Defending Champions Kansas City Chiefs Vulnerable Entering AFC Title Game | Launderer report

The NFL is a results-driven business. And when the final weapon sounded at the end of Sunday’s thriller between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Cleveland Browns, the reigning Super Bowl champions had escaped with a 22-17 victory that sent them into the AFC Championship game for the third consecutive season.

But while the Chiefs have now won 11 of 12 and are the first team in AFC history to host the conference title tilt in three consecutive seasons, this game ended in a similar scenario somewhat. little worrying. Dating back to an ill-fated New York Jets 35-9 choke in Week 8, the Chiefs haven’t beaten a team by more than six points since November 1.

They may have sported the league’s best regular season record at 14-2. They can be the reigning Super Bowl champions. And depending on the health of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, they’ll likely be favored by Vegas punters. next week.

But as a clash with a Buffalo Bills team that is equally hot in terms of wins and losses approaches, Kansas City doesn’t look like an unstoppable juggernaut. It sounds like a word that hasn’t been associated with the franchise for quite some time: vulnerable.

That didn’t appear to be the case in the first half on Sunday, however.

Playing against a Cleveland defense that struggled at times, Kansas City moved the ball at will. The Chiefs amassed nearly 300 attacking yards in the first half. The racing game was working. Mahomes and the passing attack were brisk. The defense played well and made a huge turnover towards the end of the second quarter. One extra point missed was just about all that went wrong, and the Chiefs were 16 at intermission.

When safety Tyrann Mathieu pushed Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield deep into the Browns’ territory in the first series of the second period, it looked like the rout was on.

But Kansas City’s next practice resulted in another Harrison Butker missed kick. The Browns then led the length of the field, walking 77 yards in eight plays to close the scoring at 19-10.

The Chiefs were able to stretch the lead to 12 on their next possession, but it came at a price: the injury that will dominate the conversation around next week’s game for the next few days.

While trying to avoid the pass rush, Mahomes (who had already suffered what appeared to be a toe injury in the first half) was hoisted to the ground after a throw. He hit his head, was visibly wobbly afterwards and was escorted off the pitch and into the locker room.

He wouldn’t come back.

Now before anyone starts panicking prematurely, head coach Andy reid seemed optimistic after the game Mahomes will be back next Sunday against Buffalo.

“He got hit in the back of the head and kind of put the wind out of him,” Reid said. “… He’s doing great right now, which is really positive, made all the deals he needed to get through, so we’ll see where it goes from here.… I just spoke to him. He’s fine. We’ll see how he’s doing tomorrow, but right now he’s feeling fine. “

It should also be noted that the chiefs have gathered around their fallen flagman.

Reserve quarterback Chad Henne threw an ugly interception, but he also made a handful of plays with his arm, including a fourth pitch at Tyreek Hill that made the game salty. The Kansas City defense struggled for much of the second half, but played late when needed.

Mathieu spoke about the latter when speaking to CBS Sports after the game.

“We are a team,” he said. “We’re a heartbeat. We play for each other, and that’s really all it is about. I think every time one of our teammates falls, we always feel the need to go up. up a notch and take care of what we need to take care of. “

Assuming for a moment that Reid is right and Mahomes is able to come out again next week against Buffalo, no one is saying to press the big red panic button.

It was a game in which the Chiefs racked up 438 attacking yards even with Mahomes almost halfway through the afternoon. Travis Kelce and Hill both had over 100 receiving yards. Kansas City amassed 123 rushing yards and averaged 5.1 yards per pop while allowing the Browns just 308 total yards.

The AFC title game could also showcase the potential return of rookie running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who beat the Bills for 161 yards on 26 carries in a nine-point Chiefs win in Week 6. .

But as has been the case for the past two months, the Chiefs weren’t able to sideline the Browns until the very end. Most of those 308 allowed yards came after intermission.

Next week’s opponent isn’t a one-dimensional team with a defense that couldn’t cover a bed with a sheet. The only team in the league to average more yards per game during the regular season were the Chiefs. Buffalo was in fact more as prolific as Mahomes and Kansas City in the scoring department, averaging 31.3 points per game at 29.6.

And while the Bills’ defense won’t be mistaken for the 1985 Chicago Bears anytime soon, it was a respectable 14th in yards allowed and 16th in points allowed. Never mind how fantastic said defense came out in Saturday’s two-point victory over the Baltimore Ravens – a game in which the Buffalo defense dominated the Baltimore offense.

The mantra of any NFL playoff team is three words: survive and advance. The Chiefs did that Sunday, overcoming quite a bit of adversity in the process. And until someone brings them down, they remain King of the Hill in the NFL.

But momentum is also very important in this league, and it’s hard to get started when every week’s game is a tight scratch.

Had the Chiefs knocked out a significantly outclassed Browns team on Sunday, they could have reclaimed the AFC’s hottest team title ahead of their biggest game of the season. Instead, they pulled out another close one and added at least one massive question swirling above them in the process.

And while Kansas City fans have every reason to be relieved after Sunday’s squeaker, there are also reasons to be concerned.

It would be the worst time of the season to finally cut one too To close.