The Ringer - Everything You Need to Know About the 2021 Divisional Round2021-01-18T16:52:12-05:00http://www.theringer.com/rss/stream/220007152021-01-18T16:52:12-05:002021-01-18T16:52:12-05:00Brady vs. Rodgers, Andy Reid, and Playoff Story Time With Former NFL Fullback Jon Ritchie
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<p>Plus, Russillo shares his thoughts on James Harden’s debut with the Nets</p> <div id="CmrbQo"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/4oZTTWle0HZXJG16jVVgpq" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 232px;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div>
<p id="IvGWRE"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/4oZTTWle0HZXJG16jVVgpq">Russillo shares his thoughts on James Harden’s debut with the Brooklyn Nets</a> (5:00) before talking with sports-radio host and former NFL fullback Jon Ritchie about the Buccaneers’ win over the Saints and upcoming NFC championship game vs. the Packers. Jon discusses his time playing for Andy Reid on the Eagles, why Reid is so universally loved, the infamous story of the Raiders’ locker room after the team’s 2001 loss to the Patriots in the “Tuck-Rule Game,” what is next for the Eagles and Carson Wentz, and more (10:00). Finally, Ryen answers some listener-submitted Life Advice questions (49:30).</p>
<p id="PD5Cbz"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/2XdegS23ImVZldex799DUS?si=_xJxkzprRD6HtzEGVu4D-A">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ryen-russillo-podcast/id1433966613">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/DualThreatWithRyenRussillo">RSS</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2021/1/18/22237626/brady-vs-rodgers-andy-reid-and-playoff-story-time-with-former-nfl-fullback-jon-ritchieRyen Russillo2021-01-18T13:30:31-05:002021-01-18T13:30:31-05:00How the Conference Title Matchups Reveal What Matters Most in Today’s NFL
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<p>Bills vs. Chiefs. Bucs vs. Packers. The NFL’s final four promise thrilling conference championship games—and offer five key lessons about what separated the class of the league this season from everyone else.</p> <p id="5XIDbA">The conference championship matchups are set. The Chiefs will host the Bills in the AFC, while the Packers will host the Buccaneers in the NFC. This field features the most decorated quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, playing his 14th conference title game in the past 20 years. It also features Josh Allen, whose Buffalo franchise hasn’t advanced this deep into the playoffs since he was born. The defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs become the second team ever to host three consecutive conference championship games. (The other was Andy Reid’s Eagles, from 2002 to 2004.) The Packers, meanwhile, will play their first NFC title game at Lambeau Field in Aaron Rodgers’s storied career. </p>
<p id="eShrl8">How did we get here? And what do the four remaining teams teach us about the state of football this season? Five lessons stand out.</p>
<h3 id="qfTC44">Offense Wins Championships</h3>
<p id="nzYMQY">“It used to be that good defense beats good offense. Good defense doesn’t beat good offense anymore,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban <a href="https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30177093/alabama-crimson-tide-nick-saban-concedes-defense-no-longer-key-victory">told ESPN</a> in October. “That’s not the way it used to be. It used to be if you had a good defense, other people weren’t going to score. You were always going to be in the game. I’m telling you. It ain’t that way anymore.”</p>
<p id="0xXavP">When <em>Nick Saban</em> is saying this, you know that football across levels has changed. The NFL is no exception. Teams no longer need a great defense to win it all. They merely need a defense that is good enough. </p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="iT5jmT"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The Winners and Losers of the NFL Divisional Round ","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/18/22236628/winners-and-losers-nfl-divisional-round"},{"title":"Drew Brees’s Time in New Orleans May Have Just Ended With More Playoff Heartbreak","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236594/drew-brees-saints-loss-tom-brady-buccaneers-playoff-heartbreak"},{"title":"Chad Henne’s Heroics—and Andy Reid’s Bold Decision-Making—Were Just Enough for the Chiefs","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236439/chiefs-browns-playoff-game-chad-henne-andy-reid"},{"title":"The Browns Couldn’t Cap Off Their Magical Season, but the Future’s Still Bright","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236432/cleveland-browns-lose-divisional-round-kansas-city-chiefs"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="vZpi7x">This was the highest-scoring season in NFL history<em> by far</em>—there was almost a full field goal more per game in 2020 (teams combined to average 49.6 points) than in the second-highest-scoring season ever (46.8 in 2013). And in this high-scoring season, the highest-scoring teams keep winning. The Packers, Bills, and Bucs scored the most points in the league. The fourth team left standing is the Chiefs, whose offense might be the best of the bunch. The Packers, Chiefs, Bucs, and Bills rank first, second, third, and fifth, respectively, in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA. </p>
<p id="fVqHzC">Kansas City, Green Bay, and Buffalo all have classic <em>bend-but-don’t-break</em> defenses. Having an elite offense and fine defense these days is better than having an elite defense and an offense that settles for field goals. When unstoppable forces have met immovable objects throughout NFL history, the immovable objects have usually won out. But now football has caught up to physics, where the <a href="https://twitter.com/neiltyson/status/654334941422059520?s=20">unstoppable force wins</a>. When the Packers played the Rams on Saturday in a matchup between the offense that scored the most points and the defense that allowed the fewest, Green Bay rolled. It gained 484 total yards while averaging 6.7 yards per play.</p>
<p id="XauRdL">The exception among this group is Tampa Bay. The Bucs defense is great, and its excellent performance Sunday against the Saints was the decisive factor in the divisional round. But this is still a team that has Tom Brady. By and large, offense is winning—in large part because quarterbacks are in better positions than ever to succeed.</p>
