AFC Championship: New England Patriots travel to face Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, one win from a Super Bowl berth. Kickoff time: 6:40pm. Winner advances to the Super Bowl. Loser carries one of the year's hardest what-ifs into the offseason.
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship, with a Super Bowl berth on the line. The conference title round is the one that turns nameplates into legacy. For Kansas City Chiefs, the home crowd at Arrowhead Stadium is asked to be a player; for New England Patriots, the road environment is supposed to be the test that breaks lesser teams. Coaches will lean on what worked all year. Players will lean on what their bodies have left in them.
New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs have outlasted everyone else in their conference. One walks out of Arrowhead Stadium with the conference title; the other walks out with a brutal what-if. Around the league, coaches are watching tape on both staffs for next year's prep. Every Super Bowl-bound team starts the offseason as the team to beat.
New England Patriots versus Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of New England Patriots-Kansas City Chiefs cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 11-5 | W2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 7-9 | L3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6-10 | W1 |
| New York Jets | 4-12 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens | 10-6 | W3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-6-1 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 7-8-1 | L1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 6-10 | L2 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Houston Texans | 11-5 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 10-6 | W4 |
| Tennessee Titans | 9-7 | L1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 5-11 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs | 12-4 | W1 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | 12-4 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 6-10 | L4 |
| Oakland Raiders | 4-12 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams | 13-3 | -- |
| Seattle Seahawks | 10-6 | W2 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4-12 | L2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3-13 | -- |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 10-6 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 9-7 | W3 |
| Washington Redskins | 7-9 | L2 |
| New York Giants | 5-11 | L3 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago Bears | 12-4 | W4 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8-7-1 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6-9-1 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 6-10 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 13-3 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 7-9 | W3 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7-9 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 5-11 | L4 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 714173137 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 0 | 0 | 7 | 24 | 0073131 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Sony Michel 1 yard rush ( Stephen Gostkowski kick) | 7-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | Phillip Dorsett 29 yard pass from Tom Brady ( Stephen Gostkowski kick) | 14-0 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | Travis Kelce 12 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes ( Harrison Butker kick) | 14-7 |
| Patriots | Stephen Gostkowski 47 yard field goal | 17-7 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Chiefs | Damien Williams 1 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes ( Harrison Butker kick) | 17-14 |
| Chiefs | Damien Williams 23 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes ( Harrison Butker kick) | 17-21 |
| Patriots | Sony Michel 10 yard rush ( Stephen Gostkowski kick) | 24-21 |
| Chiefs | Damien Williams 2 yard rush ( Harrison Butker kick) | 24-28 |
| Patriots | Rex Burkhead 4 yard rush ( Stephen Gostkowski kick) | 31-28 |
| Chiefs | Harrison Butker 39 yard field goal | 31-31 |
| OT | ||
| Patriots | Rex Burkhead 2 yard rush | 37-31 |
| Patriots | Chiefs | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 36 | 18 |
| Total Yards | 524 | 290 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 30/46 | 16/31 |
| Pass yards | 348 | 295 |
| Pass TD | 1 | 3 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 0 | 4 |
| Sack yards lost | 0 | 46 |
| Net pass yards | 348 | 249 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 48 | 12 |
| Rush yards | 176 | 41 |
| Rush TD | 4 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 6 | 4 |
| Penalty yards | 61 | 28 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | |||||
| Tom Brady | 30/46 | 348 | 1 | 2 | |
| KAN | |||||
| Patrick Mahomes | 16/31 | 295 | 3 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Sony Michel | 29 | 113 | 2 | 11 |
| Rex Burkhead | 12 | 41 | 2 | 14 |
| James White | 6 | 23 | 0 | 9 |
| Tom Brady | 1 | -1 | 0 | -1 |
| KAN | ||||
| Damien Williams | 10 | 30 | 1 | 10 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 2 | 11 | 0 | 9 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NWE | ||||
| Julian Edelman | 7 | 96 | 0 | 20 |
| Rob Gronkowski | 6 | 79 | 0 | 25 |
| James White | 4 | 49 | 0 | 30 |
| Chris Hogan | 5 | 45 | 0 | 11 |
| Phillip Dorsett | 1 | 29 | 1 | 29 |
| Rex Burkhead | 4 | 23 | 0 | 6 |
| Cordarrelle Patterson | 2 | 18 | 0 | 15 |
| James Develin | 1 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| KAN | ||||
| Sammy Watkins | 4 | 114 | 0 | 54 |
| Damien Williams | 5 | 66 | 2 | 33 |
| Tyreek Hill | 1 | 42 | 0 | 42 |
| Demarcus Robinson | 1 | 27 | 0 | 27 |
| Travis Kelce | 3 | 23 | 1 | 12 |
| Spencer Ware | 1 | 21 | 0 | 21 |
| Demetrius Harris | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
New England Patriots defeated Kansas City Chiefs 37-31 at Arrowhead Stadium in the AFC Championship. The final scoring play was Patriots: Rex Burkhead 2 yard rush. Top line of the day: Tom Brady: 348 pass yards on 30-of-46, 1 TD, 2 INT. New England Patriots advance to the Super Bowl.
New England Patriots walked out of Arrowhead Stadium as the team that survived an AFC Championship Kansas City Chiefs will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 37-31. A one-score game throughout. The decisive points came on the fewest possible margin, which is how these matchups usually resolve. The final scoring play came from Patriots: Rex Burkhead 2 yard rush. Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. New England Patriots are bound for the Super Bowl.
New England Patriots 37, Kansas City Chiefs 31. Round: AFC Championship. Attendance: 77034. Q1: 1 scoring play. Q2: 1 scoring play. Q3: 2 scoring plays. Q4: 6 scoring plays. OT: 1 scoring play. Top performers: - Tom Brady: 348 pass yards on 30-of-46, 1 TD, 2 INT - Sony Michel: 113 rush yards on 29 carries - Sammy Watkins: 4 catches for 114 yards
AFC Championship, played at Arrowhead Stadium. Final: New England Patriots 37, Kansas City Chiefs 31, with New England Patriots taking the result by 6. **First quarter**
- Patriots: Sony Michel 1 yard rush ( Stephen Gostkowski kick)
**Second quarter**
- Patriots: Phillip Dorsett 29 yard pass from Tom Brady ( Stephen Gostkowski kick)
**Third quarter**
- Chiefs: Travis Kelce 12 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes ( Harrison Butker kick) - Patriots: Stephen Gostkowski 47 yard field goal
**Fourth quarter**
- Chiefs: Damien Williams 1 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes ( Harrison Butker kick) - Chiefs: Damien Williams 23 yard pass from Patrick Mahomes ( Harrison Butker kick) - Patriots: Sony Michel 10 yard rush ( Stephen Gostkowski kick) - Chiefs: Damien Williams 2 yard rush ( Harrison Butker kick) - Patriots: Rex Burkhead 4 yard rush ( Stephen Gostkowski kick) - Chiefs: Harrison Butker 39 yard field goal
**Overtime**
- Patriots: Rex Burkhead 2 yard rush
**Top performers**
- Tom Brady: 348 pass yards on 30-of-46, 1 TD, 2 INT - Sony Michel: 113 rush yards on 29 carries - Sammy Watkins: 4 catches for 114 yards