By Matt McMullen – Chiefs.com Reporter
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Cleveland Browns, 21-7, on Sunday afternoon behind a six-takeaway performance that marked the franchise’s most since 2016.
Kansas City racked up four interceptions, a fumble recovery and a recovered muffed punt in the game, helping the Chiefs – who found the end zone three times offensively – to win by their largest margin of victory this season.
“Everybody got a little piece of the pie,” said Head Coach Andy Reid. “The offense scored a couple times, the defense did some great things, and special teams did some great things.”
The Chiefs’ first takeaway occurred less than two minutes into the game when cornerback Chris Roland-Wallace punched the ball free from Browns’ return man James Proche II in punt coverage. Tailback Samaje Perine pounced on the loose football, and just three snaps later, the Chiefs were in the end zone when quarterback Patrick Mahomes found wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster for a 7-yard touchdown.
Kansas City then doubled its lead late in the second quarter when Mahomes hit tight end Noah Gray for a 6-yard score. The touchdown completed a 14-play, 87-yard drive that put the Chiefs in front by double-digits. The defense, meanwhile, pitched a first-half shutout for the second-straight week.
That defensive performance, which included two total takeaways during the first half, continued just one play into the third quarter, too, when linebacker Nick Bolton picked off Browns’ quarterback Jameis Winston on the first snap following the break. The Chiefs then quickly turned the takeaway into points with a four-play, 34-yard series that culminated in a 21-yard touchdown run around the edge by wide receiver Xavier Worthy.
Worthy’s score, which put Kansas City up by three touchdowns, marked the final points for the Chiefs on the day, but the defense consistently quelled frequent attempts by the Browns to mount a rally. For example, while Cleveland managed to cut the deficit to just 14 points late in the third quarter, Kansas City forced two punts and two interceptions over the Browns’ final four possessions in order to protect the Chiefs’ lead.
The first of those two fourth-quarter interceptions was courtesy of cornerback Trent McDuffie, who thwarted a Browns’ scoring threat with a pick in the end zone. The play – which was the first interception of McDuffie’s young career – ended what turned out to be Cleveland’s last realistic shot at narrowing Kansas City’s lead.
“For whatever reason, I glanced up at the jumbotron because it was a scramble drill, and I saw [Winston] launching [the ball]. [It was] to my side, so I just turned around and caught the ball,” McDuffie said. “They were putting together a pretty good drive, so being able to get that pick and stop that momentum was huge.”
McDuffie’s efforts were part of a dominant day for the Chiefs’ defense, which held Cleveland to its lowest point total (7) and offensive yardage (266) since Winston took over at quarterback in Week 8. In addition to the five defensive takeaways, the Chiefs also racked up three third-down sacks and a turnover-on-downs over the course of the matchup.
It’s worth noting that Cleveland entered Sunday’s game averaging the third-most yards-per-game of any team in the league since Week 8, but Kansas City’s defense went on to hold the Browns scoreless on all but one of their 14 offensive possessions.
The win secured a 13th victory for Kansas City, keeping pace for its lead in the race for the top seed in the AFC playoff picture.
In terms of injuries, Mahomes (ankle) and safety Chamarri Conner (concussion) left the game early. Regarding Mahomes, Coach Reid said that the Chiefs’ all-pro quarterback likely could have gone back in the game if needed. Reid added that Mahomes’ availability will be day-to-day moving forward.
“We’ll just try to get after the rehab part of it and try to be ready for next week,” Mahomes said.
The Chiefs will now quickly turn the page to a matchup with the Houston Texans on Saturday.