<div id="4LyJA7"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/0ToTNtGp3UV1FRw2M3wgHW" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 232px;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div>
<h3 id="ZFw9SJ">
<br>Quarterbacks Need Systems—and That’s OK</h3>
<p id="3ds53J">The term “system quarterback” is often used dismissively. But all people exist within systems. They are an inescapable part of our social structure, like laws and taxes and that Weeknd song you can’t get out of your head (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHI8X4OXluQ">oooooo buh buh buh buh buh buhhhh</a>). Everyone, including quarterbacks, needs systems to achieve goals. So if we’re going to have systems, they might as well be good.</p>
<p id="dyMPGn">Take Green Bay, for example. Aaron Rodgers emerged as this season’s MVP favorite largely because he embraced head coach Matt LaFleur’s system—lots of play-action, lots of rollouts, and lots of setting up play combinations like a magician sets up a reveal with sleight of hand. In the mid-2010s, under Mike McCarthy, Rodgers always seemed to need to pull a horseshoe from his ass to get something done. Moving the ball looked hard. This season, under LaFleur, everything looks effortless, like Roger Federer on the tennis court. Putting the NFC’s best player in the right system created the league’s best offense.</p>
<p id="58bjZ1">Tom Brady’s job also got easier this season. Brady threw almost the exact same number of passes in 2020 as he did in 2019—613 to 610. But in his first season with the Bucs, he had 16 more passing touchdowns and almost 600 more passing yards than he did in his final season with the Patriots. Part of this comes down to talent. Brady’s leading receivers last season were Julian Edelman, James White, Phillip Dorsett, and Jakobi Meyers; this season he had Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Rob Gronkowski, and Antonio Brown at his disposal. But talent alone doesn’t solve everything. The Bucs were inconsistent early this season, as evidenced both through the eye test and advanced metrics like <a href="https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/team-offense/2020">Football Outsiders’ variance</a>. Over the first half of the season, head coach Bruce Arians stuck rigidly to his scheme. But then the Bucs began incorporating more of what Brady wanted, like new play-action concepts and pre-snap motion. The team flourished. </p>
<p id="7dORoG">“We’ve got things now to where we don’t have to answer those questions: ‘Is it Tom’s offense or is it my offense?’” Arians <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/15/22231297/tom-brady-bucs-nfl-playoffs-bruce-arians">said in December</a>. “It’s the Bucs offense. It’s pretty damn good.”</p>
<p id="lZE5c7">The Chiefs have been pretty damn good the past few years in large part because Mahomes is in the perfect system for his talents. Andy Reid’s offense uses spacing to get the most from every inch of the field. Kansas City has fast receivers like Tyreek Hill and Mecole Hardman who challenge defenses vertically; it also has versatile targets like Travis Kelce who shred opponents horizontally and over the middle. Mahomes can deliver the ball to every part of the field at any given time.</p>
<p id="34zYyW">Then there’s Josh Allen, the case study for developing a quarterback by building around him. Buffalo laid the foundation for its system by drafting Allen in 2018: It had a decent offensive line, and brought in a new offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll. It then put up scaffolding by signing receiver John Brown in 2019. While a lot of teams leave scaffolding up for so long that you start to wonder whether the construction will ever finish, the Bills didn’t do that. They completed the job. In 2019, <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1186745803043414018?s=20">Pro Football Focus had Allen</a> as its highest-graded quarterback on throws under 20 yards but its lowest-graded quarterback on throws over 20 yards. So the Bills went out and traded for Stefon Diggs, the league’s best receiver at tracking deep passes. Allen also worked on his throwing motion in the offseason, and voilà: He went from last in completion percentage in his first two years in the league to fourth in that stat in 2020. Allen’s improvement from completing 52.8 percent of his passes as a rookie to 69.2 percent now is the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/12/22226307/josh-allen-bills-nfl-playoffs">largest two-year rise in NFL history</a>.</p>
<p id="uLDMof">Being a great quarterback alone isn’t enough to succeed—just <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2021/1/18/22232051/deshaun-watson-trade-nfl-historical-comparisons">ask Deshaun Watson</a>. Football is a team game, and great teams make everything easier for their quarterbacks, not harder.</p>
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<h3 id="N4Ntqf">Nobody Knows Anything About the Draft</h3>
<p id="xDoijr">Speaking of quarterbacks, perhaps we should stop jumping to conclusions about them during the draft process. In 2018, everyone and their mom seemed to think Josh Allen was an awful prospect (besides ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr., who had Allen as the <a href="https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2018/insider/story/_/id/23297186/2018-nfl-draft-big-board-prospect-position-rankings-mel-kiper-top-300-picks-players">top quarterback on his board</a>). We at <em>The Ringer</em> thought he was hot trash. Whoops. Turns out Allen could be an MVP candidate for years. This season he became the first quarterback to throw for 4,500 yards and 35 touchdowns while also rushing for five scores. The Bills are on the verge of playing in their first Super Bowl since 1994. </p>
<p id="gPBAjE">As if the draft media industrial complex couldn’t take a big enough loss on that one, there was an even louder chorus preaching to the Packers last April. Green Bay’s decision to trade up in the first round to select Jordan Love was almost universally panned. Why would the Packers undercut Rodgers? Was he really almost done? Would Rodgers even finish his career in Green Bay? Why on earth didn’t they draft a receiver?</p>
<p id="CFHWFR">Turns out they didn’t need one, and drafting Love arguably made Rodgers more driven than ever before. The Packers led the NFL in scoring, Rodgers became the probable MVP, and Davante Adams racked up the third-most touchdown catches (18) in a single season in NFL history. As the 2021 draft approaches, let’s all take a step back and give teams the benefit of the doubt. Well, except for the Texans.</p>
