Cleveland Browns vs. Chiefs: Can the new staff upset Kansas City?

Writer: Eliot Kennel

Game: Kansas City Chiefs (7-1) at Cleveland Browns (2-5-1)

This is a trap game for Kansas City, and there is an excellent chance that they can win.  Kansas City is a fantastic team and by rights should dominate the game.  But how do you game plan for an offense that is under a different coordinator so that you have no film, no stats about what Freddie Kitchens wants to do with this team. Are the Browns a run-first team or a pass-first team?  There’s no way for Kansas City to know now. That is an advantage.

Moreover, John Dorsey knows a lot about Kansas City having been their GM until last year.  He knows everything there is to know about Pat Mahomes.  Mahomes is actually the guy who got Dorsey fired as his superiors did not appreciate trading up for a relatively unknown quarterback in the 2017 draft.  Well, drafting Mahomes in the first round may not have been all that stupid.  At any rate, Dorsey knows Mahomes very well and if he has a weakness we will find it.  That is another advantage.

In addition, the offense was simply dysfunctional. How much was Jackson and how much was Haley we can’t be certain, but somehow they made the stupid decision to keep Nick Chubb on the bench and to promote the likes of Desmond Harrison over Joel Bitonio and Austin Corbett. That can’t possibly be a good idea, though it may take a week or so before the Browns make a lineup change.  New OC Al Saunders may not be a football genius, but he might at least be sane, and that would represent a major improvement.

This is a home game for Cleveland.  Browns fans are down in the dumps right now, but as a rule, home field underdogs are still dangerous.  When they’re bad, they’re very bad, but when they are good, they are very good and they can win.

But the roster talent favors the Chiefs.  Kareem Hunt may be the most dangerous man on the Chiefs, because in recent weeks Offensive Coordinators have figured out some of Coach Williams’ attacking style defense, and opposing runners have gained miles of real estate against them.  Moreover, they have former Brown Mitchell Schwartz leading the run blocking.  Did you realize that Mitchell Schwartz has 6,800 consecutive snaps and has never missed. He’s two-thirds of the way to matching Joe Thomas.  Incredible!

The Browns really are not a bad team, although they have gotten progressively weaker as the season has progressed.  But they still have Myles Garrett and Emmanuel Ogbah to turn up the heat on Mahomes, and they have talent in the secondary, led by rookie sensation Denzel Ward.  That will help against the likes of Tyreek Hill.  Tight end Travis Kelce, the pride of Willoughby South High, is another favorite target of Mahomes, and the greatest Tight End this side of Rob Gronkowski.  He is often the strong safety’s responsibility, but Jabrill Peppers is going to need some major help.  Kelce will be a mismatch that favors Kansas City.

On defense, the Chiefs are not nearly as sensational as they are on offense.  In fact, they are the second worse in total yards given up.  That is incredible considering the fact that they control the ball on offense so that opposing teams don’t have as many possessions. The Chiefs are hurting right now with starting linebacker Justin Houston and Anthony Hitchens both not practicing.  Hitchens is ranked 79th out of 81 graded linebackers, so if he can not go, who will replace him?  Frankly, the Browns have faced several poorly performing defenses, but Kansas City is in the class of Tampa Bay and Oakland.  Don’t they say defense wins championships?  The Chiefs’ offense is so powerful they will be in the game, but they are not going to dominate with such a terrible defensive performance.  For that reason, there is an excellent chance that Baker and the boys will show some offensive firepower of their own.

Final Score: Cleveland 34, Kansas City 33