We've reached midweek, but it's really the first official day of AFC Championship Week, as both the Patriots and Chiefs return to the practice fields and league-directed press conferences are held in Foxborough and Kansas City.
In the interim, media pundits are offering their thoughts on this upcoming title game.
First up, **Boston Sports Journal** explains why man-to-man coverage will be a focus of this latest Patriots-Chiefs tilt.
A **WEEI.com** columnist declares that a Patriot who didn't even suit up in the Week 6 meeting between the two clubs could be a difference-maker this Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
On the **MassLive blog**, a writer insists that you'll be able to know very early in this game if the Patriots will be advancing to Super Bowl LIII.
Meanwhile, former Patriots LB Ted Johnson tells the **Eagle-Tribune** of North Andover, Mass. that New England has finally peaked at the right time of the season.
"Brady starts spreading the ball around. The defense is going after the quarterback. This is a different team than we've seen all season," said Johnson in part. "If you asked me a month ago 'Could the Patriots go to Kansas City and win an AFC Championship game?' I'd have given them a puncher's chance. Now? Hell, they look like they could beat anybody, any where."
**The Athletic website** offers a historical look at New England's "long and tortured" experience in Kansas City. But **The Boston Globe** looks specifically at the most recent Patriots visit to Arrowhead, concluding that the blowout loss didn't mean much in the long run.
**The Providence Journal** examines how the Patriots are looking to reverse their 2018 road woes this weekend in K.C.
The **Boston Herald** published a nice feature on Patriots LB coach/de facto DC Brian Flores.
For a Chiefs perspective on this game, we go back to the **Kansas City Star**, which shares its thoughts on Tom Brady's declaration that "everyone thinks [the Patriots] suck."