<h3 id="7Anaso">Turnovers Are Exactly As Important As You Think</h3>
<p id="XcOUGg">“You’ve got to win the turnover battle,” you likely said while watching Drew Brees and the Saints blow Sunday’s matchup against the Bucs. “Gotta protect the football.” Then you may have realized you could be the star of the next Progressive commercial about becoming your parents. Congratulations, you’re old now.</p>
<p id="wQIC0Z">But the adage is true. Teams <em>do</em> have to protect the ball. The Packers turned the ball over less than any other team in the NFL this year, with Rodgers throwing one more interception in the entire regular season (five) than Ben Roethlisberger threw in the Steelers’ wild-card-round loss to the Browns (four). Rodgers threw a pick on just 1.0 percent of his throws, tied for the lowest in the league with Patrick Mahomes. Relatedly, Green Bay and Kansas City are the no. 1 seeds in their conferences. </p>
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<p id="NTrrPa">Cutting down on turnovers matters. Allen reduced his combined number of interceptions and fumbles from 23 last season to 19 this season despite dropping back 100 more times. Brady threw for 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions for Tampa Bay one year after Jameis Winston threw for 33 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Not only did Brady throw 18 fewer picks than Winston, but he also fumbled eight fewer times. The Bucs promptly jumped from 7-9 to 11-5. </p>
<p id="TKSTP8">Meanwhile, Lamar Jackson threw nine interceptions this season after throwing six in 2019. Saturday’s Ravens-Bills game swung on Jackson’s first career interception in the red zone, a 101-yard pick-six. The Saints had four turnovers against the Bucs on Sunday, the first time they’ve had more than two in a game since December 2017. That New Orleans lost by only 10 points in a game in which it lost the turnover battle 4-0 speaks to how differently things could’ve gone if it had protected the ball. </p>
<p id="2URzUV">Yes, you’re becoming your parents if you preach about the importance of turnovers—but in this case, your parents were right. </p>
<h3 id="diepW4">Culture Change Matters, for Good and for Bad</h3>
<p id="7aC6VZ">Four years ago, the Bills hired Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott to replace Rex Ryan as their head coach. McDermott quickly went about transforming the team culture. The Bills were losers, and now they are not. In the 2017 season, McDermott led Buffalo to the playoffs for the first time in the 21st century. At the time, it <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/12/31/16837252/buffalo-bills-playoffs-ravens-andy-dalton">set off a celebration</a>. This year, it’s business. The Bills coaches <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/10/25/20929585/beginners-guide-to-buffalo-bills-surprising-5-1-start">do 360 feedback reviews</a>, encourage players to get plenty of sleep, and sit through lessons on how to connect with millennials and Gen Zers. The franchise built around Allen, traded for Diggs, and constructed one of the league’s best secondaries. It worked. Not only are the Bills playing great, but they are having fun. “Those past failures, not many of us were here,” McDermott <a href="https://billswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/11/sean-mcdermott-not-conerned-buffalo-bills-past-failures/">said in December 2019</a>. “We certainly respect the past, but our eyes are set on the future.” </p>
<p id="GwdS23">Tampa Bay also managed to revamp its culture, though it had the benefit of adding the greatest and most respected player in the history of the sport as a mentor for a young roster. That doesn’t happen often. But what unfolded in Cleveland this season generally followed the Buffalo blueprint: The Browns brought in the right coach, put the right infrastructure around their quarterback, and created a culture that no longer is defined by sadness. Though Cleveland fell just short against the Chiefs on Sunday, it showed that results come when an organization figures out what matters. Heading into the 2021 season, it has reason to dream big.</p>
<p id="jEGF9h">Meanwhile, nobody is dreaming big at bad organizations like Houston. On divisional weekend last season, the Texans raced out to 24-0 lead on the Chiefs. They immediately blew that advantage, and since then they have traded away DeAndre Hopkins, fired head coach and general manager Bill O’Brien, and seen <a href="https://www.si.com/nfl/2020/12/10/ex-chaplain-jack-easterby-houston-texans-chaos-after-power-struggle-daily-cover"><em>Sports Illustrated</em> publish an exposé</a> that compared front office executive Jack Easterby to Littlefinger from <em>Game of Thrones</em>. Now, franchise quarterback Deshaun Watson seems to be forcing a trade out of town. This is a football catastrophe. Houston not only finished 4-12 and wasted a year of Watson’s prime (<a href="https://twitter.com/NFLFilms/status/1346506627239845888">J.J. Watt’s words</a>, not mine). It also infuriated Watson with its decision-making so consistently that on Sunday <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1350877652291383300">ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported</a> “there is a growing sense from people in and around the Texans’ organization that Deshaun Watson has played his last snap for the team.”</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="xrCKAx">To trade away Watson would be beyond failure—it’d be a cautionary tale. If the Bills and Bucs are proof that a culture change can bring a team to a conference title game, the Texans are proof that it can destroy a team from within too.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/18/22237235/conference-championship-games-chiefs-bills-packers-bucs-lessonsDanny Heifetz2021-01-18T01:56:06-05:002021-01-18T01:56:06-05:00NFL Divisional-Round Weekend, Part 2
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<p>Kevin and Nora share instant reactions to the Buccaneers’ triumph over the Saints and the Chiefs hanging on to beat the Browns</p> <div id="JHxEMP"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/5ZOsOoopfPFb6sNtm5llnU" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 232px;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div>
<p id="1GW2g3"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/5ZOsOoopfPFb6sNtm5llnU?si=6KpvrvWvTYGhbkMD21A63w">Kevin Clark and Nora Princiotti share instant reactions</a> to the Buccaneers’ triumph over the Saints (00:40) and the Chiefs hanging on to beat the Browns (15:30). Later, they discuss the news that Brandon Staley is joining the Chargers as their next head coach and how it could lead Brian Daboll to the Texans (37:30).</p>
