the Madden video game with his dad to being on the cover.Electronic Arts announced Thursday that the Kansas City quarterback and reigning NFL MVP will grace the cover of “Madden NFL 20” when it is released Aug. 2. The announcement was made before the first round of the NFL draft.“It is awesome and definitely a full circle moment for me Joejuan Williams NFL Draft ,” Mahomes said during an interview with The Associated Press before the cover was revealed.In his first season as the Chiefs‘ starting QB, Mahomes threw for 5,097 yards and 50 touchdowns during the regular season and led them to the AFC championship game for the first time since 1993. He began last season with an overall Madden rating of 77 but finished the season with a 94.Mahomes said he was approached by Electronic Arts prior to the Pro Bowl in late January about appearing on the cover. He also has given a lot of input on the development of the Face of the Franchise: QB1 feature that will be in this year’s game.The feature allows players to create their own quarterback to play through the College Football Playoff, NFL combine, draft and career with a team.“It has been great to be able to discuss my experiences going through everything, especially the draft process, and to see how that will develop in the game Joejuan Williams Buffalo Bills Jersey ,” Mahomes said.Mahomes, who is an avid video game player, said games like Madden have become more realistic and that the same concept of reading a playbook applies to learning football.Players have appeared on the Madden cover since 1999. Mahomes is the eighth quarterback to be featured on the Madden cover and the second in the past three years. New England’s Tom Brady was on the cover two years ago.Appearing on the cover has also had a stigma attached at times. Most of the cover athletes during the first 10 years suffered significant injuries the year they appeared. Recently retired Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was the most recent player to be beset by injuries when he started only six games in 2016.Wide receiver Antonio Brown, who was traded from Pittsburgh to Oakland during the offseason, was on the cover last year. FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Throughout the Patriots‘ run of playoff success under Bill Belichick, one of his best-known attributes has been his ability to craft game plans that have stumped their opponents.He’s at it again.This postseason New England’s best offensive weapon has been finding ways to keep the ball out of the hands of its opponents.In wins over the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers Color Rush Joejuan Williams Jersey , the Patriots used a commitment to the run game and efficiency on third down to dominate time of possession.The Patriots held a nearly 17-minute advantage in their divisional-round victory over the Chargers, while going 7 of 14 on third down and racking up 155 yards rushing. It was more of the same in the AFC championship game against the Chiefs, with New England possessing the ball more than 23 minutes longer than KC, going 13 of 19 on third down (68 percent) and rushing for 176 yards.Rookie Sony Michel shined in both games, rushing for 129 yards and three touchdowns against Los Angeles and 113 yards and two scores against the Chiefs.“You have got to try to keep them off balance and got to make them think it is one thing and try to do something else, it is even hard then,” Belichick said of the approach against Kansas City. “You cannot sit there and do the same thing all night.”The result in both games was fewer possessions for Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes Youth Joejuan Williams Jersey , forcing both to play hurry-up in the second half as they tried to erase early deficits.The Patriots opened the game against the Chargers with a 14-play, 83-yard drive that ate up more than seven minutes and ended with a touchdown. New England would go on to score on each of its first four possessions to build a 35-7 halftime lead. It put Los Angeles in scramble mode for the rest of the game.New England made Kansas City pay for deferring the opening kickoff in the AFC championship game, opening the game with a 15-play, 80-yard drive and touchdown. It took 8 minutes, 5 seconds off the clock, making it the Patriots’ longest opening drive in the playoffs under Belichick.Tom Brady said it was the perfect equalizer to the hostile environment of Arrowhead Stadium.“You play on the road, it is going to be tough. What travels is running the ball and playing tough Womens Joejuan Williams Jersey ,” he said. “That is good in any weather, any condition, any environment and any stadium.”The 37-31 overtime win over the Chiefs was just the third road victory for Brady in the conference title game in six tries. While the Super Bowl will be played on a neutral field, the Patriots are hoping to duplicate that formula against Jared Goff and the Rams. Los Angeles averaged 32.9 points per game during the regular season and held the ball an average of 30 minutes, 42 seconds per game.While the Patriots have been good on third down in both of their postseason wins, they were particularly unstoppable in overtime against the Chiefs, converting on a trio of long third downs in overtime to set up Rex Burkhead’s touchdown.Tight end Rob Gronkowski Authentic Joejuan Williams Jersey , who had a reception to convert one of those third downs, said the resurgence of the run game over the past two games has provided a spark to the offense.“I feel like it’s what’s making us,” he said. “You gotta be able to run the ball. It opens up the play action. It opens up the receivers. It’s what we’ve been doing to win. … You gotta be able to grind it out.”Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said the players have done a great job of trusting the play calls.“You’ve got to call something that you feel comfortable with and you know that our guys know how to execute well and then trust your guys to go out there and do it,” he said.“They deserve all the credit in the world, they went out there under pressure and made some huge plays in those situations.”