When the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns met in the playoffs four years ago, both teams were on the rise. They had young quarterbacks and exciting playmakers, which made it seem like a new rivalry was beginning.
That didn’t happen. Only one of the teams continued to improve.
Since the Chiefs’ 22-17 victory over the Browns in the 2020 AFC divisional playoff, Kansas City (12-1) has reached three Super Bowls, winning the last two. Patrick Mahomes has become the NFL’s most dangerous and clutch quarterback, while Travis Kelce is considered the best tight end in the game and has a famous pop star girlfriend.
The Browns (3-10) have gone in the opposite direction.
Cleveland has had three losing seasons, moved on from quarterback Baker Mayfield, and made a huge mistake by trading for Deshaun Watson. This trade not only caused division among their fans but might affect the team for many years.
Now, as the teams prepare to meet on Sunday — with the Chiefs at the top of the NFL and the Browns struggling — their previous playoff matchup in January 2021 seems even more distant.
“I don’t remember too much about that playoff game,” said Browns safety Juan Thornhill, who was with the Chiefs at that time. “The only thing that I remember is that controversial hit at the goal line. It feels like forever ago.”
The “controversial hit” Thornhill referred to came from Chiefs safety Daniel Sorensen, who caused Browns wide receiver Rashard Higgins to lose the ball with a helmet-to-helmet collision that wasn’t penalized.
That hit was one of many big moments in a game that also saw Mahomes leave with a concussion. Cleveland’s defense couldn’t stop backup quarterback Chad Henne’s key scramble or fourth-down throw in the final minute.
If the Browns had won, things might have been different. Maybe Mayfield would have stayed, maybe Cleveland would have been the top team, and maybe the road to the Super Bowl would go through Cleveland instead of Kansas City.
But that didn’t happen. The Chiefs are now riding a huge wave of success, and some would say luck.
This season, the Chiefs have won 10 games by seven points or less, with six of those wins coming on the final play. Last week, Matthew Wright, filling in for two injured kickers, hit a 31-yard field goal off the left upright to give Kansas City a 19-17 win for the second week in a row.
These “lucky” Chiefs have been playing close games all season and have kept winning.
“You make your own luck,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said. “They’re a good football team. They’ve won close games. You win close games by putting yourself in position to go make a play here, make a play there. That puts you over the top.”
It certainly helps to have Mahomes, who seems able to make the impossible happen.
“He makes magic happen,” Cleveland safety Grant Delpit said.
