Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions, host Baker Mayfield and the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday in the divisional round of the AFC playoffs. Follow along for live updates during the game.
What you need to know
- How to watch: Kickoff is at 3:05 p.m. Eastern on CBS; stream at cbssports.com.
- What to watch for: The top-seeded Chiefs are heavily favored over the sixth-seeded Browns, who advanced to the second round after a decisive win over the Steelers last Sunday. They’ll have to rely on their strong running game to lead scoring drives and keep the ball out of the hands of Mahomes and Kansas City’s high-powered offense.
- Complete NFL schedule and results
Chiefs get 50-yard field goal, 16-3 lead
By Des Bieler
The Chiefs did not get a touchdown on their third drive of the game, but they still ended it on a happy note when place-kicker Harrison Butker banged home a 50-yard field goal for a 16-3 lead over the Browns.
CBS claimed on its telecast that it was the first made field goal of that length in the history of playoff games at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium.
Earlier in the Chiefs’ 13-play, 53-yard drive, CBS’s analyst Tony Romo speculated that an injury to the left foot of Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes may have led to some errant throws. Mahomes had been shown in the medical tent on the sideline for what appeared to be such an injury to his left foot.
For the game thus far, Mahomes has completed 13 of 17 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, with a 125.4 passer rating.
Two possessions, two TDs for the Chiefs, who have 13-3 lead
By Des Bieler
If the Browns were hoping to be able to pound the ball on the ground and chew up the clock with patient drives, this is not the way they wanted the game to start.
The Chiefs scored their second touchdown in as many possessions, this time on a 20-yard catch-and-run (and leap) by star tight end Travis Kelce. Place-kicker Harrison Butker, who missed his first extra-point attempt, banged home his second to help Kansas City to a 13-3 lead.
Wide receiver Mecole Hardman took a flip pass in the backfield from Patrick Mahomes for a 42-yard gain on the second play of the seven-play, 75-yard drive. Whereas running back Darrel Williams handled the rushing work on the first drive, in place of the injured Clyde Edwards-Helaire, the Chiefs used Le’Veon Bell on the second drive.
Browns get field goal to trim deficit to 6-3
By Des Bieler
The Browns didn’t get the touchdown they wanted to keep up with the Chiefs, but they’ll take a field goal to get on the scoreboard, especially from 46 yards out in windy conditions at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium. That ended a 12-play, 47-yard drive and trimmed the Chiefs’ lead to 6-3.
Tight end David Njoku took a short pass for a 27-yard gain with the help of some good blocking downfield, and quarterback Baker Mayfield converted two third-down plays. However, after the Browns drove to the Chiefs’ 20-yard line, two plays lost a total of 11 yards, including a sack of Mayfield on second down.
Patrick Mahomes rushing TD gives Chiefs 6-0 lead
By Des Bieler
The Kansas City Chiefs got off to a fast start in their playoff game against the Cleveland Browns, scoring on their opening drive for a 6-0 lead after place-kicker Harrison Butker missed the extra point. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran into the end zone with little difficulty from one yard out to cap a 10-play, 75-yard drive.
The biggest play on the drive was a 26-yard pass from Mahomes to wide receiver Tyreek Hill, but perhaps of greater concern for the Browns was that the Chiefs were able to run the ball effectively even with rookie starting back Clyde Edwards-Helaire inactive because of an ankle injury. In his place, third-year back Darrel Williams handled the backfield work, including a nine-yard pass from Mahomes on a second-and-11 play in the red zone. Kansas City’s other running back of note, veteran Le’Veon Bell, did not get a snap on the opening drive.
That time Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield had the craziest college QB duel ever
By Adam Kilgore
The numbers in the box score looked fake, the clock ticked close to midnight and the tortillas flying through the Jones AT&T Stadium air were frozen. On Oct. 22, 2016, Oklahoma and Texas Tech played a football game that tested limits and expanded imagination. In an era of boundless offense, it set a new standard. It included nearly a mile of total yards. It could take forever to describe, but only a few words to explain.
“Honestly, it was pretty simple,” Oklahoma tackle Orlando Brown Jr. said. “It was Baker vs. Pat.”
Baker Mayfield has led the Browns to a playoff berth and victory in his third season after being selected first overall in the 2018 draft. Patrick Mahomes is the reigning Super Bowl MVP for the Chiefs, and is entering his third postseason as the team’s starter after being selected 10th overall in the 2017 draft.
But several years ago, before they were NFL stars, Mayfield and Mahomes combined for one of the looniest college football games in recent memory. Mayfield’s Sooners defeated Mahomes’s Red Raiders, 66-59, as Oklahoma and Texas Tech totaled 1,708 yards, which broke the previous record by more than 60. Mayfield passed for 545 yards and seven touchdowns. Mahomes threw 88 times for 734 yards, which tied a record. He also ran 12 times for 85 yards, which gave him a record 819 total yards. And he lost.
