Patriots’ Domination of Chiefs Is Complete

After two narrow victories against mediocre teams, the New England Patriots wanted to make a statement. They did it, loudly, against one of the best.

Robert Edwards made history and Drew Bledsoe made a shambles of Kansas City’s highly touted defense as the Patriots routed the Chiefs, 40-10, on Sunday.

“To go out and beat a team like that really sets a standard for our team,” Patriot wide receiver Terry Glenn said after Kansas City’s worst loss in four years. “It shows people around the league what kind of team we have.”

It’s the kind of team that outgained Kansas City, which had the NFL’s best defense, 438 yards to 134, and led 27-0 at halftime after needing late rallies to beat Tennessee and New Orleans.

“We played probably as good as we can play against a good team,” Bledsoe said.

Edwards, the rookie who replaced Curtis Martin, became the first player since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger with touchdowns in his first five pro games. Bledsoe threw three touchdown passes.

The Patriots defense held Kansas City to 14 yards rushing, the second-fewest in its history. The Patriots rushed for 206 yards and held huge advantages in first downs, 31-9, and time of possession, 41:48-18:12.

“Nobody expected anything like that,” Patriot cornerback Ty Law said.

The Patriots (4-1) scored on seven consecutive possessions after punting on their first one as Edwards and Ben Coates each scored twice and Adam Vinatieri kicked three field goals.

The Chiefs (4-2), using Elvis Grbac at quarterback, suffered their worst loss since Oct. 30, 1994, when they were beaten, 44-10, at Buffalo. They had a fumble, a roughing-the-passer penalty and two fourth-down failures.