The Chiefs didn’t look like the Chiefs in the first half, and Patrick Mahomes didn’t look like Patrick Mahomes in the first half.
Credit Bill Belichick and the Patriots for that.
New England dominated the home team in the first half, shutting out the Chiefs and taking a 14-0 lead into the locker room. The Chiefs get the second half kickoff, but they will have to figure out something different.
The Chiefs had only one big play in the first half with Mahomes finding Tyreek Hill for a 42-yard gain to the New England 23. But Kansas City got no points out of the drive as Mahomes missed a wide open Damien Williams, who had 6.6 yards of separation when Mahomes overthrew him, according to Next Gen Stats.
Mahomes then took a 14-yard sack on third down with Trey Flowers taking the Chiefs out of field-goal range.
The Chiefs gained only 32 yards on 16 plays in the first half. They had three first downs and were 1-for-4 on third down.
Mahomes was sacked three times -- two by Kyle Van Noy -- lost a fumble that he recovered on the final play of the first half and went only 4-of-8 for 65 yards.
Williams has five carries for 10 yards.
The Chiefs are lucky they don’t trail by more.
Tom Brady threw an interception in the end zone to Reggie Ragland with the Patriots on the 1-yard line. Brady had gone 237 consecutive postseason attempts without an interception.
It was the only mistake by the Patriots in the first half.
They gained 245 yards on 42 plays, with 16 first downs. They held the ball for 21:07 of the 30 minutes. New England punted just once.
Sony Michel 75 yards and scored a 1-yard touchdown on 19 carries. James White picked up six first downs, with four carries for 20 yards and three catches for 44 yards.
Brady is 12-of-17 for 146 yards with a touchdown and the interception. He threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Phillip Dorsett with 27 seconds left in the first half.