AFC Championship Game 2019: Live Stream, Odds Guide for Patriots vs. Chiefs

The pressure is back on the Kansas City Chiefs.

The top-seeded team in the AFC was hosting the Indianapolis Colts a week ago, and the visitors went into Arrowhead Stadium having won 10 of 11 games with strong-armed Andrew Luck at or near the top of his game. Luck also had a powerful offensive line and a surprisingly effective defense.

In addition to contending with the Colts, the Chiefs had their own troublesome playoff history weighing on them. Kansas City had dropped 11 of its previous 12 postseason games, including all six at home. Add all the factors together and the Chiefs were dealing with some incredible pressure.

Head coach Andy Reid's team handled that issue with flying colors, trouncing the Colts 31-13. They were able to breathe easy immediately after the game, knowing they had passed a playoff test.

But one win does not end a trend. The pressure returns Sunday evening as the Chiefs host the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game for the chance to go to Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta.

AFC Championship Game: New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs

Date: Sunday, January 20, at 6:40 p.m. ET

TV and Streams: CBS, CBS All Access and fuboTV

Spread: Chiefs -3 (per OddsShark)

Reid, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs must contend with the AFC's perennial standard-bearer throughout the 21st century as well as the pressure of playing the most important game of the season to this point. The Chiefs have shown they have the weapons to stand up to anyone, but it's not about measuring up on paper. It's about winning individual battles and coming through with key plays when the game is on the line.

Head coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady are a formidable duo, and the Patriots are about to play in their eighth straight AFC title game. There are questions surrounding the Patriots, including whether they have the firepower and big-play ability to match the Chiefs and whether the defense is good enough to slow down the production of Mahomes, wideout Tyreek Hill and tight end Travis Kelce.

However, they know what it takes to play in a conference title game, and the anxiety of the big game should not be an issue.

The Chiefs cannot say the same thing. Not only have they had a long history of playoff failure, the Chiefs have never hosted an AFC title game. Take it a step further, and the franchise has never hosted a title game of any kind.

The Chiefs started as the Dallas Texans in the American Football League, and they played in that city for three years from 1960 through 1962 before moving to Kansas City.

The Texans won the AFL title in 1962, winning the title game on the road against the Houston Oilers. The Chiefs represented the AFL in Super Bowl I following the 1966 season, having beaten the Buffalo Bills in upstate New York to earn their spot in the history-making game.

They beat the Oakland Raiders three years later in the final AFL title game, upsetting the powerful Raiders in Oakland, and they went on to win Super Bowl IV over the Minnesota Vikings, in the last game played by an AFL team.

The NFL-AFL merger took full effect in 1970, as the AFL was fully absorbed and renamed the AFC. The Chiefs have played in just one AFC Championship game since then, losing to the Bills following the 1993 regular season.

The Chiefs need to downplay history and concentrate on the execution of their offense while pass-rushers Dee Ford, Chris Jones and Justin Houston attempt to harass Brady and keep him from executing the short-passing game that was so effective in the divisional playoffs against the Los Angeles Chargers.

If Brady has the time, he has solid weapons in Julian Edelman, James White and Chris Hogan to make the plays that will allow New England to hold on to the football and keep Mahomes off the field. Tight end Rob Gronkowski has not been the big-play specialist this season that he has been in the past, but he is capable of making one or two impact plays that could turn the game in New England's favor.

The Patriots will try to unleash defensive ends Trey Flowers and Deatrich Wise along with middle linebacker Kyle Van Noy on Mahomes. The athletic Kansas City quarterback should be able to get away from the first wave of the pass rush, but if the Pats can send a secondary pass rush, it could cause problems.

If Mahomes survives that, Kansas City's offensive weapons may be too much for a good-but-not-great New England defense to survive.

History is not on Kansas City's side, but the talent differential may just work out on its behalf.