New England Patriots vs. Kansas City Chiefs Preview: Flex, Frustrated Super Bowl Champs?

In a game originally scheduled for Monday Night Football, the New England Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday at Gillette Stadium in a game between one playoff-bound team desperate for a win and one eliminated team that could benefit from losing.

In Week 15, the New England Patriots host the frustrated Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in a game that was flexed out of prime time from Monday Night. This matchup will be first career game vs. the reigning-Super Bowl champion Chiefs for Bailey Zappe.

Despite Zappe's surprisingly productive performance in last Thursday's upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, coach Bill Belichick on Monday morning was in no mood to name him the starter ... either for Sunday's home game against Kansas City nor the remainder of the Pats' meaningless four games.

Bill Belichick and the Patriots host the Chiefs and their litany of story lines Sunday in Foxboro

The 3-10 Patriots were eliminated from the playoffs on Sunday, the earliest New England has been out of contention in Belichick's time as head coach. 

The Chiefs are coming off their second straight loss, falling 20-17 to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in a frustrating defeat for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.

Mahomes was visibly and vocally upset with the offsides penalty that negated what would have been the go-ahead touchdown against the Bills. He slammed his helmet, screamed on the sidelines and complained in his press conference after receiver Kadarius Toney was flagged for being offsides on a play that ended with him scoring off of a lateral thrown by Travis Kelce. 

The loss hurt the Chief's chances at the AFC's No. 1 seed and a first-round playoff bye. 

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RECORDS: New England Patriots (3-10) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (8-5)

ODDS: New England is a 9.5-point underdog vs. the Chiefs

GAME TIME: Sunday, December 17, 2023 at 1 p.m. ET

LOCATION: Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, MA

TV/RADIO: FOX, 98.5 FM THE SPORTS HUB

THE FINAL WORD:  Earlier this season, Belichick openly talked about his affection for Taylor Swift. In September, he joked that the popular singer was the "biggest catch" of Travis Kelce's career. This week, Belichick was light-heartedly asked if he could get tickets for a co-host so she could meet Swift. 

Grumbled Belichick on his weekly WEEI radio show, "I don’t really know anything about tickets.”

Another host followed-up on the Swift subject, asking if he was going to introduce himself to her sometime Sunday.

Grumbled Belichick even more, "I’m really focused on trying to get our team ready to play Kansas City, so ...”

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