Kansas City’s Victory over Cleveland: Defying Stereotypes and Betting on the Underdog

Narratives on the Kansas City Chiefs and Cleveland Browns were different than usual coming into Wild-Card Weekend. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid had been off in the second half of the season, but Kansas City managed to win against Miami, 26-7. The Browns had been winning despite the quarterback situation and didn’t fare well against Houston. Mahomes and the Chiefs are simply too good, along with the Browns making critical mistakes and reverting to their past struggles.

Browns Stadium is known as the Factory of Sadness, but the team wasn’t even playing at home in their game. Rookie quarterback CJ Stroud managed to win his first playoff game against the Ravens and barely missed a perfect passer rating. The Browns, known for their strong defense, gave up a significant number of yards to the Texans in their loss. Ultimately, the Saturday slate was unimpressive, and the decision to put the games behind a paywall was a disappointment. Despite that, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift managed to shine during the games.