<p id="HgzCVI"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/3sYLdv261f5jLvEgDLU9PD?si=PwTF-GumR7qtUP5FZdCKOQ">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fitunes.apple.com%2Fus%2Fpodcast%2Fthe-ringer-nfl-show%2Fid1109282822%3Fmt%3D2&xcust=xid:fr1570809570442jba%7Cxid:fr1571141035709iah%7Cxid:fr1571400354183cfa%7Cxid:fr1571745693269afb%7Cxid:fr1572005002168iib%7Cxid:fr1572350612110bei">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/ringer-nfl-show">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/ringernflshow">RSS</a></p>
https://www.theringer.com/2021/1/18/22236703/nfl-divisional-round-weekend-part-2Kevin ClarkNora Princiotti2021-01-18T01:23:07-05:002021-01-18T01:23:07-05:00The Henne Game, Brady Over Brees, Most Fun Super Bowl Possibilities, and Round 3 Lines With Cousin Sal
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<p>Bill and Cousin Sal react to the NFL’s Divisional Round and pick the “most fun” Super Bowl matchup</p> <div id="93UT0J"><iframe src="https://open.spotify.com/embed-podcast/episode/0ToTNtGp3UV1FRw2M3wgHW" style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 232px;" allowfullscreen="" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></div>
<p id="dkmUEN"><br><a href="https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ToTNtGp3UV1FRw2M3wgHW?si=TV5WHV97SSiHs2sLk1VDSA"><em>The Ringer</em>’s Bill Simmons is joined by Cousin Sal</a> to discuss the nail-biter between the Chiefs and the Browns, the Buccaneers’ win over the Saints, Ravens-Bills, and Packers-Rams (2:00), before guessing the lines for the conference championship games (51:00). Then they discuss the “most fun” Super Bowl matchup (1:00:30), before closing the show with Parent Corner (1:11:00).</p>
<p id="wugwnu"><strong>Subscribe:</strong> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/07SjDmKb9iliEzpNcN2xGD?si=X1S_fYL7REi9NlCpheLw6g">Spotify</a> / <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bill-simmons-podcast/id1043699613?mt=2">Apple Podcasts</a> / <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-ringer/the-bill-simmons-podcast">Stitcher</a> / <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/thebillsimmonspodcast">RSS</a></p>
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https://www.theringer.com/the-bill-simmons-podcast/2021/1/18/22236675/the-henne-game-brady-over-brees-most-fun-super-bowl-possibilities-and-round-3-lines-with-cousin-salBill Simmons2021-01-17T23:33:28-05:002021-01-17T23:33:28-05:00Drew Brees’s Time in New Orleans May Have Just Ended With More Playoff Heartbreak
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<p>Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers was reportedly Brees’s last with the Saints, and like many of the team’s recent seasons, it ended in disappointing fashion</p> <aside id="cBKJcY"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 Divisional Round","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/1/10/21059824/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2020-divisional-round"}]}'></div></aside><p id="eKHEOE">If <a href="https://twitter.com/JayGlazer/status/1350955393351094274">recent reports</a> are to be believed, that’s a wrap for Drew Brees’s career. <em>That</em>. </p>
<p id="kbVc86">The Saints lost to the Buccaneers 30-20 on Sunday night, and Brees put on a performance that made you feel every one of his 42 years of age. He couldn’t push the ball downfield, couldn’t get the Saints offense moving whatsoever, and finished with one of the worst stat lines of his career: 19 of 34 for 134 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. Brees is one of the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, but his potential final game—the final few years of his career, really—will be remembered for missed opportunities and postseason heartbreak.</p>
<p id="M5Ncrk">Sunday marked Brees’s first postseason outing with three interceptions, and his first three-interception game of any kind since 2016. On his first pick of the night, Brees backpedaled in the pocket to avoid pressure and then floated a ball toward Michael Thomas, who was just a couple of yards past the line of scrimmage. But Brees left it short, and it ended up in the hands of Sean Murphy-Bunting. It’s just an ugly throw:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">INT for SMB <br><br> : <a href="https://t.co/Poss8NJHUV">https://t.co/Poss8NJHUV</a> <a href="https://t.co/oiHWapynq7">pic.twitter.com/oiHWapynq7</a></p>— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buccaneers/status/1350965143778304000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a>
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<p id="CIGiyE">Brees’s second interception had more velocity, as he attempted to rifle a pass to Alvin Kamara in the fourth quarter. This one went right to Devin White:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/DevinWhite__40?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DevinWhite__40</a> really spoke it into existence <br><br> : <a href="https://t.co/Poss8NJHUV">https://t.co/Poss8NJHUV</a> <a href="https://t.co/9CiDgUBJkK">pic.twitter.com/9CiDgUBJkK</a></p>— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buccaneers/status/1350994917326286848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a>
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<p id="s3bIEI">His final interception was tipped, but the throw was behind tight end Jared Cook. It was another indicator that Brees just isn’t able to consistently fit the ball into tight passing windows anymore:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Have a day, defense <br><br> : <a href="https://t.co/YTsdMJXTRR">https://t.co/YTsdMJXTRR</a> <a href="https://t.co/ikvuA7ZhVf">pic.twitter.com/ikvuA7ZhVf</a></p>— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Buccaneers/status/1350997736489971714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 18, 2021</a>
