AFC Game Of The Week
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs
Browns: What a story they were in 2020. Whoever thought we’d see a year where the New England Patriots would miss the playoffs but the Cleveland Browns would make it? Isn’t that something? In a competitive AFC North, they were able to stick around. I’ll admit to you that I didn’t know how they’d be without Odell Beckham Jr. To some, Cleveland was a better offense without Odell and I can’t disagree with that. What helped them stay consistent was sticking to their identity. This is a team that wants to run the football. It also helps when you have the best tandem of running backs in the league in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. The ground attack helped Baker Mayfield tremendously as he enjoyed the best season of his career. They wanted to build up their defense in the off-season and accomplished that. In the draft, Notre Dame linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah fell to them in the second-round which was a huge pick for them. I’m ready to see where they go next. To begin the 2021 season, they will travel to where their season ended just eight months ago.
Chiefs: They’ve won the AFC West each year since 2016. Since Patrick Mahomes became the starting quarterback, not only have the Chiefs won the division, they’ve had a first-round bye in the AFC playoffs. As far as I’m concerned, they are the AFC until another team knocks them off the top. Here’s two scary things for you to think about. One, Patrick has yet to enter his prime. Look at all he’s accomplished. Two, all the core players for the Chiefs are still here. That’s Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce to be exact. One major issue coming into the off-season for the reigning AFC champs was the offensive line. Things didn’t go as planned in the Super Bowl. That was the most I’ve seen the quarterback run for his life. If you’ve watched him since he became the starter, Patrick has had a clean pocket to throw from or he’d escape and make a play with his feet. The Chiefs signed Joe Thuney, Kyle Long and acquired Orlando Brown Jr from the Baltimore Ravens. The defense must improve this year. Other guys outside of Chris Jones and Tyrann Mathieu must step up. The Chiefs will open their season with a playoff rematch on Sunday.
Browns X-Factor: John Johnson III– This was a great pick up for the Cleveland Browns. What I enjoy about his game is how he’s always around the football. John has a strong nose for the ball. He keeps his eyes on whoever is running in his vicinity and then attacks. Each defense has that “enforcer”. What I mean is each defense has that one guy that can lay a hit. This is what John will be for the Browns defense this year.
Chiefs X-Factor: Jarran Reed- The Chiefs needed some more depth on the interior of the defensive line. This was a good signing for them. Nowadays, you’re seeing more defensive tackles rush the passer from the inside of the defensive line. Jarran has a strong first step with the quickness and power to win his wars up front. Jarran is a disruptive force that can make plays in a variety of ways such as forcing fumbles and helping collapse the pocket.
Final Thoughts: What a game this should be. They met in the playoffs back in January and the Browns gave the Chiefs all they could handle. In the end, the Chiefs survived. Now, they kick off week one against each other. The Browns will treat this as an early Super Bowl of some sorts because they want to show the world they belong in the contenders conversation. Also, this is why the Browns bolstered up their defense. It was for these Chiefs. The battle I’m anxious to watch is the Cleveland defensive front against this revamped Chiefs offensive line. A heavy dose of Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt will be needed to keep Mahomes and that offense on the sidelines. Also, I’m pressuring Mahomes up the middle throughout the game. For the Chiefs, they must bottle up the Browns running game. I’m forcing Baker to take the game over with his arm. Across the board, the Chiefs have too much firepower offensively which works in their favor.
Prediction: Chiefs 28 Browns 23
