Chad Henne Clinches Chiefs' Divisional-Round Win Over Browns

Chad Henne had never appeared in the playoffs until stepping in for an injured Patrick Mahomes in the third quarter. He had two crucial plays to secure the win.

Backup quarterback Chad Henne helping the Kansas City Chiefs to a divisional-round victory probably wasn't something the Chiefs expected on Sunday.

But when starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes went down with a head injury midway through the third quarter, the concept became a reality.

Facing a pivotal third-and 14 to secure the win for the Chiefs, Henne dropped back and surveyed the field, looking to go to the air, but when the situation went airy, he took things to the ground. His run didn't quite make it to the first down marker as the 11-year quarterback made up 13 and a half yards on his third-down scramble.

On the next play, Reid and his coaching staff chose to attempt a game-clinching pass. The play, a three-yard sprint out from Henne to wide receiver Tyreek Hill was completed. Hill took it two more yards for a five-yard gain and iced the Chiefs' victory.

“Everybody has full confidence in him, you saw how the team reacted on that run, we thought he had it,” Reid said. “I didn’t think his elbow was down, I thought it was a good call, close call but good call. I thought it was a heck of a throw on the second play.”

On the next play, Henne kneeled to close the game off with a running clock. He finished the game 6-for-8 for 66 yards with an interception.

Reid took credit for the play call that led to the interception and said he was ultimately impressed with the performance Henne had.

“I’m just proud of Chad with the way he handled everything,” Reid said. “He probably said it best when he said ‘listen, you know, this team is unbelievable when somebody has to come in and making them feel comfortable.’ That’s what the team’s all about. Again, I’m proud of the way he handled things.”