Kansas City Chiefs 22, Cleveland Browns 17
1) The playoffs demand resilience and, man, these two teams brought loads of semi-trucks to Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Kansas City fired, grabbing a 13-3 lead before the Browns could blink and enter a cruising speed that left the Chiefs ready to flee for victory. But the Browns responded, leading a shot that ended just inches from a touchdown, when Rashard Higgins dived into the end zone and fumbled for a touchback. The result could have deflated Cleveland and given Kansas City tons of runway to take off into the beautiful skies of a burst victory, but that flight was postponed indefinitely by the Browns’ decision. Baker Mayfield overcame an opening interception in the second half to lead a 77-yard, eight-stroke touchdown attempt to reduce Kansas City’s lead to 19-10, and then with an 18-game, 75-yard march to score five points. game with plenty of time left in the room. At that time, Kansas City’s ability to overcome adversity gained prominence. Reserve Chad Henne was forced into action due to Patrick Mahomes’ concussion protocol, and the veteran overcame his own premature interception to devour the remaining clock, culminating in a 13-yard run in the third and 14 and one with a pass fast to Tyreek Hill in the fourth to the 1 to win the exciting victory. If Mahomes doesn’t come out, the result is probably the same, but by a wider margin. And if Mayfield does not lead the Browns after two exhausting results to fight his way back into the game, it will not end up thrilling fans around the world. Adversity tests a person’s character and, although there can only be one winner, the two teams have proved that they have the fight of champions.
two) The game oscillated wildly in two important moves in the second and third quarters. With the Browns in desperate need of a touchdown to get back to a game that looked inches from getting out of hand, Mayfield let him invade the field, completing 23 and 26 yard passes to tight end David Njoku and Higgins, respectively, to place the Browns in a great position to score their first touchdown of the afternoon. Mayfield’s attack on Higgins saw the receiver take 26 yards before diving towards the pylon, extending the ball towards the goal line as Chiefs security guard Daniel Sorensen arrived to make head contact with the receiver, forcing a fumble who rolled the end zone out of the field for a touchback. The game was a blow to the stomach for the Browns’ relentless efforts to return to the game and would have sunk Cleveland teams in the past 20 years, but not this team. He also debated the rule of the game that passes possession to the defense, even after not having recovered the ball within the limits, and the inability of the officials to review helmet-to-helmet contact (which was made very clear in the replay) in such scenarios. Even so, the Browns regained their way back into the game, especially after another game-changing occurrence – Mahomes’ departure due to an unfortunate injury sustained in a third downhill race – changed momentum and gave the Browns a chance to gain enough stops or retentions (for field goals) to mount a comeback effort.
3) If we needed a third move to decide the game, it was the decision of new coach Kevin Stefanski to return the ball to the Chiefs on the fourth to 9 while losing, 22-17, with less than five minutes to play. Stefanski later said he felt the distance was too great to try to convert, but with only a time limit left in his pocket, his decision was fatal, especially after Henne surprised the football world with his run for the third downhill. Stefanski’s decision to challenge a reception that took place right in front of him – no matter how incredibly spectacular it was – also ended up hurting the Browns tremendously when they desperately needed to stop the clock. Leaving these decisions aside, Stefanski crowned a fantastic first season ahead of the Browns, a team that has long been the league’s doormat and the target of almost every football joke. By winning 11 games of the regular season, ending the playoff drought of the league’s leading team and beating the demon dressed in black and gold in Cleveland’s first playoff victory since the 1994 season, the Browns proved they are no longer a joke and have a bright future that their fans can expect that is just beginning with Sunday’s painful defeat at the hands of the Super Bowl champions.