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<p id="QDNaQy">Unfortunately for Saints fans, this game was not a one-off failure. The writing has been on the wall all season. Brees’s arm strength has been <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/9/24/21452616/drew-brees-arm-strength-new-orleans-saints">waning for some time</a>, and it recently became clear that while the Saints could still field an efficient and effective offense just by feeding the football to some of the team’s excellent playmakers, Brees’s limitations were holding the squad back. On Sunday, Brees did not attempt a single pass that <a href="https://nextgenstats.nfl.com/charts/list/all/team/season/week/drew-brees/BRE229498/2020/divisional/pass">traveled more than 20 yards downfield</a>, and it was backup QB Jameis Winston who threw the Saints’ <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1350967860814868483">lone deep pass of the night</a>. </p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="UfUZCV"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The Browns Couldn’t Cap Off Their Magical Season, but the Future’s Still Bright","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236432/cleveland-browns-lose-divisional-round-kansas-city-chiefs"},{"title":"Chad Henne’s Heroics—and Andy Reid’s Bold Decision-Making—Were Just Enough for the Chiefs","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236439/chiefs-browns-playoff-game-chad-henne-andy-reid"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="69eBYi">Brees is arguably the most statistically accomplished quarterback ever. He is the league’s all-time passing yards leader—though Tom Brady may steal that from him soon, as Brady is just 1,154 yards behind Brees and looks like he could play until age 50. Brees led the Saints to the franchise’s only Super Bowl victory after the 2009 season and beat the Peyton Manning–led Colts with a sterling performance in which he completed 32 of 39 passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. He led the league in passing yards seven different times, in passing touchdowns four times, and in completion percentage six times. He is without doubt an all-time great.</p>
<p id="5i9gn5">It’s been absolutely remarkable to watch the 6-foot tall quarterback that the Chargers gave up on in 2006 go on to become the most-relied-upon passer in the league for more than a decade. Brees has regularly led the league in pass attempts, as Sean Payton built an ahead-of-its-time offense around Brees’s arm. Many of those teams had poor defenses and average-at-best pass catchers—but Brees’s preternatural accuracy and ability to chuck the ball all over the yard made those offenses elite. There were some down seasons, but New Orleans never went worse than 7-9 with Brees behind center, and he regularly put them in the postseason. It’s stunning that Brees never won MVP, but look back at history and you’ll see all his greatest seasons came at the same time as those of other quarterbacks—Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, et al. Brees never winning MVP is like Leonardo DiCaprio before he won an Oscar; it wasn’t due to lack of talent, just poor timing.</p>
<p id="FnDnQe">After a trio of seven-win seasons from 2014 to 2016, New Orleans roared back to relevancy, thanks to some incredible draft classes that helped the team build one of the best rosters in football. Those years, the Saints did some carrying of Brees. After throwing a league-leading 673 pass attempts in 2016, Brees had 536 in 2017 and never cracked 500 in the three seasons thereafter. With a revitalized ground game, resurgent defense, and better playmakers, Brees didn’t have to throw the ball like that anymore. He was still plenty effective—2018 and 2019 were his two best seasons ever in adjusted net yards per attempt—but no longer needed to be the pure volume passer he was in his prime. The Saints have won at least 11 games in each of the past four seasons, and looked poised for another Super Bowl run. But they ran into postseason heartbreak in four consecutive seasons.</p>
<p id="tkNQoa">First, it was the <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2018/1/15/16892192/divisional-round-recap-vikings-miracle-case-keenum-stefon-diggs">Minneapolis Miracle</a>, the Stefon Diggs–powered Hail Mary that stunned New Orleans and ripped away what looked like a sure victory in the 2017 divisional round. The next year, the Rams advanced thanks to <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2019/1/20/18190982/saints-rams-nfc-championship-game-missed-pass-interference-nickell-robey-coleman-tommylee-lewis">one of the worst blown calls ever</a>—a missed pass interference so egregious that it briefly prompted the league to rewrite the rule book—in the NFC championship game. And then <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2020/1/5/21050937/new-orleans-saints-heartbreak-drew-brees-minnesota-vikings">last season</a> in the wild-card round, the Saints lost to the Vikings—again—on another missed pass interference call. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="wsUEAI">This game did not feature one single inflection point that led to a loss, but that is perhaps even more cruel. Drew Brees went out not with a bang, but with a whimper. </p>
<aside id="1dlxWR"><div data-anthem-component="newsletter" data-anthem-component-data='{"slug":"ringer_newsletter"}'></div></aside>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236594/drew-brees-saints-loss-tom-brady-buccaneers-playoff-heartbreakRiley McAtee2021-01-17T21:57:58-05:002021-01-17T21:57:58-05:00Divisional-Round Sunday Recap
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<p>Join Kevin Clark and Nora Princiotti as they recap Cleveland vs. Kansas City and Tampa Bay vs. New Orleans </p> <p id="xtuZSA">Join <em>The Ringer</em>’s Kevin Clark and Nora Princiotti as they go live to recap Browns vs. Chiefs and Buccaneers vs. Saints from Sunday’s NFL divisional-round matchups.</p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236393/divisional-round-sunday-recapKevin ClarkNora Princiotti2021-01-17T21:03:24-05:002021-01-17T21:03:24-05:00The Browns Couldn’t Cap Off Their Magical Season, but the Future’s Still Bright
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<p>Baker Mayfield and Co. couldn’t overcome a fumble-touchback and other miscues to dethrone the Chiefs. But for the first time in a long time, there’s a lot to look forward to next season.</p> <aside id="NO4Oke"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 Divisional Round","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/1/10/21059824/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2020-divisional-round"}]}'></div></aside><p id="19I5q7">Close postseason losses hurt. Close postseason losses to a backup quarterback are even worse. And close postseason losses to a backup quarterback after a backbreaking and controversial play goes against your team are their own special circle of hell—especially when your team is the long-suffering Cleveland Browns. Yes, Cleveland suffered a little more on Sunday thanks to a 22-17 loss to the Chiefs—but even so, the Browns’ performance in this game and the season as a whole point to a new era of Cleveland football.</p>
