KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A historic season by Whitehouse alum Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs ended Sunday with a 37-31 loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship.
The first half was dominated by defense, with both teams struggling for points.
The Patriots struck first, going 80 yards for an opening drive touchdown.
Afterward, neither team would score again until late in the second quarter. With less than 30 seconds until halftime, Tom Brady connected with Phillip Dorsett for a 29-yard touchdown. The ensuing point after would extend the Patriots' lead to 14-0 at halftime.
Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs found their offensive rhythm in the second half.
Mahomes first connected with Travis Kelce to score a touchdown on their first second-half drive and cut the lead in half.
Following a mid-3rd quarter field goal by New England, the Chiefs answered with a 75-yard touchdown drive to bring the score to 17-14 going into the final quarter.
Following an interceptions, the Chiefs took their first lead of the game with a 29-yard pass from Mahomes to Damien Williams for a touchdown.
The Patriots regained a 3-point lead with a fourth down run by Sonny Michele.
With the score now 24-21, Mahomes led the Chiefs down the field to the two yard line.
Williams found the end zone again with a short run up the middle to take a 28-24 lead with barely two minutes left in the game.
With less than a minute remaining, the Patriots score yet again for a 31-28 lead.
However, Mahomes quickly lead the Chiefs into field goal range. With a 39-yard kick, the Chiefs sent the championship game into sudden death overtime.
The Patriots received the ball in the first overtime drive. The Patriots scored a touchdown to win the game 37-31.
The Patriots will face the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3 in Atlanta.
