Here’s the first look at the Chiefs-Browns AFC Divisional Round playoff matchup
The Chiefs’ maneuvers over the past two weeks have prioritized the postseason and only the postseason — the official commencement of a Super Bowl defense.
At last, they can narrow their focus.
To the Browns.
No, really.
The Browns won their first playoff game since New Year’s Day 1995, a 48-37 victory against the Steelers, despite their head coach missing the game and watching from home due to COVID-19 protocols.
He’ll be back next week. And as the lowest-seeded team remaining in the AFC, the sixth-seeded Browns are traveling to Kansas City to face the Chiefs in the AFC Divisional Round at 2 p.m. Sunday. The game will air on CBS.
The early line has the Chiefs listed as 9 1/2-point favorites in Las Vegas.
Former No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield is headed to Arrowhead Stadium for the first time in his career. Kareem Hunt is headed back to Arrowhead Stadium for the first time since the Chiefs released him in November 2018.
And in a first look at this AFC Divisional Round matchup, let’s start there — the running game. Football Outsiders rates Cleveland’s rushing game as the seventh-best in the NFL, led by a Nick Chubb and Hunt, who combined for 1,908 yards in the regular season.
They have some help — particularly the men they run behind. They have the best run blocking unit in the NFL and the best pass blocking unit in the league, per Pro Football Focus. Mayfield operates with more time to throw than any other quarterback in the league. That could pose some problems for the Chiefs, who rank 19th in the NFL with 32 sacks and just 22nd in the NFL in hurry percentage at 8.9%.
Mayfield hasn’t always taken advantage of the extra comfort, though, and the Browns’ passing offense is ninth least productive in football at 221.2 yards per game. Yes, he’s playing better as of late, topping 250 yards in five of his final six regular season games after reaching that mark just once in the first 10 contests, but this isn’t a successful team when it needs to turn into a pass-happy one.
On the other side, the Chiefs should have quite the advantage on offense. Let’s face it — when don’t they?
The Browns have the 17th-ranked defense overall, but they finished 22nd in the NFL in pass defense. Among the eight teams still left in the playoff field, nobody allowed more than the Browns’ 247.6 passing yards per game. Put differently, Patrick Mahomes couldn’t ask for a better matchup. (Even though the Browns intercepted Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger four times Sunday night, they still allowed more than 500 yards in the air).
The Browns are susceptible to the big play. They allowed 10 plays of 40-plus yards this year, seventh most in the NFL. The Chiefs might have some players who could expose that.
The Browns had a formidable pass rush this year, led by Myles Garrett, but that’s taken a hit. The man on the opposite side of the defensive line, Oliver Vernon, is out for the playoffs with an injury. That leaves Garrett as the only player on the roster who recorded at least five sacks, and you can bet he will therefore draw extra attention from the Chiefs’ front.
The Chiefs and Browns last met in the 2018 regular season. Hunt had three touchdowns ... for the Chiefs in a 37-21 Kansas City victory. Travis Kelce caught a pair of touchdowns in a return to his home state.
Baltimore will travel to Buffalo in the other AFC Divisional Round matchup.
This story was originally published January 10, 2021 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Here’s the first look at the Chiefs-Browns AFC Divisional Round playoff matchup."