KC Chiefs vs. Browns final score prediction
The Kansas City Chiefs are almost back! In just a couple of days, Andy Reid’s team will take the field against a Cleveland Browns team looking to avenge their loss to Kansas City in last year’s AFC Divisional game. We’ve got predictions and an injury update below!
Tyrann Mathieu COVID-19 Update
Before we get to my game prediction, there are a number of injury and personnel concerns for the Chiefs heading into the game. Safety Tyrann Mathieu remains on the COVID-19 list since testing positive back on September 1st. There are multiple reports out there claiming Mathieu is vaccinated. That is good news as it means the Honey Badger might not only recover faster and without serious illness, but also because there are different rules for vaccinated vs. unvaccinated players. An unvaccinated player suffers from an automatic 10-day absence, whereas a vaccinated player needs only be symptom-free and have two negative tests 24 hours apart to get cleared to return.
The bad news is that Mathieu was reportedly not present at practice today. The Chiefs are being pretty tight-lipped about his status for Sunday. Keep an eye on the news tomorrow afternoon. The Chiefs have to officially activate Mathieu from the COVID-19 list by 4 PM eastern time for him to be eligible to play on Sunday. Even if they do activate him, it isn’t a guarantee he will be on the field, but it is the first critical step. The Chiefs have indicated that Juan Thornhill is ready to take on the extra snaps should Mathieu be inactive.
Additionally, Frank Clark has been dealing with a hamstring injury and defensive tackle Derrick Nnandi has been dealing with a hip. Both are listed as questionable for Sunday. Lastly, don’t forget that linebacker Willie Gay is on IR for the next few weeks with a toe injury.
Will the Chiefs beat the Browns on Sunday?
As I said today on the Arrowhead Addict podcast, I think the Chiefs are going to take this one. The Browns are sure to be motivated to get revenge for the Chiefs eliminating them from the playoffs last year but even with KC’s injuries, I think their offense will be too much for the Brown new-look defense to handle.
Make no mistake, the Browns are stacked with talent but it may take time for some of their new pieces to gel. Going to Arrowhead Stadium to play the Chiefs in September has not worked out well for most opponents recently and I think we see another early-season victory for Mahomes and company.
Chiefs 34, Browns 24.
Make sure to catch the Arrowhead Addict podcast LIVE Chiefs postgame show over on our new Youtube channel. We will go live around 7 central following the game. Bring your questions and interact with us in the live chat. Make sure to subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss any of the exclusive content we will be posting there.