STATS LLC.- From general manager Scott Pioli and defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel to injured quarterback Matt Cassel, the Kansas City Chiefs have plenty of connections to the New England Patriots.

On-field success isn’t currently one of them.

Coming off a critical road victory that left them alone atop the AFC East, the Patriots return to Foxborough on Monday night to face a reeling Chiefs team that will have unproven Tyler Palko under center.

As Bill Belichick’s czar of player personnel, Pioli helped build the Patriots (6-3) into a powerhouse last decade before coming to Kansas City in 2009.

Pioli traded for Cassel — who emerged in 2008 with New England after then-Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard ended Tom Brady’s season with a hit to his knee in the season opener — and prior to 2010, hired Crennel, New England’s defensive coordinator during its run of three Super Bowl victories in four seasons.

Cassel had a Pro Bowl season in 2010 and Kansas City rode an improved defense under Crennel to a surprising AFC West title, but a repeat playoff berth is looking unlikely. After bouncing back from an 0-3 start with four straight wins, the Chiefs were outscored 48-13 in consecutive home losses to Miami and Denver.

To make matters worse, Cassel suffered what coach Todd Haley called a “significant” hand injury in last Sunday’s 17-10 loss to the Broncos and could miss the remainder of the season after undergoing surgery Monday.

Palko, who’s thrown 13 NFL passes — 26 fewer than Cassel had when he took over for Brady in 2008 — will be under center for the foreseeable future.

“Tyler is the next in line, and he’s done a terrific job, like I said, of keeping himself ready,” Haley said. “That’s what the No. 2 quarterback has to do, because you don’t know. At a moment’s notice, you could be in there playing, just like any other position.”

Despite having been outscored 157-40 in their losses, the Chiefs (4-5) are still just a game out in the West.

The Patriots, meanwhile, have first place in the East all to themselves — a reality that was tough to imagine after back-to-back losses to Pittsburgh and the New York Giants left them tied with Buffalo and the New York Jets. 

Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.  We will join the broadcast after high school basketball.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State’s Chelsea Poppens and Hallie Christofferson posted strong performances to lead the Cyclones past Northern Arizona 65-41 Sunday evening at Hilton Coliseum. The win improves Iowa State to 3-0 while NAU drops to 2-3.

It was an all-around strong performance by the Cyclone post players. Poppens finished the game with 18 points and 11 rebounds for her ninth career double-double. Christofferson posted 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots. Fallon Ellis was also strong for Iowa State off the bench with five points and six rebounds.

Freshman Nikki Moody was busy for the Cyclones, posting career-highs in assists (nine), rebounds (four) and steals (three). Brynn Williamson came off the bench to post seven points.

Iowa State will travel to Reno, Nev. Later this week to compete in the Nugget Classic. The Cyclones take on Penn State Friday at 6 p.m. CST and will then play either Butler or Nevada the next day.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Johnny Moran shot 6 for 6 from the free-throw line and finished with 17 points to lead Northern Iowa past Northern Colorado 78-69 on Sunday. The Panthers (2-1) went ahead for good midway through the second half when Jake Koch hit a 3-pointer to break a 54-all tie. They went on to lead by as many as 10 points in the final minute. Koch finished with 15 points while Deon Mitchell and Marc Sonnen added 12 each and Anthony James scored 10. The Bears (0-3) led throughout much of the first half, shooting 40 percent from the field and making 5 of 8 from beyond the arc. But they sent the Panthers to the free-throw line 14 times in the second half and the Northern Iowa made 12 of those tries. The Bears’ Paul Garnica led the game with 22 points, including six 3-pointers, while Tate Unruh added 12 points.