Since head coach Andy Reid first came to town in 2013 http://www.chiefscheapshoponline.com/cheap-authentic-eric-murray-jersey , Kansas City Chiefs fans have gone into every season worried about the offensive line.Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesNot only have there been concerns about the development of offensive linemen the Chiefs have drafted — like left tackle Eric Fisher and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif — there’s also been worry about the parade of veteran players that have been acquired in attempts to solidify the line.Players like Ryan Harris, Ben Grubbs, Mike McGlynn and Jah Reid all came and went.Standouts like Rodney Hudson, Jeff Allen and Geoff Schwartz were lost in free agency.But starting in 2016 — when Fisher and Duvernay-Tardif had finally come into their own, 2015 draft pick Mitch Morse solidified his position as the starting center and veteran Mitchell Schwartz was brought in at right tackle — that Chiefs offensive line began to come into focus.Coming into 2018, the last remaining question was at left guard.Would Witzmann retain the position he played in 2017 or would he be replaced by 2016 draft pick Parker Ehinger?But on August 31, the Chiefs traded Ehinger to the Dallas Cowboys and on September 3, Witzmann was released.The next day, the Chiefs signed former Cleveland Browns offensive lineman Cam Erving — who had been a swing tackle for the Chiefs in 2017 — to a two-year contract extension.Here at Arrowhead Pride, we assumed Erving would continue to be a swing tackle.But as we would soon learn, Erving would be the starter at left guard.While Erving had never been a fan favorite, the Chiefs entered 2018 with a more stable offensive line than at any time since Reid’s arrival, and the unit played well in the opening weeks of the season — which pleasantly surprised more than a few Chiefs who had been concerned about Erving’s ability to hold down the left guard position.Unfortunately, it wouldn’t last.Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty ImagesIn the Week 5 game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif suffered a leg fracture that will — at best — keep him on injured reserve until late in the season.The following week against the New England Patriots, Mitch Morse suffered a concussion and remains in concussion protocol.Fifth-year player Jordan Devey — who came to the Chiefs in 2016 after stints with the Patriots and San Francisco 49ers — filled in admirably when Duvernay-Tardif was first injured and shifted to center the following week when Morse suffered his concussion.Andrew Wylie — an unheralded UDFA rookie — took over at right guard.Both started in those positions Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals.Then on Tuesday, Devey was unexpectedly placed on injured reserve and is likely out for the season.Although few fans noticed it on Sunday night, Devey was injured in the first quarter — as explained by Chiefs VP of sports medicine Rick Burkholder on Wednesday.“Jordan came to me in the first quarter of the game and had a right arm, shoulder problem,” explained Burkholder. “He had a big laceration and pretty significant cleat mark on his right arm. He felt like he could play, we felt like he could play. He came in after the game, we tested him again and then decided to get an MRI because things didn’t add up. It looked like he got stepped on. Turned out, with the MRI, he had a right pectoralis major tear.”Devey deserves a lot of credit for finishing the game — as noted by quarterback Patrick Mahomes on Wednesday. “It’s unreal. I actually saw when he did it and I looked at him and I said, ‘Are you good?’ He said, ‘I’m good to go.’ And I was, ‘Alright, let’s go.’ He played the whole game and fought through — and they had some dudes in the middle, too. He fought his tail off, played a really good game with basically one arm.”Oct 2 Cheap Chris Conley Jersey , 2017; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs center Zach Fulton (73) prepares to snap the ball as offensive tackle Jordan Devey (65) and running back Charcandrick West (35) prepare to block during the game against the Washington Redskins at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY SportsDenny Medley-USA TODAY SportsEven with Devey playing injured, the Chiefs offensive line allowed just one sack on 13 pressures against the Bengals, and Mahomes was able to throw for 358 yards and four touchdowns on the day.According to Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, that’s a credit to both general manager Brett Veach and offensive line coach Andy Heck.“Things happen. That’s the National Football League,” said Reid on Wednesday. “Brett has done a good job of bringing guys in. Reiter is here and he has experience, so he can step in if needed, and Allen can play if needed. Andy does a great job of rotating those guys during practice, now, [during] OTAs, and [during] training camp. Everyone can kind of work into all the positions. We don’t get concerned about that, we just try to move forward. If you can go then you can go, if you can’t you can’t, and we move on.”Reid was referring to Austin Reiter — a third-year player who spent two years with the Browns before being picked up by the Chiefs on waivers in September — and former Chief Jeff Allen, who was re-signed by the Chiefs on October 16.Allen was a a second-round draft pick for the Chiefs in 2012, went to the Houston Texans in free agency in 2016, and was placed on Houston’s PUP list last spring.This week, the Chiefs also promoted center James Murray from the practice squad and filled that vacancy by signing offensive tackle Pace Murphy.All of the backup offensive linemen now on the roster — except for Allen — have playing experience at center.At this writing, the Chiefs haven’t yet committed themselves to a starting center for the game against the Broncos on Sunday — but as our own Pete Sweeney noted on Thursday, a starting lineup of Fisher, Wylie, Erving, Allen and Schwartz would be a good bet.