<p id="OFvWNQ">Let’s start with the fumble-touchback, which upended the game. Closing in on the end of the second half, the Browns had a golden chance to put a touchdown on the board and cut into the Chiefs’ 16-3 lead. On a first-and-10 from the Kansas City 26-yard line, Baker Mayfield found Rashard Higgins near the right sideline. Higgins stretched out for a would-be touchdown, but before the ball crossed the goal line, he fumbled:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">From potential TD to touchback <br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLBrasil?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLBrasil</a>) <a href="https://t.co/in0mtlXC38">pic.twitter.com/in0mtlXC38</a></p>— ESPN (@espn) <a href="https://twitter.com/espn/status/1350917788551045120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="gDJyzd">Because the ball was fumbled through the end zone and out of bounds, the Chiefs were awarded the football as a touchback. Instead of seven points—or even three—the Browns got nothing and the Chiefs got the ball at their own 20-yard line.</p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="GGUs0Q"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Chad Henne’s Heroics—and Andy Reid’s Bold Decision-Making—Were Just Enough for the Chiefs","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236439/chiefs-browns-playoff-game-chad-henne-andy-reid"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="b8jqkK">In 2019, <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl-preview/2019/8/30/20840124/rules-officiating-crisis-pass-interference-offensive-holding-point-of-emphasis">I wrote</a> that this overly punitive rule could spark the NFL’s next officiating crisis. The snafu in this game may not bloom into a full-blown disaster for the league, but it did affect the outcome of this game. It virtually cost the Browns seven points, and then the Chiefs got a field goal on their ensuing drive—something they may not have had time to do had the Browns run a play or two at the goal line. That’s an either seven- or 10-point swing in a game Cleveland lost by five. The <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2017/11/15/16653504/fumble-turned-touchback-rule-change-suggestions">dumbest rule in football</a> struck again—this time in the divisional round of the playoffs. </p>
<p id="kBNs2D">What made this play sting even more for the Browns is that, while the officials were able to review the play to confirm that Higgins fumbled before breaking the plane of the goal line, they weren’t able to go back and penalize the obviously illegal helmet-to-helmet that caused the fumble in the first place:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The second Sorensen makes -- obviously illegal -- helmet to helmet contact, Higgins completely loses control over the ball. Officiating shouldn't be altering the outcome of games and seasons but it does every single week. <a href="https://t.co/Tz1U3PK68k">pic.twitter.com/Tz1U3PK68k</a></p>— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/WillBrinson/status/1350921901355446272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="xOLqGb">This was the most backbreaking play for the Browns on Sunday, though it probably isn’t the only one they’d like to have back. On the opening drive of the third quarter, Mayfield threw an ill-advised pass across his body on a scramble … and found Chiefs defensive back Tyrann Mathieu:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Baker wanted Jarvis Landry, but got Tyrann Mathieu... <a href="https://t.co/sJmmjEcCL6">pic.twitter.com/sJmmjEcCL6</a></p>— Shea Dixon (@Sheadixon) <a href="https://twitter.com/Sheadixon/status/1350922916754501633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="BL2w0B">The Browns offense punted just twice against the Kansas City defense, but these two turnovers were costly. Cleveland came into the game with a red-hot offense but managed just 17 points against a defense that ranked <a href="https://www.footballoutsiders.com/stats/nfl/team-defense/2020">worse than the Jets in DVOA</a>. Mayfield averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt, and despite the Browns’ running backs averaging 5.3 yards per carry, Cleveland failed to establish the devastating ground game that had been so effective this season. Then, when the Browns got the ball with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, they used half that time to drive just 12 yards. After punting, the Cleveland defense couldn’t stop the Chad Henne–led Chiefs from draining the clock, including on a fourth-down play for all the marbles:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">ANDY REID WENT FOR IT. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RunItBack?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RunItBack</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NFLPlayoffs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NFLPlayoffs</a> <a href="https://t.co/0JSzsCYMvR">pic.twitter.com/0JSzsCYMvR</a></p>— NFL (@NFL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1350942447912804355?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="vBtVKk">And that’s before getting to the injury issues. Jedrick Wills Jr., Cleveland’s starting left tackle—and the no. 10 pick in the 2020 draft—left the game on the Browns’ first <em>snap</em>. Wills started all but one game for Cleveland this year and had helped anchor a dominant offensive line that ranked <a href="https://premium.pff.com/nfl/teams?season=2020&weekGroup=REGPO">first</a> in Pro Football Focus’s grades for both pass blocking and run blocking. After Wills appeared to roll his ankle, backup lineman Kendall Lamm replaced him … until Lamm hurt his elbow at the beginning of the third quarter. The Browns ended up with Blake Hance at the position, a guy best known for being the player Mayfield first met just minutes before the Browns-Steelers game last week. </p>
