The matchup featured two of the best lines in football — a Chiefs front that produced more sacks than any other team in the league, and a Patriots offensive line that protected its quarterback as well as any other. It prompted popular belief that Sunday’s AFC Championship Game could be largely dictated by a battle up front.
And it was.
But so was the opposite one.
In their 37-31 overtime win Sunday, it was the Patriots’ pass rush that disrupted the flow of the Chiefs’ offense. New England had four sacks, some of them directly costing Kansas City an opportunity for points.