Cleveland Browns vs Kansas City Chiefs Matchup Preview (9/12/21): Betting Odds, Depth Charts, Live Stream (Watch Online)

Cleveland Browns vs Kansas City Chiefs Matchup Preview (9/12/21)

A repeat of one of the better playoff games from this past postseason has NFL fans fired up as the Browns head to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. Last year’s game was exciting in a different way than most expected as it was a low-scoring game decided by one possession. This year, the Browns get to avenge this loss with the star-studded roster they have accumulated. It won’t be easy for the Browns to win this one as the Chiefs have their own revenge season going on after their devastating defeat to the Buccaneers in the Super Bowl. Both teams have Super Bowl aspirations heading into the season, so this should be a good game with playoff implications.

TV Schedule

Date: September 12, 2021
Time: 4:25 PM ET
Location: Arrowhead Stadium – Kansas City, MO
TV Coverage: FOX

Cleveland Browns vs. Kansas City Chiefs Live Stream

Where can you watch Browns vs. Chiefs online? You can stream this game, and many other NFL games live online with Hulu. Hulu has a 7 Day free trial and is cheaper than cable options at $5.99/month. Watch Browns vs. Chiefs Free Online Now.

Injuries

Browns:

• S Grant Delpit (Hamstring)
• WR Odell Beckham Jr. (Knee)
• DE Jadeveon Clowney (Illness)
• C JC Tretter (Knee)
• S Ronnie Harrison Jr. (Hamstring)
• CB Greedy Williams (Groin)
• CB Troy Hill (Hamstring)
• WR Rashard Higgins (Hamstring)

Chiefs:

• S Tyrann Mathieu (COVID-19)
• WR Mecole Hardman (Oblique)
• DE Frank Clark (Hamstring)
• DT Derrick Nnadi (Hip)
• G Kyle Long (Leg)
• C Austin Blythe (Abdomen)

Cleveland Browns Analysis

The new-age Browns are one of the most exciting teams to watch this season. They have everything a team needs to win a championship as they have a solid quarterback with talent littered across the offense and great players in their defensive line and secondary. The problem is they have expectations, which is not something you can say about the Browns in a long time. Head coach Kevin Stefanski has completely turned around this team and it will be fun to see what he can do with the overflow of talent he has in the locker room.

Baker Mayfield might as well be the mayor of Cleveland as he led the Browns to their first playoff win for the first time in a long time. Mayfield doesn’t even have to do that much for the Browns to be successful because of their dominant running game. The Browns have a top 10 offensive line and two of the best running backs in the league in Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Chubb had over 1,000 rushing yards and over 10 touchdowns last season and Hunt is the dynamic receiving threat out of the backfield the Browns need to take them over the top.

Speaking about players that take the Browns over the top, Cleveland has great wide receivers in Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Rashard Higgins, and Donovan-Peoples Jones. These players have great route-running ability and great hands to make Mayfield’s life easier. The Browns should be one of the top offenses in the league because of the balance they have.

The defense should also be much improved from last season. They signed really good players this offseason in DE Jadeveon Clowney, CB Troy Hill, and CB John Johnson to help their middle-of-the-pack defense. They join a young and developing defense that features DPOY candidates in DE Myles Garrett, CB Greedy Willaims, and CB Denzel Ward. The defense didn’t hold them back this year and should be the reason they have a better record this season. 

Cleveland Browns Depth Chart

QB: Baker Mayfield
RB1: Nick Chubb
RB2: Kareem Hunt
WR1: Odell Beckham Jr.
WR2: Jarvis Landry
WR3: Donovan Peoples-Jones
TE1: Austin Hooper
TE2: David Njoku

Kansas City Chiefs Analysis

What is there to say about the reigning AFC champions? The Chiefs have a powerhouse offensively as they have three of the best players at their positions in QB Patrick Mahomes, TE Travis Kelce, and WR Tyreek Hill. These three have been dominating the league over the past three seasons and have shown no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

These three are enough to make a defense quiver in their cleats already, but the Chiefs don’t stop there as they also have really good players like RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire and WR Mecole Hardman. The Chiefs also revamped their offensive line this offseason so all of the running around Patrick Mahomes did in the Super Bowl shouldn’t be the case this season.

Kansas City’s defense has been a solid unit for the Mahomes era and that’s all they need to be. S Tyrann Mathieu roams the secondary while DE Frank Clark and DE Chris Jones sack the quarterback at a very high rate. Not all of their players are stars, but as long as they can make one stop in a game, that’s all that they need to do because the Chiefs are that good and potent on offense. 

Kansas City Chiefs Depth Chart

QB: Patrick Mahomes
RB1: Clyde Edwards-Helaire
RB2: Darrel Williams
WR1: Tyreek Hill
WR2: Mecole Hardman
WR3: Demarcus Robinson
TE1: Travis Kelce
TE2: Blake Bell

Cleveland Browns vs. Kansas City Chiefs Betting Corner

The Browns have been historically bad on Week 1 since 2000. Their record in Week 1 games is 1-19 and the scores haven’t been that close either. Last year, the Browns lost to the Ravens Week 1, 38-6, and that’s just a small example of the suffering the Browns have been through in Week 1 games. On the flip side, the Chiefs have won the most games since Patrick Mahomes has stepped in as the starter and that shouldn’t change anytime soon.

While the Browns did revamp their defensive line and secondary this offseason, these two units usually need time to develop and shouldn’t be able to defend the Mahomes to Hill or Kelce combo the NFL has struggled to contain. While I do think both of these offenses are supremely talented, 54.5 points is a ton in an NFL game and I think both teams will need to figure some things out before they get the ball rolling and dominate the rest of the league. So take under 54.5 points in this game.