When they met in the postseason four years ago, the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns were both ascending teams. With young quarterbacks and dynamic playmakers, it appeared to be the start of a budding rivalry.
Since their 22-17 win over the Browns in a 2020 AFC divisional playoff, the Chiefs (12-1) have been to three Super Bowls, winning the past two. Patrick Mahomes has become the NFL’s most dangerous, most clutch quarterback, and Travis Kelce is the game’s preeminent tight end with a world-famous pop superstar girlfriend.
The Browns (3-10) went the other direction.
Cleveland has had three losing seasons, gave up on quarterback Baker Mayfield and made a colossal mistake with a franchise-shifting trade for Deshaun Watson that not only divided their fan base but could haunt the Browns for years.
The aforementioned “controversial hit” was delivered by Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen, who jarred the ball loose from Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins with a helmet-to-helmet collision that wasn’t penalized.
It was one of several big plays in a game that included Mahomes being pulled with a concussion and Cleveland’s defense failing to stop backup QB Chad Henne’s late scramble or fourth-down completion in the final minute.
Related
