The Chiefs survived and advanced on Sunday, won a riveting playoff game that put them in their second consecutive AFC Championship game next weekend. But they lost one of the NFL’s best players in the process.
The No. 1-seeded Chiefs overcame a gritty effort from the wild-card Browns in the divisional playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium, winning 22-17 to keep alive their dream of becoming the first team to defend its Super Bowl title since the Patriots in 2003-04.
“The will to win,’’ Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “Sometimes you’ve got to be able to reach deep and pull that out. That’s what you saw today.’’
The Chiefs (15-2) will play the Bills next Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium with a second consecutive Super Bowl berth in the balance.
Whether they’ll play that game with their all-world quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, is another matter.
Mahomes (21 of 30 for 255 yards and a TD) was knocked out of the game with a concussion with 7:27 remaining in the third quarter when Browns linebacker Mack Wilson took him down hard to the turf on a tackle after a running play.
The NFL’s most dynamic passer was wobbly and woozy and had to be helped up and to the sideline by teammates. He was immediately brought to the locker room in concussion protocol and was never cleared to return.
Chad Henne celebrates during Sunday’s win. AP“He got hit in back of the head and it knocked the wind out of him,’’ Reid said. “He’s doing great right now, which is a real positive. He passed all the deals he needed to pass. We’ll see where it goes from here, see how he feels [Monday].’’
When Mahomes was KO’d, the Chiefs were clinging to a 19-10 lead and now were going to be quarterbacked for the rest of the game by journeyman backup Chad Henne, who began his NFL career in 2008 yet had never thrown a pass in the playoffs.
Nerves were raw inside the home stadium, but Henne (6 of 8 for 66 yards and an INT) more than held serve. After the Mahomes injury, he completed that series and helped lead the Chiefs to a 33-yard Harrison Butker field goal and a 22-10 lead.
The Browns cut the Chiefs lead to 22-17 on a 3-yard scoring run by Browns running back Kareem Hunt, a former Chief, with 11:07 remaining in the game. Suddenly, it was a one-score game.
When does a five-point fourth-quarter lead not feel like a lead at all?
When you’re the Chiefs and Mahomes is out for the rest of the game.
The Browns had the ball with eight minutes remaining in the game after a Henne interception in the end zone. It was the biggest drive of Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield’s NFL career. But Mayfield (23-of-37 for 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) never got his team in the end zone.
The drive stalled when, facing a fourth-and-9 from their own 32, the Browns punted with 4:09 remaining and never got the ball back.
“It sucks because so many people have sacrificed so much during this process and this very strange season and overcome adversity,’’ Mayfield said. “It sucks because we believed in it.’’
After the Browns’ punt, Henne saved the game with two memorable plays. On third-and-14 from the Kansas City 35, he scrambled for 13 yards, leaving a fourth-and-1 from the Chiefs 48.
Then, with Reid opting to go for it on fourth-and-1 and put the game away, Henne connected with Tyreek Hill for 5 yards and the first down, allowing the Chiefs to take the ever-sweet victory formation to bleed out the clock.
“Everyone on our sideline knew we were going to go for that play,’’ Reid said. “There’s no tomorrow. Let’s go. Let’s roll. There was no flinch on the play. There was no doubt.’’
The Chiefs were helped by a significant bit of fortune late in the first half, on a game-altering play that got lost in the frenetic finish.
Trailing 16-3, Mayfield connected with Rashard Higgins, who dove toward the end-zone pylon with his arms extended with the ball. If the ball touches the pylon, it’s a TD and the Browns cut the Kansas City lead to 16-10.
But, Kansas City safety Daniel Sorensen hurled his body toward Higgins and knocked the ball loose, sending it into the end zone for a touchback, turning the ball over to the Chiefs.
The play was correctly ruled a fumble. But Sorensen was incorrectly not flagged for a helmet-to-helmet hit. But by rule, that’s not reviewable by replay.
“It is a game of inches — literally on that play,’’ Browns guard Joel Bitonio said. “You want a guy fighting for that last inch. It’s just is unfortunate how the ball bounced on that one.”