From the archives: After son’s death, Andy Reid finds success through second chances
By Kent Babb
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — They stepped out of the cold and into the warmth and uncertainty of a private airport in Philadelphia. Failure was not an option.
In early January 2013, five members of the Kansas City Chiefs organization had traveled east, and when the big man with the familiar mustache walked in to join them, he could smell soft pretzels and — considering the crowd — feel the day’s importance.
“That must’ve been a big plane,” Andy Reid would remember thinking.
Earlier that week, Reid had been fired as the Philadelphia Eagles’ head coach after 14 seasons, most of them good, none of them quite good enough. The last two, for reasons personal and professional, had been downright terrible. But here he was, a man without a franchise for four whole days — Reid had never been out of work this long, and it was excruciating — and ready for a clean slate, a fresh challenge, an escape from the disappointment, and the tragedy, of the previous months. That and another shot at the one thing that had eluded him: a Super Bowl championship.
As it happened, the Chiefs officials were there for largely the same reasons.
Believe it or not, the oldest QB left in the AFC playoffs is Baker Mayfield
By Des Bieler
In fact, the oldest starting quarterback left in the AFC playoffs is … Baker Mayfield?
That’s right, the 25-year-old Cleveland Brown, in his third NFL season, is the senior member of that conference’s quartet. He was born 156 days before Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, against whom Mayfield will square off Sunday. The other AFC matchup featured a battle of 24-year-olds in the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen and the Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson.
Speaking with reporters Wednesday, Mayfield said his elder-statesman status on the AFC side was “pretty crazy to see.”
No decisions by NFL yet on Super Bowl crowd
By Mark Maske
The NFL has not made final determinations yet about how many vaccinated health care workers will attend the Super Bowl as guests of the league or what the overall fan capacity at Raymond James Stadium will be for the Feb. 7 game in Tampa, according to a person familiar with the league’s planning.
The Super Bowl is only three weeks off, but the NFL continues its deliberations as it works to complete its postseason and stage its signature event amid the pandemic.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced in mid-December that the league would invite vaccinated health care workers to the game as its guests. The plan was subject to the approval of public health authorities, Goodell said at the time, and the NFL did not specify how many workers would be involved.
“As we all know, these front-line workers are true American heroes and we owe them our ongoing gratitude,” Goodell said then. “We also know that we need to rely on them for months to come to distribute vaccines and continue to treat all of those that are ill from covid and other illnesses.”
The NFL previously said it was exploring the possibility of 20 percent seating capacity overall for the Super Bowl as one potential contingency. But it cautioned that no determination had been made and it was possible that number could grow. Raymond James Stadium has a listed capacity of 65,000 that’s expandable to 75,000.
The usual grandeur of the Super Bowl will be largely absent this year. The participating teams are not expected to arrive in Tampa until late in the week, a day or two before the game. Media availabilities for players and coaches will be conducted remotely, even on media night.
Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire declared inactive; Browns get healthier
By Des Bieler
Some notable names were included — and excluded — from the inactive lists for Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns. In particular, the Chiefs will be without running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, a first-round pick last year who led the team in rushing this season.
Edwards-Helaire, who sat out Kansas City’s final two games of the regular season, was unable to overcome ankle and hip injuries to participate in the divisional round playoff contest. In his place, veteran Le’Veon Bell and third-year back Darrel Williams are likely to share most of the running back touches.
The Chiefs will also be without another important offensive contributor, wide receiver Sammy Watkins, and rookie linebacker Willie Gay Jr., who started eight games this season, including four of the past five. Other Kansas City players declared inactive: cornerback Rashad Fenton, offensive tackle Martinas Rankin, defensive end Tim Ward and defensive tackle Khalen Saunders.
For Cleveland, it was more about who was not on its inactive list Sunday. By getting back starting offensive tackle Jack Conklin, linebacker B.J. Goodson and tight ends David Njoku and Stephen Carlson from various injuries, on top of seeing several other players and head coach Kevin Stefanski return from the reserve/covid-19 list, the Browns are as healthy overall as they have been in several weeks.
Players declared inactive by Cleveland: wide receivers Marvin Hall and Alexander Hollins, cornerback Brian Allen, safety Jovante Moffatt, offensive tackle Alex Taylor, tight end Kyle Markway and defensive end Joe Jackson.
Who to pick in Cleveland at Kansas City (-10)
By Neil Greenberg
If there is one way Cleveland can exploit Kansas City’s defensive weakness, it is via the running game. The Browns ran for the third most yards in the NFL this season (2,374), and their leading rusher, Nick Chubb, led the league with 4.1 yards per carry after contact. His teammate, Kareem Hunt, tied for the sixth most yards per carry after contact (3.2). Chubb also led the league in the share of yardage earned on rushes of 15 or more yards (429 out of 1,065 yards, 40 percent).
Kansas City, meanwhile, had the second-worst run defense during the regular season after adjusting for strength of schedule, per Football Outsiders.
