Patriots Vs. Chiefs: 5 Things To Know About AFC Championship Game

The Patriots play the Chiefs on Sunday, Jan. 21, for the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Kickoff is at 6:40 p.m. and will be broadcast on CBS and heard on WBZ-FM (98.5). Here are five things to know going in.

The Deep Freeze

If they Patriots are to advance to another Super Bowl, they'll need to do it in single-digit temperatures that feel like less than zero degrees.

While New England braces for a wet (whether snow or rain is to be determined) weekend, Kansas City is expecting sunny skies, breezy air and bitter cold. The 'real-feel' index on AccuWeather is at negative-5 degrees during the day and negative-1 at night. The winds will be gusting between 10 and 20 miles-per-hour.

How will the cold impact the game between two high-powered offenses?

The Patriots, of course, have the best cold weather coach/quarterback duo of all time, having won some classics in frigid Foxboro. This time they'll have to do it on the road, in one of the toughest stadiums to play in the NFL, where the Chiefs beat the Indianapolis Colts over the weekend with snow on the ground.

Just Creepy

If the deep freeze isn't enough, there will be a a supermoon and total lunar eclipse visible across North America. Whether you’ll be able to see this event — known “blood moon” and a “wolf moon” — will be dependent on the weather.

Lunar eclipses that occur during supermoons are rare, making this one extra special because it comes almost a year after the Jan. 31, 2018, super blood moon — also a blue moon, because it was the second full moon (and supermoon) of the month.

It's worth noting that there have been total lunar eclipses the night the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 and the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Rematch

The first time these two teams played was arguably the most entertaining Patriots game of the year. New England handed Kansas City its first loss of the season, 43-40, in a Week 6 game capped by Stephen Gostkowski's 28-yard field goal as the clock expired.

The two teams put up nearly 1,000 yards of offense in primetime. The Chiefs erased a 24-9 halftime deficit to take a late lead. There were 30 points scored in the fourth quarter.

Something half as exciting would be a treat this Sunday.

Passing Of The Torch?

After his evisceration of the Los Angeles Chargers, it doesn't look like 41-year-old Tom Brady is going anywhere soon. Still, the Chiefs are one of the teams knocking on the door to take the mantle of AFC supremacy from the Patriots, and it's mostly because of their own stud quarterback.

Patrick Mahomes II is the likely MVP winner after throwing 50 touchdowns this season. He's one of the most thrilling players in the league, and at 23, he's got a long way to go. If he outplays Brady this weekend and send the Patriots packing, the NFL could officially have a new top dog.

Gronk's Last Stand

The possibility of tight end Rob Gronkowski retiring at the end of the season seems as strong as ever after a report Sunday from the NFL Network, meaning he could have either one of two games left in his career. If the rumors are true, the Patriots will try to make sure the greatest tight end of all time has a chance at his third Super Bowl championship.

(Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)