If you thought Nick Wright was going to change tune about the New England Patriots after being forced to eat crow a week ago, think again.
Wright predicted the Patriots’ dynasty was going to come to a screeching halt in the divisional round against the Los Angeles Chargers. Not only was Wright’s take off the mark, New England downed Los Angeles and advanced to its eighth straight AFC Championship Game with relative ease.
Well, Wright appears to be sticking to his guns as a Patriots doubter ahead of Sunday’s showdown at Arrowhead Stadium. While the “First Things First” co-host conceded the fact that New England certainly has a chance against the Kansas City Chiefs, he doesn’t sound too high on its prospects of booking a ticket to Super Bowl LIII.
“Instead of playing a team — the Chargers — who’s been in that building and won, you’re playing a team that’s been awful on the road,” Wright told Colin Cowherd during Wednesday’s edition of “The Herd” on FOX Sports 1. “A team you have enormous success against as far as scoring points, and Colin, I’m going to throw a stat at you that might blow your mind. The Chiefs have not allowed 30 points at home — this is per the Action Network — in 34 consecutive games. The second-longest in the NFL is 16. So you have a defense that has actually been good at home in the past four-plus years and you know the offense is getting to 30. The offense stopped trying after halftime against your overrated (Indianapolis) Colts last week and got to 31. They couldn’t do anything in the first half in New England the first time around and got to 40. They have a quarterback who’s having one of the five greatest seasons any quarterback has ever had in NFL history. So the Pats will have to get to at least 32 points to win this football game, I don’t know if they can.”
While the Chiefs’ offense is as high-powered as they come, is it really a slam dunk that Patrick Mahomes and Co. eclipse the 30-point threshold? New England’s defense has been surging of late, as it’s only allowed one 30-plus point performance over the last seven weeks. And for what it’s worth, that outlier came via the “Miami Miracle” in Week 14. Additionally, the Patriots only twice have allowed their opponent to score 30 or more points in their last 20 playoff contests.
The fact of the matter is, there’s a good chance neither team hits 30 points, as the brutal weather conditions expected for Sunday in KC could prevent the offensive shootout that many are expecting.