<p id="0SzHyQ">Despite the mishaps, not everything went against Cleveland on Sunday. In fact, the Chiefs were just as cursed. Patrick Mahomes missed nearly the entire second half after entering the concussion protocol, and the Chiefs missed an extra point and a field goal—mistakes that seemed like they could prove crucial when Cleveland had the ball down five in the fourth quarter. Henne threw one of the worst passes you’ll ever see in relief of Mahomes, essentially gifting the Browns a free extra possession:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chad Henne finds a WIDE OPEN Karl Joseph in the endzone <br> <a href="https://t.co/cbuBUVz4G8">pic.twitter.com/cbuBUVz4G8</a></p>— PFF (@PFF) <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1350937292815400965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="chh6OR">Still, the Browns couldn’t capitalize, and they instead have to settle for coming <em>thisclose</em> to toppling the reigning Super Bowl champs and heading to the AFC championship. That result stings—but given that this franchise has been in the NFL’s cellar for decades, the sting of a close playoff loss feels much, much better than the sting of hopeless, embarrassing mediocrity.</p>
<p id="RmW697">The Browns have officially <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/11/22225081/browns-steelers-playoffs-baker-mayfield-ben-roethlisberger">exited the NFL’s dark ages</a>, and they should expect to contend for playoff spots for the immediate future. Mayfield had the best season of his three-year career, throwing for 3,563 yards and 26 touchdowns with just eight interceptions, despite star wideout Odell Beckham Jr. missing most of the year with a torn ACL. Head coach Kevin Stefanski built an effective offense and broke the Browns’ playoff drought in just his first season. First-year general manager Andrew Berry had a successful debut draft, and appears poised to provide stability to a front office that’s experienced nothing but turmoil for years. And with players like Wills, Myles Garrett, Nick Chubb, and Denzel Ward, the Browns have plenty of pieces to build around. No major contributors are free agents at the end of this season, and Cleveland has an above-average amount of cap space to work with. </p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="HXsrJp">This is the beginning, not the end. The Browns made the playoffs, blew out the Steelers in Pittsburgh, nearly made the NFL championship game, and appear to have their coach, quarterback, and general manager of the future. For the first time this century, the future looks bright in Cleveland. </p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236432/cleveland-browns-lose-divisional-round-kansas-city-chiefsRiley McAtee2021-01-17T20:43:53-05:002021-01-17T20:43:53-05:00Chad Henne’s Heroics—and Andy Reid’s Bold Decision-Making—Were Just Enough for the Chiefs
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<p>After Patrick Mahomes left the game with a concussion, the 35-year-old backup stepped up to deliver some game-sealing plays in crucial moments. Now the question is whether Mahomes will be back for the AFC championship game.</p> <aside id="cE84fI"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"Everything You Need to Know About the 2020 Divisional Round","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl/2020/1/10/21059824/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-2020-divisional-round"}]}'></div></aside><p id="MhyRwp">It’s rare for opponents to be in position to put together a game-winning drive against the Kansas City Chiefs, but that’s just where the Cleveland Browns found themselves with two minutes left in Sunday’s divisional-round contest. The Chiefs led by five when they faced third-and-14 on their own 35-yard line. Usually in these situations, there’s little reason to be concerned about Kansas City, but star quarterback Patrick Mahomes had been ruled out of the game after entering the concussion protocol midway through the third quarter, and backup Chad Henne helmed the offense in a crucial spot. The Browns defense just needed a stop, but Henne ripped off an incredible scramble to set up fourth-and-inches before making a stunning short completion to receiver Tyreek Hill to convert the first down, sealing Kansas City’s 22-17 win and sending the reigning NFL champions to the AFC championship game.</p>
<p id="4EArQ5">Entering the game’s pivotal sequence, the Browns were down to one timeout. Logic suggests that the Chiefs would have run the ball, draining as much clock as possible in the event they didn’t pick up the first down and needed to punt back to Cleveland’s offense. But Kansas City lined up in a four-wide set, and Henne dropped back to throw. The 35-year-old Henne stepped up and rolled to his left, then darted into open space before he dove head-first toward the first-down marker.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Chad Henne was that dude on this run <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/HENNETHINGISPOSSIBLE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#HENNETHINGISPOSSIBLE</a> <br><br>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/NFL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFL</a>)<a href="https://t.co/U8tXiUZGag">pic.twitter.com/U8tXiUZGag</a></p>— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) <a href="https://twitter.com/SInow/status/1350944084802883585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="bZaFNs">A measurement ruled Henne’s scramble came just short, and the Chiefs appeared to be in position to punt with just 1:14 left. But, in the midst of a postseason underscored by <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/10/22223826/titans-loss-ravens-wild-card-mike-vrabel-punting-derrick-henry">conservative decisions</a> haunting the coaches who’ve made them, Kansas City’s Andy Reid kept his offense on the field. Henne lined up in shotgun, with a three-receiver formation; Byron Pringle lined up tight to the left side of the formation, Hill lined up tight to the right, tight end Travis Kelce positioned himself in the slot, and Demarcus Robinson split out wide. Running back Darrel Williams stood to Henne’s right, and as the ball was snapped, Henne rolled out to the right, and Hill juked cornerback M.J. Stewart Jr. off the line by faking an inside move then sprinting out right, creating plenty of separation for Henne to complete a game-clinching 5-yard pass.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Tony Romo was hyped <br> <a href="https://t.co/Gj4flqRojy">pic.twitter.com/Gj4flqRojy</a></p>— PFF (@PFF) <a href="https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1350946280651055111?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="mUaDc0">As CBS’s Tony Romo exclaimed over the broadcast: “Only Andy Reid gets in shotgun on fourth-and-an-inch and throws the ball with his backup quarterback! There’s no way! He shocked everybody!” And because of that confident-if-stupefying decision, Reid’s Chiefs are on the doorstep of reaching a second straight Super Bowl.</p>
