How to Watch Chiefs' Playoff Game with Browns on Sunday; Gametime, TV, Point Spread
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Patrick Mahomes and Baker Mayfield have squared off before in college and in the pros, but this is the first meeting in the postseason where the stakes are much higher.
The Chiefs finished the season 14-2 and earned the only bye in the AFC as its No. 1 seed. That second loss came in the meaningless final week of the regular season, so the starters really haven't played in three weeks.
It's been just the opposite for the Browns, who have been dealing with COVID-19 issues for weeks but still stepped up and shocked the Pittsburgh Steelers a week ago in the wild-card round. So the paths to this divisional-round game have been dramatically different.
Here's how to watch the playoff game between the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday:
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs
- WHAT: NFL divisional-round game between the No. 6-seed Cleveland Browns and No. 1-seed Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC playoffs.
- WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 17 at 3:05 p.m. ET
- WHERE: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mo.
- POINT SPREAD: Kansas City was favored by 10 points, according to the DraftKings.com gambling website on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. The first movement, though, has been down. At Noon ET, it was 9.5 points, and now at 2 p.m. ET, it’s down to 8.5, which means there's more action on Cleveland. The over/under has remained steady at 57. The Browns were 5.5-point underdogs last week at Pittsburgh, but won outright anyway.
- TV: CBS
- Stream: CBSSports.com
- TV Announcers: Jim Nantz (play-by-play) and Tony Romo (color commentary)
- RECORDS: Cleveland Browns (12-5, 6-3) on the road this season); Kansas City Chiefs (14-2, 6-2 at home this season)
- LAST GAME: The Browns jumped all over the Steelers last week, jumping out to a quick 28-0 lead in the first quarter and erasing decades worth of misery against Pittsburgh. Kansas City had a bye last week as the No. 1 seed. They actually lost their final regular season game to the Los Angeles Chargers, falling 38-21 in a game where they rested several starters, including quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
- ALL-TIME SERIES: Kansas City leads the series 13-11-2
- LAST MEETING: The teams last met on Nov. 4, 2018, with the Chiefs winning 37-21. Patrick Mahomes through three touchdown passes during his first full year as a starter for the Chiefs
- COACHES: Kevin Stefanski is in his first year as an NFL head coach after 15 years as an assistant around the league. He was 11-5 during his first season, but missed last week's game because of COVID-19. Andy Reid is in his eighth season as head coach of the Chiefs and in his 22nd year overall after 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. He is 221-130-1 in the regular season overall, and 15-14 in the playoffs, including winning the Super Bowl last season for his first NFL title.
Here are three things to watch out for during Sunday's game between the Cleveland Browns and the Kansas City Chiefs:
1. Will the Mahomes magic continue?
Patrick Mahomes has set the world on fire since taking over as the Chiefs' starting quarterback in 2018. He has one Super Bowl title already and is dead-set on collecting all sorts of championship rings.
He's had another great year, throwing for 4,740 yards and 38 touchdown passes, with just six interceptions. He only lost one game all year, sitting out that meaningless finale loss to the Chargers. The Browns' defense just got torched for 501 yards by Ben Roethlisberger last week and they're going to need to create turnovers against Mahomes on Sunday to have a chance to win. That's easier said than done.
2. Can Browns' running game make the difference?
The Cleveland Browns get the first shot at knocking off the defending champions, and to do that, they need to have their running game hitting on all cylinders from start to finish. Nick Chubb (1,067 rushing yards) and Kareen Hunt (841) are the best one-two punch in football, and the Browns' offensive line led by Wyatt Teller, Joel Bitonio and Jack Conklin is fantastic.
Running the ball well does two things, it helps keep the pressure off Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield, but even more importantly, it keeps that explosive Chiefs offense off the field. The Browns need to run 10-15 more plays than the Chiefs to control the flow of this game.
3. Is coaching edge too much?
Eagles coach Andy Reid is coaching his 30th playoff game on Sunday, and he's seen it all, the good and the bad. Kevin Stefanski is coaching his FIRST playoff game, because he missed last week's win at Pittsburgh because he tested positive for COVID-19.
That's quite a difference, but Stefanski has been pushing all the right buttons for the Browns this season, who went 11-4 and now are one win away from getting to their first AFC title game in nearly three decades. Winning Sunday is a tall task, though, because the Chiefs don't really have any weaknesses. Count on Reid to have them well-prepared. They are 10-point favorites for a reason.
