Even with Mahomes out, Chiefs showed #HenneThingIsPossible in beating Browns to advance
In his NFL career, Chiefs coach Andy Reid had been 7-0 against Cleveland. He was 24-5 after bye weeks — including 5-2 in the postseason. And he’d been 14-6 against men on his coaching tree, such as Cleveland’s Kevin Stefanski.
But looming most of all over the Chiefs AFC Divisional playoff game against Cleveland on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium was this:
Cleveland was coming off its first playoff win in 25 years; the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs went on to enjoy the best regular season in franchise history — and presumably became forged with a certain fortitude through all that.
And maybe that adds up this way: A team that through so many narrow wins this season and still bearing the DNA of three double-digit postseason rallies last season understands the difference between just wishing or thinking it can win no matter what and, in fact, knowing it.
“I would say that the biggest difference (from last season to this season) is just the confidence we have in knowing who we are and how to be the best us, if that makes sense,” tight end Travis Kelce said the other day.
Even when, it turns out, the worst-case scenario creeps up and suddenly the magical Bright Knight of Kansas City that is Patrick Mahomes is out of the game with a possible concussion and the potentially demoralized and disoriented Chiefs still fended off the Browns 22-17.
In ample part because “#HenneThingIsPossible” — as Mahomes posted on Twitter after the game in homage to backup quarterback Chad Henne — who at 35 years old isn’t apt to be on such social media.
“I don’t think #HenneGivenSunday or #HenneThingIsPossible is going to show up on LinkedIn,” he said, laughing.
If the LinkedIn name weren’t already taken, though, you might say that term underscored how the Chiefs ultimately prevailed on Sunday.
By binding together all the more without Mahomes, whose status for the AFC Championship game against visiting Buffalo next week remains unclear despite Reid vaguely saying he had so far “passed all the deals he needed to pass.”
When adversity hits, as Kelce put it, “Where does your mind go? Where do we go from here as a team?”
In this case, it was to Henne, who now will be forever remembered for helping put the game away with his crucial 13-yard scramble and fourth and 1 pass to Tyreek Hill on what was effectively, well, a fake no-play seemingly set just to try to draw Cleveland offside.
The two plays, as it happens, that Reid said he’d remember most about this game.
The cream rises to the top in hard times, defensive end Frank Clark said. And …
“He was the cream today, baby,” Clark said.
Especially after being abruptly summoned when Mahomes was slammed to the ground by Cleveland’s Mack Wilson and buckled as he stood back up.
(You could write a whole column on the hit, which might be seen both as dirty and just football. Of note is that Wilson later posted “Prayers” and to Mahomes on Twitter, and that Mahomes replied “All good brother!” with a flexing-arm emoji.)
With the Chiefs facing fourth and 1 early in the third quarter and leading 19-10, with Chiefs fans still emitting a collective gasp and Henne’s adrenaline surging, he calmed things down with a deft pitch to Darrel Williams for a 12-yard run that paved the way to a field goal and set the tone for what was ahead despite the dread of losing Mahomes.
“Nothing changed, man, nothing changed,” Kelce said. “Chad came in and uplifted us, we uplifted him and we just rallied together.”
He wasn’t flawless, including heaving a long interception that Reid later took the blame for. But he was six of eight for 68 yards in what had to be the most pressure-packed situation and most meaningful game of his career, if not the outright best. And he embodied what Reid is talking about when he says “being able to reach deep during the tough times” is what football is all about.
“This is why I’m here,” said Henne, who was grateful for the confidence his teammates showed in him.
Even as a reserve, he still relishes the processes and the locker room and his relationship with Mahomes and made a point of saying, “He’s helped me out more than I feel like I’ve ever helped him.”
The Chiefs may need more help from Henne, of course. But that’s tomorrow’s concern right now after the Chiefs were in danger of making the matter of Mahomes’ return a moot point as they stood at the edge of defeat on Sunday but found a way to win … again.
No one would say it’s good fortune to see Mahomes go down, of course. But the victory illuminated something else that will be an X-factor for the Chiefs in the next few weeks. For all the debate about rust vs. rest for Mahomes and other starters in the regular-season finale, the fact that the Chiefs opted to sit Mahomes in that game against the Chargers gave Henne a much better feel for the speed of the game on Sunday.
And led to them finding yet another way to win and live for another chance next week, knowing who they are and how to be “the best us” even without their best.
This story was originally published January 17, 2021 at 7:03 PM.