Pats Preview: Chiefs @ Pats

As the New England Patriots get set to host the Kansas City Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs, Saturday at 4:20 pm, here's a look at some of the story lines and themes for the match up:

There's A First Time For Everything- Coming into Saturday's game the Patriots and Chiefs have played each other 33 times. Saturday will mark the first time, however, that the teams will meet in the postseason.

Hot Streak- Kansas City is on an absolute hot streak, to say the least. Winners of their last 11 games, the Chiefs enter Saturday's game as arguably the hottest team in the NFL. After starting the season at 1-5, the Chiefs have run the table, relying on a top tier defense and effective offense. While they didn't necessarily play the toughest schedule or beat the best teams (see their wild card round win over the terribly ineffective Texans as an example), they still won 11 ball games in a row. That's impressive no matter who they did or didn't play.

Looking for Rebirth- With as hot as Kansas City has been lately, the Patriots have been on the opposite end of the spectrum. They've lost four of their last six games and have been dealing with a host of injuries to key players. With a few players coming back and a couple of guys getting healthier in the bye week, the hope is that the team can get back on track and advance in the postseason.

Gronk Uncertainty- Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski  caused major concern for Patriots Nation this week after missing two practices and reportedly received a knee injection yesterday at a Boston hospital. He has officially been listed as questionable for the game, but it appears he will give it a go. Dealing with a knee issue that has seemingly gotten worse over the team's first round bye week, Gronkowski has been receiving extensive treatment the past few days. His ability to at least get on the field and line up against the Chiefs is extremely important to the Patriot offense. While it looks unlikely that he will be playing at the star caliber level Pats fans have come to expect, his ability to keep the defense honest and free up space for guys like Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola could be the key to New England putting up big points and coasting to an easy win.

He's Back- New England's top wide receiver Julian Edelman is back and ready to go this week, after suffering a Jones fracture in the team's Week 10 win over the New York Giants. Following surgery to fix the fracture, rehab and a couple of weeks of practice the 29-year-old is expected to play in Saturday's divisional round bout, despite being listed as questionable on the injury report. Edelman, who was enjoying an All-Pro caliber season prior to his injury, finished the regular season with 61 catches for 692 yards and seven scores through just over a half of season. His reemergence in the Patriot offense could be one of the top difference makers in this game. With the seventh year pro back in the game plan, the team can utilize him as a surrogate for the struggling running game. A lot of the short quick pass plays he has been known for linking up with the Brady for serve as a good alternative to running plays and help keep the defense honest and from selling out. Also, his comfort level with Brady and his reliable play should help alleviate some of the pressure off of the Patriot offensive line as they try to hold off the strong Kansas City pass rush. By Brady being able to get the ball out quickly to Edelman, the line will have to hold their blocks for less time.

12 Question Marks- The Patriots enter the game with 12 players listed as questionable to play. The group is headlined by Gronkowski, Edelman, defensive end Chandler Jones, Linebacker Dont'a Hightower and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer. Of course, being listed as questionable does not mean that the player will not be active, rather that there is more a 50-50 chance he'll be able to go. As mentioned earlier, both Gronkowski and Edelman are expected to at least be active. All signs point to Jones and Hightower being active as well. Despite his bizarre weekend hospital trip, Jones has practiced all week long and barring a team imposed ban, the team's leader in sacks (12.5) should be on the field. Hightower's abilities in run defense, and the defense as a hole for that matter, are so important to the team that even if he is not 100 percent healthy he's got to be out on the field. As for Vollmer, he is one of the more underrated, yet extremely important, questionable players for the Pats. The Patriots' offensive line just isn't very good and while having a healthy Edelman and Amendola out there in the passing game will help alleviate some of their problems, the presence of Vollmer will definitely help as well. He hasn't had a tremendous season, but his experience in games like this and his ability to play both tackle positions is important, especially against a team like the Chiefs that has such a solid front seven. If Vollmer's sprained ankle is healed enough to play, that could be a big boost to the Patriot offense.

Brady's Postseason Pedigree- New England's quarterback has, by far the most impressive postseason resume of anyone in this game. In 29 postseason games, Brady and the Patriots have come out victorious 21 times. The future Hall-of-Famer has also thrown for 7,345 yards and 53 touchdowns in postseason play.

Smith's Legs- Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith, a former number one draft pick, is widely considered one of the league's better quarterbacks. While that's the case, the 31-year-old is not really seen as a dominant or elite guy, like New England's Tom Brady is, and is seen more as a "game manager." No matter how you slice or dice it, Smith is a pretty solid QB. He threw for 3,486 yards and 20 touchdowns with just seven interceptions this season. Smith's best asset, though, seems to be his ability to move in the pocket, scramble for extra yardage and make something out of nothing with his legs on plays that have broken down. In fact, Smith is the team's second leading rusher this season, carrying the ball 84 times for 498 yards. With the loss of top running back Jamaal Charles earlier this year to an ACL injury, Smith's ability to scramble and run the read option effectively has allowed the team to make up for a chunk of the yardage they had planned on getting this year.New England's defensive front seven will have to do a good job of focusing on Smith, reading the option plays well and not allowing him to scramble out of trouble when the coverage is good on the back end, in order to win the game.

Kansas City Injury Concerns- While the Patriots have a host of injury concerns, heading into the game, the Chiefs have some questions of their own. First off, Kansas City has already ruled out two starting offensive linemen, Mitch Morse and Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, for the match. They also have a few key players listed as questionable for the game. One is there top receiving option Jeremy Maclin, who suffered what looked to be a season ending knee injury in last week's win over Houston. Instead, the injury was ruled as a much more manageable high ankle sprain. Though Maclin didn't practice much this week, he is expected to at least suit up. If he truly is limited by the injury, that could cause major issues for the already limited Kansas City offense. The Chiefs are also unsure whether their two top pass rushers, Tamba Hali (Knee/Thumb) and Justin Houston (Knee) will be healthy for the game. If both or one cannot play that could greatly alter Kansas City's defensive abilities and help give the Patriot offensive line a bit of an advantage.

A Look to the Past- This game, in some ways, could be looked at as a redemption game for New England, after the 41-14 whipping they received in Kansas City Week 4 of last year. That loss, of course, spurred the change in New England's season, which ended up resulting in a championship. While last season turned out well in New England, you better believe part of head coach Bill Belichick's focus for the team this week is avenging that embarrassing loss from last year.

Check the full injury report, here.

Check out some Match up Stats, here.

Prediction- All in all, the game is shaping up to be a close match up between two skilled teams. When looking at the teams both offensively and defensively, the Pats and Chiefs are very close to even on defense. They're both in the top 10 in the league in yards allowed per game, yards allowed per play, third down defense, rush yards allowed per game and sacks. Offense is where a real difference can be seen. With the exception of rushing yards per game, the Patriots are the better team this year. Of course, the Patriot offense hasn't been great as of late, but getting some key guys back and healthy could give them a boost to get back up in the mid 30's in terms of points scored. What it really looks like it will come down to is which group is healthier to start the game and which group can play better throughout the game, the Patriot offense or the Chiefs' defense. If Kansas City pulls off the upset, they'll need special teams help as well, because their offense just isn't dynamic enough to beat the Pats' defense consistently. With all that being said, I've got to go with the Patriots here. They're at home, they have Tom Brady, they have a better offensive unit then they've had the whole second half of the season and they have solid defensive and special teams units. Pats-34, Chiefs-14