The New England Patriots ran the ball just six times in the first half of their AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, but they still managed to hold a 14-6 lead at halftime.
Quarterback Tom Brady led the Patriots all the way down the field in their opening drive, throwing on all 11 plays, which he capped off with an eight-yard touchdown pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski.
Kansas City immediately responded with a long drive of their own, but had to settle for the field goal. The defenses took over from there as the score remained 7-3 until late in the second quarter when Brady scored on a quarterback sneak at the goal line. It is his fourth rushing touchdown of the season, all of which have been on one-yard QB sneaks.
The Chiefs were finally able to get their offense going again on their last drive of the half, getting all the way into the red zone, but had to settle for a field goal with 16 seconds remaining.
Surprisingly, New England wasn't limited by the multitude of injuries they had over the last few weeks of the season. Gronkowski showed no ill effects of the knee and back injuries he had been dealing with, while wide receivers Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman also appeared to be playing at full speed despite being listed as questionable. Edelman did seem out of sync with Brady as he dropped three passes in the first half, though this was his first game since suffering a broken foot against the New York Giants on Nov. 15.
Brady was his usual productive self in the first half, completing 17/25 passes for 157 yards and two total touchdowns. Gronk recorded four catches for 47 yards and that score, while Edelman caught five passes for 45 yards.
The Chiefs' offense was completely stagnant after their opening drive as quarterback Alex Smith passed for just 65 yards in the first 30 minutes. After starting the game 5/5 passing, Smith completed just 5/16 passes for the rest of the half.
Running back Charcandrick West was KC's most productive player, rushing for 54 yards on nine carries.
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