WANTED & UNWANTED » cast in the role of underdog this week.“It doesn’t

KANSAS CITY Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys 2019 , Mo. — Eric Berry made his long-awaited return to the field, Chris Jones piled up some more sacks to match an NFL record and the Kansas City Chiefs‘ maligned defense finally looked like a dominant force for a while.Or at least, one that wouldn’t hold back their high-powered offense.But all that was wiped away in just more than three minutes Thursday night, when Philip Rivers engineered a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback for the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chiefs did their part with blown assignments and penalties, and rather than clinch the AFC West title and a first-round playoff bye, they left Arrowhead Stadium with a 29-28 loss and the very real possibility of hitting the road for the postseason.Their defense again had let them down.“We’ve got to finish. Ain’t no differences. We beat ourselves. That’s how I feel,” Chiefs linebacker Reggie Ragland said. “Only thing that can stop us is us, and we beat ourselves.”Not at the start, when Berry returned from a heel injury that had kept him out since the opening weeks of training camp. Steven Nelson intercepted Rivers’ pass on the second play of the game, Kendall Fuller picked off another throw in the end zone late in the first half and Berry was back in the middle of just about everything as he energized a raucous crowd that braved freezing temperatures.Jones finished with 2 1/2 sacks, tying an NFL mark with at least one in 10 straight games.But the plan all along was for Berry to play only a certain amount of snaps, and the Chiefs stuck to it by sitting him most of the second half. And while it might have been purely coincidence, that was when Los Angeles finally hit its stride on offense.After trailing the entire way, and still facing a 28-14 hole with 3:49 to go Infant Rashad Fenton Jersey , Rivers led his team on a drive that fill-in running back Justin Jackson capped with a touchdown. And when the Chargers’ own defense took the field, they did their job by quickly getting the ball back.Rivers started the deciding drive with a 31-yard strike to Travis Benjamin, then hit him again moments later to convert on fourth down. The Chiefs still had a chance to hold the Chargers, but Fuller was called for pass interference to give Los Angeles the ball just outside the end zone.Mike Williams hauled in a touchdown pass with 4 seconds to go. And when it was confirmed by video review, Chargers coach Anthony Lynn sent his team out for a 2-point conversion and the win.The KC defense had one more chance to make a stop, but nobody was within 10 yards of Williams as he made the catch and raced up the field to celebrate.“It’s definitely tough. Any time you get so close and come up short, it’s tough, especially when you know how hard the guys you’ve been putting in the work with,” Chiefs linebacker Dorian O’Daniel said. “It’s frustrating, obviously, but it’s part of the game.”Even more frustrating given what was at stake.The Chiefs (11-3) could have clinched their third consecutive AFC West crown, something the club has never accomplished, along with a first-round playoff bye. And they could have earned home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs if Pittsburgh were to knock off New England on Sunday.Instead, their games at Seattle and home against Oakland have taken on real importance.“If you narrow it down Rashad Fenton Jersey nfl draft , it was both sides of the ball,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We were in great position to get off the field. We didn’t. We extended a lot of those drives with penalties, right or wrong. They’re done. So we’ve got to do better. We’re not making any excuses.”100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The Patriots are going on the road again in the playoffs, a place that hasn’t always been kind to them during the Tom Brady era.New England was unbeatable at home this season, going 8-0 during the regular season and rolling past the Los Angeles Chargers in the divisional round.Playing outside of Massachusetts has provided different outcomes. Brady is 8-4 in AFC championship games with a 6-1 record at home. But he’s just 2-3 on the road in the conference title game, with both wins coming at Pittsburgh during the 2001 and 2004 seasons. New England was 3-5 in games away from Gillette Stadium in the 2018 regular season.The Patriots enter Sunday’s AFC title game at Kansas City trying to become the first team since the 1990s Bills to reach the Super Bowl after losing it the previous season. They haven’t won a road playoff game since beating the Chargers 24-21 in the divisional round of the 2006 season.The Patriots lost to the Colts on the road in the 2006 AFC title game and twice at Denver — in the AFC championship game during the 2013 season and again in the 2015 AFC title game. New England has played the rest of its 22 playoff games since 2006 at home or a neutral field in the Super Bowl.“It’s tough to beat the No. 1 seed on the road. That’s the reality, just like we’re tough to beat at home when we’re the No. 1 seed,” Brady said this week. “It takes a lot. It takes a lot of good football. It takes a great complementary game. All three phases have to be on point. We’re going against a team that scores a lot of points.”They will also have to deal with what could be the coldest temperature for a game in Arrowhead Stadium history. An arctic blast is forecast for Kansas City.Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower said his focus will be on trying to contain the NFL’s top scoring offense and not the thermometer.“It’s definitely one of the hardest places to play. But, at the end of the day, it just comes down to executing. It comes down to football and executing plays,” Hightower said. “They’re a high-powered offense and they’re real good on defense, so obviously defensively, we’re going to have to eliminate big plays.”The Patriots opened the week as a three-point underdog Rashad Fenton Jersey Womens , the first time in 68 games, including playoffs, that Brady didn’t enter a week as the favorite.The previous time Brady wasn’t the favorite was on Sept. 20, 2015, at Buffalo. The Pats were two-point underdogs that day and won the game 40-32.It’s why Chiefs coach Andy Reid is expecting Brady and the Patriots’ best effort on Sunday.“They’re a heck of a team, so I don’t get caught up in all that,” Reid said. “You’re talking about a dynasty, if there is such a thing, in the National Football League. They’ve been that. You’re talking about a head coach that I think the world of him, I think he’s a great coach. He’s done a phenomenal job keeping that thing together. We’re getting ready to get their best shot — offense, defense and special teams.”Brady didn’t hide his thoughts for the Patriots’ critics in the aftermath of their divisional-round win over the Chargers, commenting, “I know everybody thinks we suck and, you know Rashad Fenton Kansas City Chiefs Jerseys , we can’t win any games.” But he tried to downplay being officially cast in the role of underdog this week.“It doesn’t change much for us, but it just kind of shows you what people think about what our chances are. That’s about it,” Brady said.At least one of his teammates didn’t play it quite as coyly.Receiver Julian Edelman posted #BetAgainstUs on his Twitter account accompanied with a video that featured highlights of the Chiefs’ season. The montage ends with shots of Brady and Edelman from New England’s comeback win in overtime from a 25-point deficit in the Super Bowl against Atlanta in the 2016 season.So, is being an underdog motivation or not for the Patriots?“If you’re not motivated this week, you’ve got a major problem,” Brady said. “This is the week where you shouldn’t have to put anything extra in. This is what it’s all about. You sign up any chance you get to play in the AFC championship game, so I don’t care where, when, time, cold weather, rain, blood. It don’t matter.”100<button class="view-gallery">View Gallery</button> Gallery:View from the sidelines: NFL cheerleaders 2018Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports | Raj Mehta