National Football League

Will it take perfect football to beat the Kansas City Chiefs?

Updated Sep. 14, 2021 12:22 p.m. ET

There wasn't much more the Cleveland Browns could've gotten right on Sunday.

Apparently, even their coach was on fire.

Back to the game.

Save for a late-game turnover, Baker Mayfield was exceptional. Kevin Stefanski flashed every stroke of his playcalling wizardry. And the defense? How often is it that we see a Patrick Mahomes-led offense minimized in the manner that they were during the first half?

Just about everything was working for the Dawg Pound … until it wasn't.

The fact that a team put up 457 total yards (good for a league-leading 8.2 yards per play in Week 1), took a 12-point lead into halftime and led for nearly 53 minutes in a loss to Kansas City spells absolute trouble for the rest of the league.

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With that result, Shannon Sharpe said on Monday's "Undisputed" that knocking K.C. off its pedestal come postseason time is a reality that exists only in the imagination.

"The Chiefs were playing without two of their top three defenders [Tyrann Mathieu, Frank Clark]," Sharpe said. "I don't really know how much better the Browns could've played.

"When you play the Kansas City Chiefs, a lot of things are going to have to go in your favor. You're going to have to steal a possession. You're gonna need to get to 30. And then, hope Mahomes plays bad! He plays like this, and they're not turning it over? You're not beating them!"

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It's rare that Mahomes plays poorly. His first half Sunday was average at best, but he was elite in the final 30 minutes, tossing three TD passes as he spearheaded a valiant comeback effort.

A few of the plays he made were something straight out of a circus exhibition, as he put on effortless displays of arm power and body contortion.

Quick example: this bomb to Tyreek Hill.

Mahomes' heroics netted him 337 passing yards, plus the ever-important victory. His two favorite targets, Hill and Travis Kelce, combined for 16 catches, 273 yards and three scores.

"[The Chiefs] had four possessions in the second half," Sharpe added. "They got: TD, TD, TD, field goal. Repeat after me: MVP, MVP, MVP."

But Skip Bayless said he is fully aboard the Browns train, despite their loss, and he still believes Cleveland will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

He also thinks they'll beat Kansas City on the way there.

"Baker came out like he meant business," Bayless said. "That was the best overall game under fire I have seen him play as a professional. I thought he lived up to being the first pick in the draft.

"What did we see in the opening Cleveland drive of the game? They just took it and stuck it right down Kansas City's throat. I saw nothing but great, loved every bit of it except for two mistakes late."

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Those two mistakes, though, proved costly. And it appears that Cleveland — or any other squad, for that matter — will have to play near mistake-free football to trump the reigning AFC champs.

You can watch the full debate here: