Week 14 Late Games Open Thread

Week 14 of the 2019 NFL season continues with four late afternoon games.

The best of the four games has the 10-2 New England Patriots hosting the 8-4 Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of the 2018-19 AFC Championship Game. The Patriots have lost two of their last four games and are looking unusually vulnerable as their superstar quarterback Tom Brady continues to look like he is finally losing his battle with Father Time. If this game turns into a shootout the Patriots may not be able to keep up with the Chiefs’ high octane offense, led by Patrick Mahomes at quarterback. Mahomes isn’t having quite the record breaking type season he had last year, but any quarterback in the league would love to be able to call a year in which, after 12 games, he has a 20/2 touchdown to interception ratio and a 107 passer rating a down year. The Chiefs are 3rd in the NFL in scoring, and if their offense proves more than a match for the Patriots 1st in the NFL scoring defense, look for the Chiefs to pull off the upset as the questions regarding the future of the Patriots and Tom Brady begin to deepen.

Elsewhere the 4-8 Jacksonville Jaguars host the 4-8 Los Angeles Chargers in the Disappointment Bowl; the fading 6-6 Oakland Raiders, coming off back to back blow out losses, try to salvage their season against the surging 7-5 Tennessee Titans in a desperate struggle for the last wild card spot in the AFC; and the 3-9-1 Arizona Cardinals host the NFL’s greatest dynasty, the 7-5 Pittsburgh Steelers, who never seem to have a bad year.

Enjoy the games everybody. Perhaps the Patriots will get embarrassed in their first losing streak since December of 2018. One can hope. Use this thread to comment on whichever late afternoon games catch your fancy.