(Note: the Chiefs announced on Friday afternoon that Austin Reiter will replace Jordan Devey at center against Denver)It’s been a long road to where we are with the Chiefs offensive line under Andy Reid.But their success in 2018 — even with all the chaos from injuries in recent weeks — can be attributed in part to Reid’s continued insistence on versatility in his offensive linemen.As we clearly see this week, versatility gives the Chiefs a lot of options when players are injured — and explains why the Chiefs were willing to give a contract extension to Erving at the beginning of the season.Like Zach Fulton before him, Erving can play just about anywhere on the line, which makes him very valuable to the Chiefs.But the two biggest parts of this puzzle remain Eric Fisher and Mitchell Schwartz.When he was drafted, Fisher was considered to be a player that would require some development to reach his potential, and that evaluation was correct.But he’s now a solid left tackle.Schwartz’s acquisition two years ago solidified the right side of the line and opened the way for the Chiefs’ versatile offensive linemen to fight their way through adversity.While Fisher and Schwartz will never go down in the history as bookend tackles, they’ve been more than enough to make the Chiefs offense productive — particularly in front of a passer like Mahomes Laurent Duvernay-Tardif Jersey , who is equally effective both inside and outside of the pocket. The season keeps creeping along, as we’re somehow already to Week 6. So, just like every week, I’m here to spotlight five stats leading up to the game to see if there are any advantages for the Chiefs (or anything interesting of note.)Last week, I noted that Andy Reid’s offenses put up 30.8 points per game against top-five defenses in 2017, and the Jaguars game could be more of the same. With the Chiefs scoring 30 points (sure Chris Jones’ TD helped) it’s looking like chiefStats nailed it again!Now let’s see what items we have to discuss for the Chiefs’ Week 6 tilt against the Patriots.1. Is this the year?Every single year, there seems to be a portion of analysts who think the Patriots are finally on the downswing. Every...single...year.And every single year, the Patriots keep winning football games well into the postseason. But let’s ask it again, shall we?Is this the year the Patriots finally lose their stranglehold on the AFC?I started by looking at the Patriots offense and defense over the past five years, leading up to Week 6, to see if there were any downward trends:Patriots Weeks 1-5 Since 2014YearOffense PPGDefense PPGW/LYearOffense PPGDefense PPGW/LJust going over the numbers here, it’s not uncommon for the Patriots to have a slow start to the season in terms of the win/loss column.It’s also not uncommon for the Patriots to be less than average on one side of the ball. So, long story short, this doesn’t seem to be an abnormal start for the Patriots. Maybe it’s just business as usual in New England?Unhappy with the results, I went to make a quick check on Tom Brady over the past five years:Tom Brady, Weeks 1-5 Since 2014YearAgeTDINTRatingYearAgeTDINTRatingMost of the stats look pretty standard, except one — and it jumped right off the screen at me. Tom Brady’s interceptions are way up. He and the Patriots have not done a great job of taking care of the ball through the air. Just how bad you ask?So the question is back on the table — is Brady fading?Well, if you remember another quarterback named Peyton Manning, they too had troubles with interceptions towards the end of their career:Peyton Manning Week 1-5 during last five years of careerYearINTYearINTI’ve heard a lot of responses about Brady’s interceptions being a product of tipped balls from receivers, but make no mistake, the interceptions are a problem.As people age, they lose velocity. In the NFL, when you lose velocity as a quarterback, you’re going to throw more interceptions. It’s an inevitable fact of life.To me, this is the key storyline headed into the game. Will Patrick Mahomes take the reigns from Brady, or does Brady have plenty left in the tank?Regardless, if I’m Bob Sutton, I’m dropping eight frequently and having my defensive backs jump every single passing lane they can.2. Third downUsing Bill Connely’s advanced stats guide, we can pull some pretty cool information regarding third down for both the Patriots and the Chiefs.The Patriots have the fourth best third-and-long conversion percentage in the NFL, while the Chiefs are the best team in the NFL at stopping third-and-long conversions.Strangely enough Cheap Kareem Hunt Jersey , the Patriots are better at converting third-and-long than third-and-short/medium when compared to the rest of the NFL.Heading into this game, it is looking like third down could be an issue for the Patriots. Not only are they in the bottom of the league in most defensive third down categories, but also, their opponent — the Chiefs — are in the top 10 in two of the three third-down conversion categories.On the flip side, the Chiefs defense has been great on third down, and the Patriots have struggled to convert third-and-short/medium when compared to the rest of the NFL.I’ll definitely be tracking third down through this game, but leading up to the contest, the Chiefs have a sizable advantage on third down.3. Red zoneLike before, we’ll use the SB Nation advanced stats guide to help gather some information for the red-zone numbers:One of the most important aspects heading into the Chiefs/Patriots game will be how the respective teams perform in the red zone. With both teams likely to be moving the ball well on Sunday night, the team who settles for more field goals will likely be the team who is sent packing with the loss.On the offensive side of the ball, the Patriots have been up-and-down in the red zone, while the Chiefs have been dominant across the board (save for the 21 to 30-yard success rate.) Regardless, the Chiefs offense has been much better in the red zone than the Patriots offense.On the defensive side of the ball, both units have struggled in the red zone.Ultimately, the red-zone matchup favors the Chiefs, but the ball usually tends to bounce the Patriots’ way in Foxborough.4. Reid and PedersonFor whatever reason, Andy Reid and his understudy, Doug Pederson, have had Bill Belichick’s number in their last four meetings:To make it worse for the Patriots, the average point differential in these games has been 10.8 points. That’s an ass beating, and it’s so bizarre to recognize that coach Reid’s philosophies have worked so well against the Patriots.Will it continue on Sunday night? I’m not sure, but I’d put money on Reid having a good game plan ready for the Chiefs.5. Top-five offensesI did this preparing for the Steelers game and it worked, so why not try it for the Patriots’ game too? Let’s see how Belichick has done against top five offenses since 2015 (includes playoffs).Unlike the Steelers, the Patriots have done quite well against top-five NFL offenses.If the Chiefs get into a shootout in New England, and Mahomes out-duels Brady at the end of the game.... well, I’m at a loss of words for how awesome that would be.That ends this week’s edition of chiefStats. What are your keys stats/topics to the game?