The Patriots have received next to nothing from their offense in recent weeks.
New England has scored 22 points or less in each of its last four games, over which span the reigning Super Bowl champions posted a 2-2 record. Tom Brady and Co. showed spurts of life late in their Week 13 loss to the Texans, but it was after Houston collected a 19-point lead and by all accounts was in cruise control.
But despite these struggles, Brian Westbrook likes Brady’s chances of outplaying Patrick Mahomes this Sunday when the Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs. As the two-time Pro Bowl running back pointed out Wednesday on FS1’s “First Things First,” the Patriots offense might not be the weakest unit on the field when these two AFC powerhouses collide.
“This is what I know about the New England Patriots at home: They’ve won 21 straight, including the playoffs, going back to last year. They’re really good at home,” Westbrook said. “This year that defense has only given up two touchdowns with seven interceptions, so they get at the quarterback. They attack the football. The last three quarterbacks that have played there (in New England) only averaged 189 yards passing in the football game. That’s how good that defense is at home, in particular. When you talk about Mahomes-Brady, you certainly have to factor in the defense that they’re playing. I have no faith in Kansas City and this new defense that has produced a bunch of turnovers. Tyrann Mathieu has been great. However, I’m not sure they can do that going on the road, going into Foxboro and winning there. That’s a different thing for that football team. I’m not so sure that I would take Mahomes over Brady. In fact, I would take Brady over Mahomes in this matchup based on the defense.”
"This is what I know about the Patriots at home — they've won 21 straight, including the playoffs, going back to last year. The last 3 QBs that have played in New England have only averaged 189 yards passing. … I would take Brady over Mahomes in this matchup." — @36westbrook pic.twitter.com/oOFBVayEnB
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) December 4, 2019
Westbrook probably is just in throwing some cold water on the buzz surrounding the Chiefs defense, which has looked fairly impressive the last two weeks. But when you consider who Kansas City was squaring up against, the hype might be a bit overblown. The Los Angeles Chargers are remarkable at finding new ways to lose and Derek Car is, well, Derek Carr. Not to mention, it was less than a month ago the Chiefs lost in a shootout to Ryan Tannehill and the Tennessee Titans.
It’s tough to imagine New England’s defense will be able to completely silence Mahomes, but maybe a matchup with the Chiefs is exactly what the Patriots offense needs to get back on track.
