Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Browns: In first start, Darrel Williams anchored the backfield
The Chiefs’ 22-17 win over the Cleveland Browns in the AFC Divisional Round made history.
With their victory, the Chiefs will host the Buffalo Bills in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium for the third year in a row, the first time that the AFC Championship Game will be held at the same stadium for three consecutive years.
The win, however, came at a price.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes left the contest in the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion, and then was ruled out.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after the game that Mahomes is “doing great” and “passed all the deals that he needed to pass,” an indication that Mahomes has been going through initial baseline protocol tests.
“We’ll see where it goes from here,” Reid said.
Mahomes’ status in the coming week will be closely monitored before the Chiefs’ showdown against the Bills, with the winner of this weekend’s game earning the right to advance to Super Bowl LV.
Here’s how the snap counts worked out against the Browns.
QUARTERBACKS: Patrick Mahomes (48), Chad Henne (20)
Before leaving the game, Mahomes completed 21 of 30 passes for 255 yards and a touchdown, which went to tight end Travis Kelce. Mahomes added 14 yards rushing and a touchdown on three carries.
Henne was big in relief, helping to seal the win with a 13-yard scramble that set up fourth-and-short with less than two minutes remaining in the game. The veteran quarterback then connected with Tyreek Hill on a 5-yard first-down pass that enable the Chiefs to run out the clock.
The Chiefs would need a repeat of Henne’s gutsy performance if he’s called upon to start next weekend. Against the Browns, Henne completed six of eight passes for 66 yards and an interception.
RUNNING BACKS: Darrel Williams (54), Le’Veon Bell (11), Anthony Sherman (3, 16 on special teams), Darwin Thompson (6 on ST)
The Chiefs needed a running back to step up with rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire (hip, ankle) inactive ... and Williams answered the call.
In a repeat from Week 16 of the regular season, Williams paced the backfield with not only playing time, but production: 78 yards rushing on 13 carries and 16 yards on four catches.
His performance drew praise after the game.
“He’s not maybe a household name, but maybe after this game people will know him and respect the work that he does,” Reid said. “He’s a very intelligent football player, and he plays, as you saw, a very physical game.”
Bell finished with 6 yards rushing on two carries in a support role. As a team, the Chiefs totaled 123 yards on 24 carries.
WIDE RECEIVERS: Tyreek Hill (63), Demarcus Robinson (48), Mecole Hardman (47, 5 on ST), Byron Pringle (32, 4 on ST), Gehrig Dieter (1, 6 on ST)
Hill notched eight catches for 110 yards on 10 targets to lead the position group, while Hardman stepped up in Sammy Watkins’ absence by producing four catches for 58 yards on four targets.
Pringle snared two catches for 14 yards and Robinson chipped in with a catch for 14 yards.
Dieter, who was elevated Saturday from the practice squad, contributed six snaps on special teams.
TIGHT ENDS: Travis Kelce (61), Nick Keizer (16, 16 on ST), Ricky Seals-Jones (4)
Kelce totaled eight catches for 109 yards and a touchdown on 11 targets. Sunday marked the fourth time in Kelce’s career that he recorded a 100-plus yard receiving game in the postseason, the most in team history.
OFFENSIVE LINE: Eric Fisher (68, 6 on ST), Mike Remmers (68), Andrew Wylie (68, 6 on ST), Nick Allegretti (68, 6 on ST), Austin Reiter (68, 6 on ST), Stefen Wisniewski (6 on ST), Yasir Durant (6 on ST)
Remmers dealt with an illness early Sunday morning, but battled through it to make the start.
The Chiefs didn’t suffer any injuries to their offensive line.
DEFENSIVE LINE: Chris Jones (52), Frank Clark (51), Derrick Nnadi (32, 3 on ST), Alex Okafor (32), Tanoh Kpassagnon (30, 5 on ST), Tershawn Wharton (30, 3 on ST), Mike Danna (15), Mike Pennel (14, 3 on ST)
Jones’ three tackles and a quarterback hit led the defensive line group.
Clark, Nnadi and Danna each recorded two tackles, while Kpassagnon, Pennel, Wharton and Okafor each tallied a tackle.
Collectively, the Chiefs’ defensive line plugged holes to slow down the Browns’ rushing attack, which entered the game as one of the NFL’s top units, averaging 148.4 yards per game.
Kansas City limited the Browns to 112 yards rushing on 22 carries.
LINEBACKERS: Anthony Hitchens (47, 3 on ST), Damien Wilson (47, 2 on ST), Ben Niemann (34, 15 on ST), Dorian O’Daniel (15 on ST), Darius Harris (4 on ST)
Hitchens and Wilson each recorded four tackles, and Wilson was credited with defending a pass. Niemann returned to the rotation after sitting out Week 17 with a hamstring injury and recorded a tackle.
O’Daniel, whom the Chiefs on Saturday activated from injured reserve, saw his first action since early December and made a tackle on special teams.
The Chiefs were without rookie Willie Gay Jr., who continues to recover from a high-ankle sprain suffered in their regular-season finale.
DEFENSIVE BACKS: Tyrann Mathieu (64), Daniel Sorensen (64, 5 on ST), Charvarius Ward (64), Bashaud Breeland (55), L’Jarius Sneed (50, 2 on ST), Juan Thornhill (21, 10 on ST), Antonio Hamilton (2, 15 on ST), Armani Watts (15 on ST), Chris Lammons (12 on ST), BoPete Keyes (6 on ST)
Mathieu had himself a game, totaling a team-high seven tackles, an interception and a pass defensed. The interception marked the first postseason pick of Mathieu’s career.
Sorensen had a game-changing play with the hit that forced a fumble, which went through the end zone for a touchback to kill a Browns drive. The veteran safety finished with six tackles and a quarterback hit.
Sneed continues to make plays in his rookie campaign: He recorded six tackles, two for a loss, a sack and a quarterback hit Sunday.
Ward chipped in six tackles, while Breeland left the game in the fourth quarter to be evaluated for a concussion.
Thornhill recorded a tackle and Hamilton notched a stop on special teams.
SPECIALISTS: Harrison Butker (12), Tommy Townsend (6), James Winchester (6)
Butker drilled a 50-yard field goal, the longest made field goal in Chiefs postseason history. But the placekicker had an up-and-down performance overall, with a missed extra point and botched 33-yard field goal attempt, which bounced off the left upright.
Townsend didn’t record a punt in the game.
DID NOT PLAY: C Daniel Kilgore
INACTIVES: WR Sammy Watkins (calf), RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (hip, ankle), LB Willie Gay Jr. (ankle), CB Rashad Fenton (ankle, foot), DT Khalen Saunders, DE Tim Ward, OL Martinas Rankin
Watkins suffered his calf injury in Week 16 of the regular season and missed all three days of practice leading to Sunday’s game. Edwards-Helaire hasn’t played since suffering his injuries in Week 15.
This story was originally published January 18, 2021 at 10:02 AM with the headline "Chiefs’ snap counts vs. Browns: In first start, Darrel Williams anchored the backfield."
