Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs Betting Preview
The Kansas City Chiefs open defense of their two straight AFC Championships against one of their postseason opponents from a season ago, the Cleveland Browns, on Sunday. The Chiefs won the AFC divisional-round game against the Browns, 22-17, despite losing Patrick Mahomes to a head injury in the contest.
Cleveland is looking to return to the postseason after they won their first playoff game in 19 years last season. Quarterback Baker Mayfield leads the Browns attack, with a solid receiving corps and running back Nick Chubb adding to the firepower.
The Chiefs are looking to make a run at a third straight Super Bowl and make up for last year’s loss to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV. Mahomes is at the controls of one of the most potent offenses in the league, which could be even better after some offensive line adjustments.
Kansas City is a six-point favorite in the season opener, with the over/under set at 54½ points, the highest of the Sunday schedule.
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs: Big Steps
The Browns are in a completely different position than they were just a season ago, coming off a playoff appearance and a postseason win instead of being a team with great potential but nothing to show for it. Mayfield continued his development last season, throwing for 3,563 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Chubb rushed for 1,067 yards and a career-high 12 touchdowns in just 12 games last season, but his production was a bit inconsistent. He needs to be a factor in this one to help keep the Kansas City offense off the field.
Jarvis Landry led the Browns with 72 catches and 840 yards last season, but he had just three touchdowns. The hope is that a fully healthy Odell Beckham Jr. will force teams to not focus on covering Landry. Beckham had 23 catches for 319 yards and three touchdowns in just seven games due to a torn left ACL, and he’s considered questionable for Sunday’s contest.
Cleveland struggled against the pass in 2020, ranking 22nd in the league in passing yards allowed (247.6). Defensive end Myles Garrett can disrupt an opposing offense himself, leading the Browns with 12 sacks and 15 tackles for loss last season.
Redemption?
Much like the Browns, the Chiefs’ outlook has changed from last season, as they were the defending Super Bowl champs heading into 2020 and now are the losing Super Bowl team that failed to score a touchdown. There’s definitely a chip on the shoulder of the team, which wants to prove it’s still the best team in football.
Mahomes was last seen running for his life from the Tampa Bay defense, leading to a number of changes to the Chiefs’ offensive line in the offseason. Now the former NFL MVP should be feeling a little less pressure as he tries to match last season’s 4,740 passing yards and 38 touchdowns.
He has two of the top receivers in the game in tight end Travis Kelce (105 catches, 1,416 yards, 11 touchdowns) and wide receiver Tyreek Hill (87 catches, 1,276 yards, 15 touchdowns). He should also have a fully healthy Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who was hurt in the preseason after gaining 803 rushing yards and 297 receiving yards with five touchdowns as a rookie.
With all the attention the Kansas City offense gets, it’s easy to forget about the Chiefs defense, which held opponents to 22.6 points per game a season ago. The status of defensive back Tyrann Mathieu for Sunday’s game is up in the air as he remains on the COVID-19 list as of this writing.
Chiefs Take Opener
Although the Browns will have a lot of confidence after playing the Chiefs tough in the postseason, Kansas City is motivated to re-establish itself as the best team in football. Mahomes has a big game to lead the Chiefs to the season-opening victory.
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