Tag: Browns

Inactives for Chiefs vs. Browns, divisional round

These players will be inactive for the Chiefs vs. Browns playoff game.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns have released their lists of inactive players ahead of their playoff matchup in the AFC’s divisional round.

Here are the inactive players for the Chiefs:

  • WR Sammy Watkins
  • RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire
  • CB Rashad Fenton
  • LB Willie Gay
  • OT Martinas Rankin
  • DE Tim Ward
  • DT Khalen Saunders

Here is the inactive list for the Browns:

  • WR Marvin Hall
  • CB Brian Allen
  • S Jovante Moffatt
  • OT Alex Taylor
  • WR Alexander Hollins
  • TE Kyle Markway
  • DE Joe Jackson

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Top 15 Free Agents to Watch in Sunday’s playoff games

The Tampa Bay Bucs have the majority of Top 20 free agents of Sunday’s competitors. The Browns? They only check in once. Still, Day 2 of the divisional round presents 50% more top free agents than Saturday’s tilts.

The NFL Divisional Round continues on Sunday with two more games on tap. After victories by No. 1 NFC seed Green Bay and No. 2 AFC seed Buffalo, home teams prevailed to restore order to a funky road-team-rules 2020 campaign and align half of the NFL’s Final Four bracket.

Squaring off to finalize the affair will be defending champion Kansas City looking to fend off the upstart Cleveland Browns, with the New Orleans Saints hosting their division rivals, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the nightcap. While fans of these four organizations watch with bated breath, the rest of the league’s followers are hoping for good, competitive games. They also should be watching to see the performances of players who could make their way to the fans’ favorite team. The free agent market will once again be on display.

Here’s a guide as to which higher-profile players who will be unrestricted free agents come March and the new league year, are playing in the two Sunday contests. We’re using Pro Football Focus’ Top 100 free agents list to compile this collection and for the writeups. Some of these targets may even be of interest to the Cowboys.

Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire faces ‘uphill battle’ to play vs. Browns

A new report says that Chiefs rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire is unlikely to play in the divisional round.

It doesn’t look like the Kansas City Chiefs will have rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire available for the divisional round of the playoffs against the Cleveland Browns.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Edwards-Helaire has an “uphill battle” to play against the Browns. He likely won’t get a shot to play unless the team advances to the AFC title game.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Edwards-Helaire’s chances were slim after he was downgraded to a non-participant during the final two days of the practice week. Andy Reid seemed to indicate that he would be a true game-time decision when he spoke to the media on Friday. He said they were taking things, “day-by-day.”

With Edwards-Helaire on the sidelines, the Chiefs will likely rely on Le’Veon Bell as their No. 1 running back heading into the game. Bell is very familiar with the Cleveland Browns from his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bell has 141 carries for 539 yards and three touchdowns against Cleveland during his career. His most recent game against them came with the New York Jets in Week 2 of the 2019 season.

In addition to Bell, look for the team to utilize Darrel Williams as the third-down running back as they have all season. We could also see Darwin Thompson with an opportunity in a change-of-pace role after he had a great Week 17 appearance against the Chargers.

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Chiefs vs. Browns divisional round: Important details, TV schedule and how to stream online

Everything you need to know about the Kansas City Chiefs’ matchup vs. the Cleveland Browns.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to host the Cleveland Browns for the AFC’s divisional round of the playoffs.

All of the Chiefs’ goals for the 2020 NFL season lie ahead of them as they attempt to run it back and win consecutive Super Bowl titles. Can they defeat the red-hot Browns fresh off an upset win over the Pittsburgh Steelers? Be sure to tune into the game to find out.

Below are important game details about this playoff matchup. If you have questions about the game, reach out to us on Twitter @TheChiefsWire.

Game information:

Who: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Cleveland Browns

When: Sunday, January 17 at 2:05 p.m. CT

Where: Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, Missouri

Streaming:

Live stream: fuboTV has complete local NFL coverage (CBS, FOX, ESPN), plus NFL Network and NFL Network Redzone. FuboTV includes every network you need to watch every NFL game in your market. *Regional Restrictions Apply*

Television channels:

  • CBS

Broadcasters:

Jim Nantz and Tony Romo

Referee:

Clay Martin

Radio:

WDAF-FM (106.5 The Wolf)

Betting Odds:

Money Line (via BetMGM): -500

Spread (via BetMGM): -9.5

Over/Under (via BetMGM): 57.5

Opponent wire site:

