Chiefs stun Patriots with 42-27 win in NFL season opener

Kansas City Chiefs beat the New England Patriots
(Image credit: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The Kansas City Chiefs crushed the defending champion New England Patriots in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Thursday night, 42-27, in the 2017 NFL season opener. Few saw the upset coming, least of all the Patriots, who kicked off the game with an elaborate celebration of their five Super Bowl victories. The Chiefs chalked up 542 yards against the Patriots, the most allowed by New England under the direction of coach Bill Belichick.

See more

Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith completed 28 of 35 passes, and three of the six scoring drives were for 90 or more yards. Three of those Chiefs touchdowns were carried in by rookie running back Kareem Hunt, who began his first game in the NFL with a fumble but then scored his first touchdown at the end of the second quarter and pulled the Chiefs ahead with a 78-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the fourth quarter.

See more

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady ended the night as a meme. Peter Weber

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
See more
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.