3 things to know about the Chiefs

Chiefs QB Alex Smith. Lynne Sladky/AP

The Patriots travel to Kansas City this week to face the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football and it should be a tough match up on several levels. These are the 3 main things that I think that Pats will have to watch out for when they roll into Arrowhead on Monday.

1.) The 3-TE sets: The Chiefs used a 3-tight end set on 15 plays this season with Anthony Fasano, Travis Kelce, and Demitrius Harris according to ESPN. 13 of those plays came against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday according to ESPN. Per ESPN's report, those plays yielded an average of 6.2 rushing yards per carry and quarterback Alex Smith completed 4 of 5 passes for 62 yards when using the 3-TE sets.

Here's what Andy Reid had to say about it:

“We put that in in [offseason practice] and we ran it a little bit last week,’’ coach Andy Reid said. “We thought we could get a decent matchup."

“They give us some flexibility because they’re all good receivers,’’ Reid said. “The thing that probably surprises you the most is Harris and his ability to block.

“You look at Harris and you look at the improvement he’s made and some of the physical blocks he made in that game. That was pretty impressive."

2.) Jamaal Charles: This guy's always a threat out of the backfield. He's only got 23 rushing yards and 23 receiving yards this season, but he's got 5,846 rushing yards and 1,998 receiving yards in his career according to ESPN, so he's definitely someone the Patriots will need to watch. He's a top-3 running back right now behind Adrian Peterson and LeSean McCoy. Right now, it's probably just down to him and LeSean McCoy as far as best running back in the league, with Peterson's legal troubles keeping him off the field right now. The Patriots got run over by Knowshon Moreno in Week 1, but have been decent against the run since. Right now, they rank 11th in the league against the run, averaging 104 YPG through 3 weeks, but they can expect that to go way up if they're not careful against Jamaal Charles.

3.) The noise factor: The noise will be a factor at Arrowhead Stadium. Those fans are crazy about their team, and the noise could cause problems for an offensive line that has already had way more than it's fair share of problems so far this year. For more on the noise, click here.


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