Browns Wire

Chiefs’ 2020 schedule

Week Opponent Time (CT) | Date Channel
1 vs. Houston Texans 7:20 p.m. Thu, Sept. 10th NBC
2 at Los Angeles Chargers 3:25  p.m. Sun, Sept. 20th CBS
3 at Baltimore Ravens 7:15 p.m. Mon, Sept. 28th ESPN
4 vs. New England Patriots 6:05 p.m. Mon, Oct. 5th CBS
5 vs. Las Vegas Raiders 12:00 p.m. Sun, Oct. 11th CBS
6 at Buffalo Bills 4:00 p.m. Mon, Oct. 19th FOX/NFLN/Amazon
7 at Denver Broncos 3:25 p.m. Sun, Oct 25th CBS
8 vs. New York Jets 12:00 p.m. Sun, Nov. 1st CBS
9 vs. Carolina Panthers 12:00 p.m. Sun, Nov. 8th FOX
10 BYE BYE BYE
11 at Las Vegas Raiders 7:20 p.m. Sun, Nov. 22nd NBC
12 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3:25 p.m. Sun, Nov. 29th CBS
13 vs. Denver Broncos 7:20 p.m. Sun, Dec. 6th NBC
14 at Miami Dolphins 12:00 p.m. Sun, Dec. 13th CBS
15 at New Orleans Saints 3:25 p.m. Sun, Dec. 20th CBS
16 vs. Atlanta Falcons 12:00 p.m. Sun, Dec. 27th FOX
17 vs. Los Angeles Chargers 3:25 p.m. Sun, Jan. 3rd FOX

Chiefs’ 53-man roster:

 

6 Chiefs players to watch in divisional round vs. Browns

Keep an eye on these six players as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Cleveland Browns.

The Kansas City Chiefs are set to play the Cleveland Browns in the AFC’s divisional round of the playoffs. After nearly three full weeks with no game, the Chiefs’ starters will look to pick up where they left off against a Browns team riding a lot of momentum into Arrowhead Stadium.

Despite the two weeks off, the Chiefs aren’t at full strength. They’ll need to rely on some of their biggest stars and some supporting cast members to pick up the slack. So who should Chiefs fans keep an eye on this week?

Here are six players to watch in the divisional round:

Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy focused on Browns as HC vacancies are filled

Bieniemy has shifted his attention away from the head-coaching searches and onto the Cleveland Browns.

As head-coaching vacancies around the NFL have started to be filled, it’s beginning to look like Kansas City Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy will once again be passed over for an opportunity.

Two jobs that Bieniemy has interviewed for, the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars, have both officially settled on head-coaching candidates. The Jets hired San Francisco 49ers DC Robert Saleh and the Jaguars hired former Ohio State HC Urban Meyer.

Other jobs that Bieniemy interviewed for, such as the Detroit Lions, Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Chargers haven’t made an official hire yet. However, reports have named top targets for each team, several remaining in the playoffs, none-of-whom are Bieniemy. The Lions have their sights set on New Orleans Saints TE coach Dan Campbell. The Falcons have reportedly offered their job to Tennessee Titans OC Arther Smith. The Chargers are said to have very serious interest in Buffalo Bills OC Brian Daboll.

Since interviewing for each of these five jobs, Bieniemy has declined to comment on the process. He’s turned his focus entirely to the Cleveland Browns, as he should, in preparation for the upcoming divisional round of the playoffs.

“Let me just say this, first of all, it was an honor and a privilege,” Bieniemy told reporters of interviewing for HC vacancies. “But that’s not what we’re here for. We’re here to talk about the Cleveland Browns. And you’ve heard us talk about this before, we eliminate all distractions. At the end of the day, my focus and attention is on the Cleveland Browns. This is a great team and they’re playing some great ball. They’ve got some young guys up front that are playing tremendous. They’ve got some guys in the second level with those backers and they’ve got a heck of a secondary group, one of those guys we’re very familiar with. So, we’re looking forward to this challenge. I know our guys are fired up and excited. They’re refreshed, they’ve hit the reset button. Now it’s time to get out there and produce and show exactly what we’re about.”

As it stands, Bieniemy potentially has one more interview ahead of him. The Houston Texans requested an interview, but due to the NFL’s anti-tampering policy, that interview cannot take place until the Chiefs win Super Bowl LV or lose in the playoffs.

The hard truth is that Bieniemy has now been passed over for other candidates in each of the last three coaching cycles. One of those teams, the New York Jets, has now passed over Bieniemy twice. We can speculate plenty on a number of reasons why he’s been passed over. At some point, it feels like something has got to give for Bieniemy, though.

