Kansas City Chiefs can’t underestimate the Browns in divisional round
The Kansas City Chiefs face the Browns and it’s not a matchup to take lightly.
Heading into this weekend’s divisional matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns, most people are going to pick the Chiefs. They’re currently 10-point favorites per The Action Network and while the Chiefs are the defending Super Bowl champions, that doesn’t mean they’re guaranteed to beat Cleveland.
I’ll admit that I’ve been underestimating the Browns this season, but the one thing that worries me in this matchup is how good Cleveland’s run game is. Nick Chubb missed four games in the 2020 regular season and still finished the year with over 1,000 yards rushing and 12 touchdowns. The dude is a monster and it’s going to be tough for the Chiefs defense to slow him down, especially considering how poorly they’ve played against the run.
The Browns also have former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt, who had 841 rushing yards and six touchdowns. Chiefs fans know all too well how good Hunt can be and he’ll be motivated to put on a clinic against his old team.
The Kansas City Chiefs might appear to be the better team, but don’t rule anything out.
As we saw in the Browns’ Wild Card win over the Steelers, anything is possible in the playoffs. Nobody expected a Cleveland team without Kevin Stefanski on the sidelines to win that game and they not only won it, but they led 28-0 in the first quarter.
Now they’ll have their head coach back for their next game vs the Chiefs and even importantly, they know they can win in the playoffs. As Chiefs fans know, that’s a dangerous discovery for any team, so KC needs to be prepared for anything the Browns plan to throw at them on Sunday.
Another reason to be weary in this matchup is that Cleveland has nothing to lose. Just making the playoffs was an accomplishment for them and defeating the Steelers last weekend was practically their Super Bowl. They’ll throw everything they have at the defending champions because, why not? They’re big underdogs this week and that means anything goes as far as the game plan is concerned.
Next. Fourth Quarter Rookie Report Card. dark
Do I think the Chiefs win this weekend and advance to their third straight AFC Championship Game? Yes. At the same time, however, I won’t be shocked if the Browns make this a really close game and have us all on the edge of our seats.