about the Pats running game that got going after a sluggish start.
- Karen Guregian catches up with Ty Law for his perspective on the Patriots no-names on defense, compared to when he played.
- Greg A. Bedard notes Andre Carter is making a name for himself, and opposing offenses will have their eye on him now.
- Ron Borges writes the Pats no-names on defense throttled the life out of the Chiefs, and may do it to the rest of their sub-par opponents, but it doesn't mean they're good.
- Mike Petraglia deflects some of the heat put on the Patriots secondary.
- Mary Paoletti notes Kyle Arrington is proving on a weekly basis why he is one of the leaders in the Patriots secondary.
- Mark Farinella says the Patriots game plan was to stop the Kansas City run game.
- Mike Reiss looks at the snaps played by skill-position players on offense in the Patriots' 34-3 win over the Chiefs.
- Mark Murphy notes Rob Gronkowski's neck-twisting TD put him ahead of Hall-of-famer Mike Ditka to become the fastest TE in NFL history to catch his 20th.
- Karen Guregian reports versatile Julian Edelman has found his groove and even added to his repertoire, playing a dozen snaps at DB.
- Michael Vega focuses on Julian Edelman's multi-tasking performance against the Chiefs.
- Mike Rodak notes Kyle Arrington now sits atop the NFL with 7 interceptions.
- Chris Forsberg reports Shane Vereen scored his first NFL touchdown last night.
- Chris Forsberg charts out Belichick's rank among the NFL's all-time winning list and notes Tom Brady pulled ahead of Joe Montana into 7th place all-time for career wins by a QB.
- Chris Forsberg points out fans and media may run hot and cold with the Patriots, but not Bill Belichick.
- Mike Reiss reports Rob Gronkowski is appealing his $7,500 fine for spiking the ball against the Jets last week.
- Ian Rapoport Patriots Notebook: Tom Brady was not happy with his performance in the first half against the Chiefs; Rookie OL Marcus Cannon saw his first NFL game action last night; Wes Welker extended his streak of 71 consecutive regular-season games with a reception; Matt Light had a walking boot on his right foot after the game.
- Shalise Manza Young Patriots Notebook: Kyle Arrington stands alone with 7 INTs for the year; Pats defense was in rotation mode again last night because of players sidelined with injuries; Marcus Cannon was emotional as he talked about his NFL debut; Tyler Palko took the responsibility for the Chiefs' loss; Shane Vereen got his first NFL carry and his first NFL TD for the Pats' final points; Injury update; Commissioner Roger Goodell was at the game.
- Mike Reiss gives us his three up and three down for the Patriots.
- Dan Duggan offers his Best & Worst of Chiefs vs. Patriots.
- DJ Bean tells us what went right and what went wrong last night in Foxboro.
- Mary Paoletti gives us her Best & Worst of Patriots 34, Chiefs 3.
- Mark Farinella assesses who's hot and who's not after last night's win.
- Mike Reiss looks at the target percentage of Patriots pass-catchers.
- Chris Forsberg charts how Patriots cornerbacks have fared in coverage.
NATIONAL NEWS
- NFL Game Center: Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots. Recap, stats, analysis, and highlight videos.
- Damon Hack (SI) What we learned from Pats' rout.
- Mike Freeman (CBS Sports) Gronkowski reaching elite status with awe-inspiring plays, historic statistics.
- James Walker (ESPN) Patriots putting AFC East on ice.
- Sean Deveney (Sporting News) Patriots have flaws, but late-season foes might not expose them.
- Will Brinson (CBS Sports) Pats kick off cupcake cruise to AFC's top seed.
- Mike Shalin (Fox Sports) Pats score 24 second-half points in rout of Chiefs.
- MNF (ESPN) Getting Robbed.
- Sean Deveney (Sporting News) Gronkowski on record pace after another big night for Pats.
- Stuart Scott, Trent Dilfer and Steve Young (ESPN) Video: Is the Pats' defense good enough?
- Mike Klis (Denver Post) Ranking the NFL's signal callers after Week 11.
- Staff Report (NFL.com) Playoff picture: If the season ended today.
VIEW FROM KANSAS CITY
- Adam Teicher (Kansas City Star) After promising start, Chiefs fall to Patriots 34-3.
- Josh Looney (KCChiefs.com) The morning after: New England.
- Luke Shanno (KCChiefs.com) Chiefs fall to Patriots 34-3.
- Kent Babb (Kansas City Star) Palko's debut as starter not exactly smooth.
- Kent Babb (Kansas City Star) A look at the good, the bad and the ugly from the Patriots game.
- Sam Mellinger (Kansas City Star) Todd Haley needs to take risks as coach.