New England 34 – Kansas City 3

Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski, and the New England Patriots overcame a sluggish first half to beat the Kansas City Chiefs 34-3 on Monday night. New England (7-3) scored the last 34 points of the game after spotting Kansas City a 3-0 lead in the first quarter.

Kansas City (4-6) used its pass rush to stifle the Patriots until a 52-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Gronkowski with four minutes left in the second quarter gave New England the lead for good. Stephen Gostkowski’s 21-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the half extended the lead to 10-3 at the break.

The Patriots wore down the Kansas City defense in the second half, scoring 17 third-quarter points to put the game out of reach. A second Brady-Gronkowski scoring connection and Julian Edelman’s 72-yard punt return for a touchdown helped put the Patriots ahead by 24 points heading into the fourth quarter. New England reserve running back Shane Vereen had a 4-yard touchdown run with 1:01 left in the game to cap the scoring.

Kansas City’s offense  struggled to score points against the NFL’s worst defense. Chiefs quarterback Tyler Palko, making his first career start in place of the injured Matt Cassel, threw three interceptions, including two to Kyle Arrington. He finished with a 49.9 passer rating. Dwayne Bowe was Palko’s favorite target, catching seven passes for 87 yards.

Brady passed for 234 yards and the two touchdowns to Gronkowski, who caught four total passes for 96 yards on the game. BenJarvus Green-Ellis carried 20 times for 81 yards for the Patriots.

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