Will the success of Chubb and Hunt be enough for Cleveland to win the game outright? Probably not, but it should keep Browns closer than 10 points.
Kevin Stefanski returns to Browns’ sideline after getting a playoff win from his basement
By Mark Maske
Coach Kevin Stefanski was back in the building, and in recent days a semblance of normalcy returned for the Cleveland Browns — at least by the standards of an NFL season played amid a pandemic.
And, yes, Stefanski and the Browns said, that relative ordinariness is welcome after they overcame their coronavirus-related issues by rushing to a shocking early lead last Sunday night in Pittsburgh and holding on to oust the Steelers from the AFC playoffs. The stakes are even higher and the opponent is even more formidable this Sunday as the Browns visit the top-seeded Kansas City Chiefs in a divisional-round matchup.
“I hope that we take all of these experiences and these learnings,” Stefanski said last week, “and make us better for it. And I really say that going back all the way to the spring. Things have not been normal for us or any team out there or really, frankly, any person out there.”
What to watch for during Sunday’s Browns-Chiefs playoff matchup
By Des Bieler
The Cleveland Browns visit the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday in a divisional round playoff game, with a spot in the AFC championship game at stake. With a win, the Chiefs would become the first AFC team to host the conference title game three years in a row, and the Buffalo Bills would travel to their stadium. If the Browns win, they travel to Buffalo for a contest to see which long-downtrodden fan base gets to see its team play in the Super Bowl.
Per oddsmakers, the Chiefs entered this NFL weekend as the biggest favorites, by approximately 10 points, but their game against the Cleveland Browns was also expected to be the most high-scoring. So while we might not have a surprising outcome, there should be some fireworks along the way.
Of course, the Browns have already sprung a major surprise, not just by making the playoffs for the first time since 2003 but by actually winning a postseason game for the first time since 1995. On the other hand, the Chiefs are not likely to spot the Browns a 28-point lead, as the Pittsburgh Steelers did last week, and even if they do, Kansas City showed in this round last year that it could rally from a 24-point deficit in a 51-31 win over the Houston Texans.
Cleveland’s best chance for a second straight upset likely would come from using its strong rushing attack, third-best in the NFL this season, to wear down and spring big plays against Kansas City’s 21st-ranked run defense. Running back Kareem Hunt indicated this week that he will be playing with some extra motivation, after he was released by Kansas City in 2018 after a video showed him pushing and kicking a woman.
For their part, the Chiefs, behind superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes and record-setting tight end Travis Kelce, can deploy the league’s top-ranked passing attack against the Browns’ 22nd-ranked pass defense. The good news in that regard for Cleveland is that it is getting its top cornerback, Denzel Ward, back from the reserve/covid-19 list, as well as another cornerback, Kevin Johnson. At least as significantly, head coach Kevin Stefanski and Pro Bowl guard Joel Bitonio are also returning from coronavirus-related absences last week.
While Stefanski is in his first year on the job and leading a team with little playoff experience, the Chiefs’ Andy Reid is in his 22nd year as a head coach and guided his team to a Super Bowl win last season. Kansas City is coming off a first-round bye, and Reid is legendary for his post-bye success, with a career mark of 25-5 the week after a week off, including 6-2 in the playoffs.
Kansas City got that bye with a 14-win season, the most in franchise history, but it wasn’t particularly dominant in the second half of the season. Over the Chiefs’ final seven wins, none was by more than six points, and their average margin of victory over that stretch was 3.9 points.
Recent history says, though, that Mahomes and Co. might be ready to turn things up a notch. Over four playoff games the past two seasons at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium, the Chiefs have outscored their opponents by a total of 43 points, and Mahomes has 13 total touchdowns and no turnovers.
Browns-Chiefs, Bucs-Saints games cleared for kickoff after latest testing results
By Mark Maske
The Browns-Chiefs and Buccaneers-Saints NFL divisional round playoff games Sunday are cleared for kickoff after the latest round of daily coronavirus testing results.
The final clearance for the games to be played as scheduled was confirmed by a person familiar with the NFL’s planning.
The NFL, after completing its 256-game regular season in the originally allotted 17 weeks, will emerge from this weekend only three games away from finishing its postseason. The two conference championship games are scheduled for next weekend and the Super Bowl is to be played Feb. 7 in Tampa.
Saints reserve offensive lineman Will Clapp is in isolation and will miss Sunday’s game after testing positive for the coronavirus. His positive test was confirmed Friday night by a person familiar with the result. The Saints placed him on their covid-19 reserve list Saturday. No other Saints players were classified as high-risk close contacts and placed into quarantine.
Browns Coach Kevin Stefanski returns to the sideline Sunday after missing last weekend’s victory at Pittsburgh while in isolation following his positive test result. The Browns’ coronavirus issues have abated. They activated key players such as guard Joel Bitonio, wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge and cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Kevin Johnson from their covid-19 reserve list during the week.
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2021-01-17 21:12:00Z
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