The New England Patriots return to Gillette Stadium on Monday against the Kansas City Chiefs, one week after seizing control of the AFC East by beating the New York Jets.
Kansas City will likely be without starting quarterback Matt Cassel, a former Patriot, who could miss the rest of the season with a significant injury to his throwing hand. In his place, the Chiefs are expected to start Tyler Palko, a second-year signal-caller out of Pittsburgh who has only seen action in four games during his career.
"Tyler's a player that we've got to do some work on, spend more time watching him," said Patriots coach Bill Belichick. "We, of course, haven't seen a lot of him in regular-season games, so you have to go back to the preseason. I'd say he's an athletic player, quick release, can move around back there in the pocket. He's left-handed and sees the field pretty well. I think they have lot of confidence in him. He played ahead of [rookie quarterback Ricky] Stanzi in the preseason, and Stanzi's a guy they drafted, there's a lot to like about him, too. So we'll have to be ready for both of those guys."
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