<p id="ulWxAo">“There was no doubt,” Reid <a href="https://twitter.com/ByNateTaylor/status/1350951702871027713?s=20">told</a> reporters after the game on his decision to go for it. “No doubt.”</p>
<div class="c-float-left"><aside id="HBppYm"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The Browns Couldn’t Cap Off Their Magical Season, but the Future’s Still Bright","url":"https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236432/cleveland-browns-lose-divisional-round-kansas-city-chiefs"}]}'></div></aside></div>
<p id="wNOLhJ">Perhaps Sunday’s ending felt more stunning because it never seemed that Kansas City would find itself in such an adrenaline-inducing scenario. The Chiefs offense looked sharp out of the gate, showing no signs of rust after two weeks on the shelf. They began the game with a 10-play, 75-yard drive capped by a 1-yard Mahomes touchdown run, then engineered a seven-play, 75-yard drive finished with an <a href="https://twitter.com/TerezPaylor/status/1350907219164987392">impressive 20-yard touchdown catch by Kelce</a>. Kicker Harrison Butker nailed a 50-yard field goal late in the second quarter to give Kansas City a 16-3 lead. Mahomes looked a bit gimpy <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/1350909456440295424?s=20">because of a toe injury</a>, but it wasn’t enough to put the Chiefs offense out of sync.</p>
<p id="MG9VFi">The Browns showed some fight. Cleveland, which <a href="https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/11/22224309/browns-beat-steelers-end-playoff-drought-baker-mayfield">last week won its first playoff game since 1994</a>, quickly drove into Chiefs territory and was set to pull within one possession just before the half. However, when quarterback Baker Mayfield connected with Rashard Higgins inside the 5-yard line, Higgins dove and stretched out for a touchdown, but was hit by Chiefs safety Dan Sorensen and fumbled the football through the end zone. The play was ruled a touchback, however replay showed that Sorensen made helmet-to-helmet contact with Higgins prior to the wideout spilling the ball—a fact that isn’t reviewable.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The second Sorensen makes -- obviously illegal -- helmet to helmet contact, Higgins completely loses control over the ball. Officiating shouldn't be altering the outcome of games and seasons but it does every single week. <a href="https://t.co/Tz1U3PK68k">pic.twitter.com/Tz1U3PK68k</a></p>— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/WillBrinson/status/1350921901355446272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 17, 2021</a>
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<p id="aATSJH">The fumble essentially resulted in a 10-point swing for the Chiefs. It took nine plays before Mahomes guided Kansas City inside the Browns’ 10-yard line, setting up a 28-yard field goal from Butker to extend the Chiefs’ advantage to 19-3 going into halftime. “Honestly, I didn’t see the replay,” Browns coach Kevin Stefanski <a href="https://twitter.com/FredGreetham/status/1350949710857699331?s=20">said</a> of the play afterward. “I was told about it, but I’ll let the league handle those types of things.”</p>
<p id="Qht4xJ">The Chiefs appeared in position to put the game away after safety Tyrann Mathieu picked off Mayfield on the third play of the second half, setting up Mahomes and Co. at Cleveland’s 19-yard line. But Butker missed a 33-yard field goal, and the Browns answered with their first touchdown drive of the game, pulling within 9 midway through the third quarter. Then disaster occurred for the Chiefs—facing third-and-short near midfield, Reid dialed up the same speed option call they’d scored on earlier. Except this time, Mahomes was tracked down and crunched by Cleveland’s Mack Wilson. He stumbled trying to stand up and left the game before being ruled out with a concussion.</p>
<p id="7J0tRU">Henne, the 2008 second-round pick who hadn’t seen meaningful snaps since the 2014 season, was abruptly pushed into the biggest game of his career Sunday. He helped set up a 33-yard Butker field goal to give the Chiefs a 22-10 lead, and after the Browns responded with a touchdown to pull within 5, Henne drove Kansas City into Cleveland territory. Then he heaved a pass into the end zone that was nowhere near his intended target and picked off by Browns safety Karl Joseph.</p>
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<p id="9cPkZG">The Chiefs defense bailed out that mistake, forcing Cleveland to punt with four minutes left. That set up their offense with a chance to exhaust the rest of the clock, and led to the crucial sequence in which Henne redeemed himself and put the game on ice. Henne’s heroics weren’t expected, but on Sunday, he got the job done, much to <a href="https://twitter.com/PatrickMahomes/status/1350942606201655297?s=20">Mahomes’s delight</a>. The massive question hanging over the Chiefs going through next week will be whether or not Mahomes, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, will be available to play after going through concussion protocols.</p>
<p id="WdXyj1">“He’s doing great right now, which is a real positive,” Reid <a href="https://twitter.com/TerezPaylor/status/1350950524116488211?s=20">said</a>. “[He] passed all the deals that he needed to pass, so we’ll see where it goes from here.”</p>
<p class="c-end-para" id="uBe61z">The Chiefs have been the NFL’s most dominant team this season in large part due to Mahomes’s magic behind center. With him in the lineup, Kansas City has been the attacker. On Sunday, Reid showed that even without him, that will remain the mentality. With Mahomes, that’s proven to be sustainable; without him, it came down to Reid and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy’s <a href="https://twitter.com/NextGenStats/status/1350945734116388873?s=20">schematic acumen</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/aaronladd0/status/1350951966512459779?s=20">confidence</a>. That was enough Sunday. Next week, the Chiefs will face a Bills offense capable of keeping up with Kansas City’s own high-octane offense, and having Mahomes in the fold will be all but necessary for them to continue their march toward capturing a second title. But regardless of whether Mahomes or Henne start next week, Kansas City’s win over the Browns showed that Reid won’t allow his opponent to dictate how the next chapter in his team’s story will go. </p>
https://www.theringer.com/nfl-playoffs/2021/1/17/22236439/chiefs-browns-playoff-game-chad-henne-andy-reidKaelen Jones