KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Football games, especially the postseason games played, boil down to a series of sideline decisions and there were some major decisions on Sunday in the final minutes of the Browns-Chiefs game.
The first decision came with about 11 minutes left in the game, when Tyreek Hill received a 23-yard pass from Chad Henne in the first to 10. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski threw the challenge flag after Hill fell on the line. 48 yards from the Chiefs, but it wasn’t long before Hill was able to hold on to the ball after full-back Denzel Ward pulled it out. The challenge cost the Browns their first timeout.
“I should have been better there,” said Stefanski. “There is a cost to those when you lose them because you lose a time limit. This is on me. “
The next important decision was again from Stefanski. The Browns took the attack on 20 minutes, with eight minutes remaining, losing 22-17 after Karl Joseph’s interception. They took their time working to get out, but after getting a first drop in a quarter and a 1 Baker Mayfield, they were forced to use a second timeout.
From there, the Browns ran once, a loss of 1 yard to Chubb, before Mayfield launched incomplete on the second down and hit Kareem Hunt by two yards on the third and 10. With 4:19 remaining in the fourth, the Browns kicked in its own 32-yard line.
Stefanski said he didn’t really consider doing that.
“It was probably too long at that distance,” he said. “If it were tighter, no doubt.”
You could decide if the decision worked. The Chiefs landed a first fall – the Browns used their final timeout after the conversion with 3:15 remaining – but Myles Garrett fired Henne in the next series of casualties to create a third and 14 out of two minutes.
Except for the third downhill, Henne went around the edge and gained 13 yards, leading us to decision # 3, this time Reid deciding to go to Kansas City 48 for fourth and first.
“If we stopped there, we would be armed,” said Stefanski, “so there is risk involved in their decision, but they trusted their guys and made a move.”
Probably more surprising is Reid and his coaches let Henne pitch – he converted with a submission to Hill to end the game.
“We went through all those Saturday nights with the defenders, those situations,” said Reid. “‘Fourth and one to win the game, what do you want?’ And that move happened to be there, and my coaches were on board. “
Welcome to the playoffs, where every move, every decision – and the result that follows – is magnified.
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