Chiefs vs. Patriots: Which Team Has the Edge in Every Phase of the Game?

The Kansas Chiefs and the New England Patriots will meet on Monday Night Football.

Last time these two played, Kansas City was five yards away from tying the game as former Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard hit Tom Brady, ending his season with a torn ACL.

Matt Cassel replaced Brady and lead the Patriots to victory. Less than one year later, Cassel joins Scott Pioli and comes to Kansas City.

However, Cassel will not be able to play in his homecoming game this season due to an injury on his finger.

WIll the red-hot Patriots dominate the struggling Chiefs in every phase of this game?

Passing: Patriots

Good luck to Tyler Palko. He will start at quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday night. Palko has never started a game before.

The Chiefs' new quarterback will have to deal with an offensive line that allows defensive players to apply pressure on their own quarterbacks. Palko will also have to get ready for Dwayne Bowe and Jonathan Baldwin, who don't have the best set of hands.

On the other side, Brady has reliable receivers wherever you look. Brady has Wes Welker, who has over 1,000 receiving yards on the season. Brady is having one of the best seasons of his career with two reliable tight ends in Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, combining for 13 receiving touchdowns.

Rushing: Chiefs

BenJarvus Green-Ellis is the leader in rushing for the Patriots. With the Patriots' passing game taking over the spotlight, Green-Ellis hasn't been much of an impact player. However, Green-Ellis has managed to play well when given the ball. Green-Ellis has 460 yards and five touchdowns on the season.

Jackie Battle has been a pleasant surprise for the Chiefs despite being quiet the past couple of weeks. Battle has over 400 yards in the limited time he has played for the Chiefs. Can he put up big numbers against the Patriots on the road? The Chiefs also have speedster Dexter McCluster, who is more reliable for his rushing abilities than his returning abilities.

It is also worth noting that Palko has shown off some of his rushing abilities. The Chiefs may have a game plan for him to scramble a few times in this game.

Pass Rushing: Chiefs

No Albert Haynesworth for the Patriots? No problem. The Patriots are doing just fine with Vince Wilfork, Mike Anderson and Andre Carter on the defensive line. The three defensive linemen combined have 15.5 sacks and responsible for 78 percent of the sacks on the team.

With a struggling Chiefs offensive line, the Patriots defensive line could have a good day against Palko.

On the other side, Tamba Hali will be Kansas City's biggest hope for an upset. Hali is known as one of the most dangerous pass-rushers in the league. Hali currently has six sacks, but he hasn't had a sack since Monday Night Football on Halloween against the Chargers.

Brady and other elite quarterbacks can be defeated if opposing defenses apply pressure. While Hali is the only player on the team who consistently applies pressure on quarterbacks, he will be the team's only hope in forcing Brady to throw ill-advised passes.

Against the Run: Patriots

Patrick Chung is second on the team in tackles and has been a big reason as to why the Patriots are in the top 10 against the run. Because of New England's defensive line, most rushing teams will have to attack the outside boundaries in order to find success against the Patriots. But with Chung on New England's side, his closing speed on running backs helps limits opposing rushers.

The Chiefs have very little success against the run, as they are ranked 26th. Outside of Derrick Johnson, there are no reliable tacklers on this football team.

Although the Patriots are a pass-heavy team, it wouldn't hurt Bill Belichick if he used Green-Ellis a lot in this game. Don't be surprised if Green-Ellis ends up having a career game.

Special Teams: Patriots

Ryan Succop was able to rebound after a slow start, making only 2-of-5 field goals. Succop's last miss was against San Diego in Week 3. The Chiefs also have one of the best punters in the league in Dustin Colquitt, who comes away with long punts to make sure that opposing punt returners cannot start in Kansas City's side of the field.

The Chiefs, however, don't have a good return game with McCluster and Javier Arenas.

The Patriots haven't been great returning the ball, but are slightly better than the Chiefs.

Zoltan Mesko is in his second season punting and has done a well job for the Patriots. But in the end, the best special teams player among both teams may be Stephen Gostkowski. If the Chiefs challenge the Patriots and make a game out of this, Gostkowski would be a reliable player to have kick a game-winning field goal.

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