NFL AFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

CAN MAHOMES OUTDUEL BRADY IN REMATCH?

What to watch for in the AFC Championship Game between the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs:

INJURIES: Though the Chiefs are relatively healthy at this point in the year, the one injury that persists is a significant one. Safety Eric Berry, the veteran presence in Kansas City’s secondary, missed the divisional- round victory against the Colts with a calf issue, marking the second consecutive contest in which he was inactive. One other notable injury: A hamstring issue to RB Spencer Ware has forced him to miss the last four games. Similarly, New England has a favorable outlook. Safety Devin McCourty (concussion) and WR Cordarrelle Patterson (knee) returned to the field against the Chargers in the divisional round. RG Shaq Mason was helped off the field in the game, but he later returned. DE Deatrich Wise (ankle) was the lone regular contributor to miss New England’s playoff opener with an ankle injury.

THREE THINGS TO KNOW

1. REMATCH: Anyone who tuned in for Week 6’s thrilling battle between these two teams, an eventual 43-40 Patriots’ victory, should be glad there’s another iteration of the matchup. It was a back-and forth game with two ties and four lead changes. That game was in Foxborough. This time it will be at Arrowhead Stadium, so the Chiefs might get a little boost from the home-field crowd in the first AFC title game hosted in Kansas City. One other interesting nugget: The last time the Pats played in Kansas City, it was the 2014 game, a 4114 New England loss in Week 4, after which many questioned whether Brady’s run as a dominant passer had come to an end.

2. PROLIFIC PASSERS: The duel between Brady and Patrick Mahomes is the marquee attraction of the AFC Championship Game. Mahomes is the favorite for the league MVP and boasts one of the strongest arms in the NFL. He uses creative arm angles and can slip out of the pocket while keeping his eyes downfield to find targets who might have raced past coverage. Brady, on the other hand, is masterful in the pocket and, despite many claiming that his demise was coming soon, was clinical in a divisional-round thumping of the Chargers. They have different styles, but this matchup, in some ways, is a representation of what happened this season throughout the NFL: Several young passers flourished, but they still need to get past experienced mainstays to reach the next level in the league.

3. (IN)EXPERIENCE: This will be New England’s eighth consecutive trip to the AFC Championship Game and 13th in Brady’s 17 seasons as the team’s full-time starter, not counting the 2008 campaign in which he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the season opener. The Patriots will be trying to reach their ninth Super Bowl in the Brady-Bill Belichick era. Kansas City, meanwhile, has a quarterback who’s in his first season as a starter. Its roster doesn’t come close to the postseason experience that New England’s enjoys. While Chiefs coach Andy Reid has plenty of experience in big games, he might need to work on not having the stage become too big for his squad.