Wk 15 · 2026
New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs — Mon, Dec 21
Mon, Dec 21 ·
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
· ESPN · ABC
Weather
No forecast yet. This one is 66 days away. Forecasts reach about 16 days ahead, so this fills in nearer the game. A seasonal average printed here would look exactly like a forecast, which is why there is not one.
AFC East · 3-2
at
8:15pET
KC -2.5 · total 45.5 DraftKings
Ratings differential KC by 0.2
AFC West · 4-0
What is at stake
An AFC game between two divisions. It decides neither division, but conference record is the tiebreaker that follows head-to-head, and both of these are chasing the same 7 AFC playoff places. Division standings.
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The Gridiron King’s 2026 final efficiency ratings, plus
1.7 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two rosters that have
been through a draft and a free-agency window since.
Efficiency · 2026 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense
Defense
Points / game
Points allowed / game
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The Gridiron King’s 2026 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row, so the two lengths are comparable; the brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is the better number — including the rows where a lower figure is the good one. Pace is the exception: it is how fast a team plays, not how well, so neither side is lit and a longer bar there means only more plays.
Team stats
The box-score store these rows are built from has not been produced for this league yet, so no preview carries points and yards for and against. The form, trend and series blocks below are built from this site’s own files and are not affected.
Patriots form
W 45-17vs LVW 29-26at BUFL 6-35at JAXW 20-3vs PITL 10-13at SEA
2026 season
Chiefs form
W 30-27at LVW 24-10at MIAW 33-30vs INDW 31-10vs DEN
2026 season
Patriots this season
Straight up3-2 · 60% (5 games)
Against the spread3-1-1 · 75% (5 games)
Over / under2-3 · 40% (5 games)
Chiefs this season
Straight up4-0 · 100% (4 games)
Against the spread2-2 · 50% (4 games)
Over / under2-2 · 50% (4 games)
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked at kickoff, so an in-play price cannot overwrite the number a game is graded against.
Common opponents · 7
| Opponent | Patriots | Chiefs |
|---|---|---|
| Seahawks NFC | at L 10-13 preview | at Wk 7 · scheduled preview |
| Bills AFC | at W 29-26 preview | at Wk 12 · scheduled preview |
| Raiders AFC | vs W 45-17 preview | at W 30-27 preview |
| Jets AFC | vs Wk 6 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 9 · scheduled preview |
| Dolphins AFC | at Wk 8 · scheduled preview | at W 24-10 preview |
| Chargers AFC | at Wk 12 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 6 · scheduled preview |
| Broncos AFC | vs Wk 17 · scheduled preview | vs W 31-10 preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
Since 2006, the series is level at 5–5 · Chiefs has won the last 3
10 meetings
in 2006–2026 · average margin
2.1 points toward Chiefs
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2023-12-17 | Chiefs 27 — 17 Patriots | at NE | Chiefs |
| 2020 | 2020-10-05 | Patriots 10 — 26 Chiefs | at KC | Chiefs |
| 2019 | 2019-12-08 | Chiefs 23 — 16 Patriots | at NE | Chiefs |
| 2018 | 2019-01-20 | Patriots 37 — 31 Chiefs | at KC | Patriots playoffs |
| 2018 | 2018-10-14 | Chiefs 40 — 43 Patriots | at NE | Patriots |
| 2017 | 2017-09-07 | Chiefs 42 — 27 Patriots | at NE | Chiefs |
| 2015 | 2016-01-16 | Chiefs 20 — 27 Patriots | at NE | Patriots playoffs |
| 2014 | 2014-09-29 | Patriots 14 — 41 Chiefs | at KC | Chiefs |
| 2011 | 2011-11-21 | Chiefs 3 — 34 Patriots | at NE | Patriots |
| 2008 | 2008-09-07 | Chiefs 10 — 17 Patriots | at NE | Patriots |
Patriots leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Drake Maye QB #10 | 73/117, 854 YDS, 4 TD, 7 INT |
| Tommy DeVito QB #16 | 3/5, 30 YDS | |
| Rushing | Rhamondre Stevenson RB #38 | 44 CAR, 163 YDS, 1 TD |
| TreVeyon Henderson RB #32 | 38 CAR, 141 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Drake Maye QB #10 | 23 CAR, 136 YDS | |
| Receiving | Mack Hollins WR #13 | 15 REC, 209 YDS |
| Romeo Doubs WR #87 | 12 REC, 203 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Hunter Henry TE #85 | 12 REC, 133 YDS | |
| Rhamondre Stevenson RB #38 | 12 REC, 90 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Robert Spillane LB #14 | 29 |
| Christian Elliss LB #53 | 25 | |
| Charles Woods CB #22 | 18 | |
| Sacks | Elijah Ponder LB #91 | 2.5 |
| Gabe Jacas LB #50 | 1.5 | |
| Dre'Mont Jones DE #5 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Marcus Jones CB #25 | 1 |
| Craig Woodson S #4 | 1 | |
| Gabe Jacas LB #50 | 1 |
Chiefs leaders 2026 regular season
| Passing | Patrick Mahomes QB #15 | 82/128, 1037 YDS, 9 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Kenneth Walker III RB #9 | 87 CAR, 537 YDS, 4 TD |
| Emmett Johnson RB #10 | 16 CAR, 56 YDS | |
| Patrick Mahomes QB #15 | 12 CAR, 41 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Travis Kelce TE #87 | 16 REC, 246 YDS, 2 TD |
| Tyquan Thornton WR #2 | 11 REC, 219 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Rashee Rice WR #4 | 13 REC, 190 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Xavier Worthy WR #1 | 14 REC, 133 YDS, 1 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Nick Bolton LB #32 | 37 |
| Drue Tranquill LB #23 | 29 | |
| L'Jarius Sneed CB #38 | 25 | |
| Sacks | Nohl Williams CB #20 | 1 |
| Felix Anudike-Uzomah DE #91 | 1 | |
| R Mason Thomas DE #51 | 1 | |
| Interceptions | Kristian Fulton CB #8 | 1 |
| George Karlaftis DE #56 | 1 | |
| Xavier Nwankpa S #29 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since signed elsewhere, been traded or retired still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game.