KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Quarterback Patrick Mahomes got knocked from the game and kicker Harrison Butker’s frustrating yips returned at an inopportune time, but even that wasn’t enough to derail the Run It Back Tour — at least Sunday against Cleveland at Arrowhead Stadium.
Mahomes exited the game in the third quarter with a concussion and Butker missed an extra point and field goal, but the Chiefs survived and advanced to a third straight home AFC Championship Game with a 22-17 win against the Browns.
The game came down to a fourth-down conversion from the Kansas City 48-yard line with less than 1 minute remaining with backup quarterback Chad Henne behind center.
Conventional wisdom said coach Andy Reid would run the play clock down, punt and put the outcome of the game in the Chiefs defense’s hands.
Reid, of course, isn’t conventional.
Instead, he trusted Henne to toss a short pass into the right flats, where wide receiver Tyreek Hill snagged the ball, turned up field then sat down in bounds to end Cleveland’s season.
“You ready to roll?” Reid said he asked offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy before the play.
“Absolutely,” Bieniemy said.
With the win, Kansas City will become the first team in NFL history to host the AFC Championship Game in three consecutive seasons next week when the Buffalo Bills come to town for a 5:40 p.m. kickoff next Sunday.
“Nothing really changed ...,” tight end Travis Kelce said of the game plan after Henne entered. “We still had the fire in us and knew we could score points with Chad and move the football with Chad.”
It’s only happened once in the NFC — the Philadelphia Eagles under Reid during the 2002-04 seasons.
The Chiefs had largely dominated the game before Mahomes’ injury, leading 19-10 before he was knocked from the game.
Mahomes, who finished 21 of 30 for 255 yards with one passing touchdown, had run for a 1-yard touchdown on a similar option keeper to the play when he suffered the concussion and tossed a 20-yard touchdown to tight end Travis Kelce, who took flight into the end zone, during a lopsided first half.
Butker missed an extra point after the first score, but he later converted two field goals, including an Arrowhead Stadium postseason record 50-yard field goal, late in the first half.
The second field goal, a 28-yarder with 2 seconds remaining before halftime, came after safety Dan Soreson forced a Rashard Higgins fumble at the goal line for a touchback.
The Chiefs had a chance to ice things early in the third quarter when Tyrann Mathieu — who led the Chiefs with seven tackles, including one for a loss — intercepted Mayfield on the opening drive of the second half.
Butker clanged a 33-yard field goal try off the upright, giving the Browns new life.
Mayfield, who finished 23 of 37 for 204 yards with a touchdown and interception, capped a 77-yard touchdown drive with a 4-yard dart to Jarvis Landry.
Kevin Stefanski opted not to try for two, and Mahomes was injured on the ensuing drive.
Henne came in and helped inch the Chiefs close enough for Butker to redeem himself with a 33-yard field goal, but the Browns countered with an 18-play drive that went 75 yards before former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt powered in from 3 yards out.
Things looked bleak for Kansas City with Mahomes having been officially ruled out after an independent evaluation by an NFL neurologist, but the defense stepped up and forced a punt after Henne overthrew Demarcus Robinson for an interception in the end zone.
“We were just doing our job,” defensive end Frank Clark said.
Unshaken in his confidence in Henne and company, the Chiefs refused to tighten up and closed the door — with a little help from mad genius Andy Reid’s play-calling.
Mathieu and Clark credited Henne’s work ethic for putting him in position to help the Chiefs hang on for the win.
Hill finished with game-highs in receptions (eight) and receiving yards (110), but Kelce was equally good with eight catches for 109 yards.
Henne finished 6 of 8 for 68 yards and also had a key 13-yard scramble, which set up the game-winning fourth-down pass.
Kansas City limited Nick Chubb to only 69 on 13 carries, while Hunt — who the Chiefs cut in December 2018 after several alleged assaults — had six carries for 32 yards.
“It was just getting off fast and tackling,” Clark said. “The first half, we did a helluva job tackling, and did a great job in contain.”