KC Chiefs: Five players to watch vs Browns in divisional round

Hopefully, these KC Chiefs players have big games in the divisional round.

The Kansas City Chiefs had Wild Card weekend off, but they’ll now be taking the field for the divisional round and their opponent will be the feisty Cleveland Browns. Who are some Chiefs players to keep an eye on in this battle? Let’s take a look.

Offensive Line

The Chiefs’ offensive line has been banged up all year and quite frankly, it’s been weird not having Mitchell Schwartz out there for the majority of the season. That being said, the Chiefs haven’t dwelled on this and have put together o-lines that have been able to, for the most part, limit the sacks on Patrick Mahomes.

A lot of that is due to Mahomes scrambling and creating plays, but the offensive line needs to play lights out on Sunday. Myles Garrett is one of the best pass rushers in the league and he’ll definitely be chasing down Mahomes any chance he gets.

If the Chiefs want to be successful at doing anything on Sunday, the offensive line needs to come to play and have their best game of the season.

Chris Jones

It hasn’t been quite the season that Chiefs fans were hoping for from Chris Jones after he signed his four-year extension, but the playoffs can be a time for him to prove he’s still that dominant pass rusher. Even if his sack totals haven’t been what fans expected, Jones has been productive in other areas and that needs to be noted.

Something that Jones has excelled at during the postseason has been batting down balls and preventing what could be big plays. Nick Jacobs tweeted that Jones has had seven pass deflections through the past four playoff games he’s taken part in. We all remember the big one he had in the Super Bowl and if he can get a few more of those in this game (plus a sack or two), that’d be a job well done for Jones.

Le’Veon Bell

With Clyde Edwards-Helaire listed as questionable, there’s a chance the Chiefs have to lean on Le’Veon Bell against the Browns. If so, Bell is going to have to pop off some big runs and take the pressure off of the passing game.

The Browns have had an above-average run defense all season long and while it didn’t have to do much in the Wild Card win over Pittsburgh due to being up by four touchdowns in the first quarter, the Chiefs need to at least try to run the ball. Bell hasn’t had a huge game for the Chiefs yet and this is his chance to show that he still has plenty left in the tank.

Linebackers

Last, but not least, Chiefs fans should be keeping an eye on the team’s linebackers during this game because it could be a long afternoon for them. Unlike the Chiefs, Cleveland is definitely a run-first team and they’re going to try to take advantage of the poor KC run defense throughout this game (unless they fall behind quickly).

Willie Gay won’t play due to the ankle injury he sustained in Week 17 and that’s a big loss for this defense. That also means Ben Niemann is going to get more playing time and that’s something Chiefs Kingdom won’t love seeing, as Niemann has struggled this season.

Kareem Hunt will be out for revenge and Nick Chubb rushed for over 1,000 yards despite missing four games. Together, these two are going to run wild at Arrowhead and if the Chiefs linebackers don’t step up, it could be a long game for Chiefs fans.

Mecole Hardman

Last, but not least, we have Mecole Hardman, who needs to have a big game. Sammy Watkins is listed as out for the divisional round, which hurts in so many ways. Watkins has very much proved himself to be a key contributor in the playoffs and not having him will definitely set this offense back.

Hardman needs to step up and be a reliable WR2 for Patrick Mahomes. If he plays well enough, the Browns won’t be able to double team Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce and that can open those two up more for big plays.

It’s time for Hardman to show what he can do on the big stage. The Chiefs offense needs him to be great on Sunday.

Who are you going to be keeping an eye on in this matchup?