By the end of the postseason, the NFL could be allowing a two-time Super Bowl offensive coordinator to maintain his post for four consecutive seasons without a promotion. Perhaps the biggest thing he can do for a job interview is to continue to contribute toward the Chiefs’ ability to win. If the league continues to miss the boat on a proven winner, Kansas City will continue to capitalize. As deserving as Bieniemy is to run his own team, Chiefs Kingdom can hardly be mad at that outcome.

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Final injury report for Chiefs vs. Browns, divisional round

A look at the final injury report of the week for the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns, complete with game status designations.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns have released their third and final injury reports of the week on Friday. You can find the injury reports from earlier this week here: Wednesday — Thursday.

Check out the injury report for each team, complete with game status designations, down below:

Chiefs P Dustin Colquitt providing unique advantage in preparation for Browns

Colquitt will make a huge difference in the Chiefs’ special teams preparation this week.

The Kansas City Chiefs pay a lot of attention to detail when they make roster decisions.

The Chiefs have a great rookie punter in Tommy Townsend, but this week, he won’t be doing all of the punting drills during special teams periods in practice. Instead, the team will rely on former Chiefs starter of 15 years, Dustin Colquitt, who was recently re-signed on the Kansas City practice squad.

Why will Colquitt be taking the majority of the reps over Townsend if he’s not scheduled to play, though? This week the Chiefs will be facing Browns punter Jamie Gillan, who happens to be a left-footed punter. Do you know who else is a lefty punter? Dustin Colquitt.

“It’s really fortunate to be able to get Dustin back,” Chiefs special teams coordinator Dave Toub said. “He’s a Chief, he’s always been a Kansas City Chief and he always will be. It’s good to have him back in the locker room with the guys. He’s just a fun guy to be around and he’s going to help Tommy (Townsend) down the stretch here and he’s helping our football team because of the three teams that are left in the AFC, there are two left-footed punters that are left and he’s giving us those looks during practice, catch a left ball rotation for our returners, you know a live ball which is better than catching off a jugs and he’s been a real asset having him on the practice squad right now.”

Colquitt is giving Mecole Hardman, Tyreek Hill, Demarcus Robinson and other return specialists a specific rotation on the ball that they wouldn’t be getting from Townsend in practice. It’s those small details that can be the difference between a muffed punt, a fair catch and a punt return during the course of a game. Catching some balls with that type of rotation will be a vital piece of preparation for each of those players.

Including Gillan, there are two left-footed punters that remain in the playoffs. Bills punter Corey Bojorquez is also a lefty and if both Kansas City and Buffalo advance and meet in the AFC Championship Game, Colquitt’s leg will come into play again as the special teams unit prepares for that challenge.

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Former Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson set to serve as drum leader vs. Browns

The Kansas City Chiefs have chosen their drum leader for the AFC divisional round.

The Kansas City Chiefs have chosen a drum leader for the AFC divisional-round game against the Cleveland Browns.

Beloved former Chiefs LB Derrick Johnson is set to return to Arrowhead Stadium to bang the drum ahead of the Chiefs’ divisional playoff game against the Browns. Johnson spent 13 seasons in Kansas City after being selected with pick No. 15 in the 2005 NFL draft. He’s still the Chiefs’ all-time tackle leader with 1,154 total tackles during his career in Kansas City. He was twice named to the NFL’s All-Pro teams and selected to four Pro Bowls throughout his career.

Johnson was part of the Chiefs’ first playoff victory of the Andy Reid era during the wild-card round of the 2015 playoffs. He recorded six total tackles in the 30-0 victory over the Houston Texans. He last played with the Chiefs in the wild-card round of the playoffs against the Tennessee Titans in the 2017-18 season— a game remembered for a controversial forward progress call on a sack-fumble of Titans QB Marcus Mariota by Johnson.

Last year, Johnson’s longtime teammate, Tamba Hali was the drum leader against the Texans in the divisional round. This appears to be carrying on a tradition of having former players as the drum leader in the divisional round of the playoffs. He’ll be tasked with getting the crowd of 17,000 or so fans pumped up ahead of kickoff, banging the drum on the GEHA Drum Deck.

The Chiefs have a few other events planned ahead of kickoff on Sunday as well. Weather permitting, the Chiefs will have a B-2 Stealth bomber from Whiteman Air Force Base to do a flyover at Arrowhead Stadium.

Retired Navy Petty Officer 1st Class, Generald Wilson, has pre-recorded a rendition of the National Anthem from the National WWI Museum and Memorial. He also sang the National Anthem at the Chiefs’ AFC Championship Game against the Titans last year.

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