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Posted at 12:00 PM EST. 

KANSAS CITY -9 over Cleveland

3:05 PM EST. The Browns assault on the Steelers was jaw-dropping in the first half of their game and then the Browns did enough to keep the Steelers from catching up. Actually, that might not be true. Give plenty of credit to Mike Tomlin for putting a halt to the Steelers comeback. Down 28-0 and subsequently 35-10 at the half, the Steelers came out firing in the third quarter to make the score 35-23 with the Steelers driving again and with a full quarter remaining. The Brownies looked like a team in trouble until that genius, Mike Tomlin, pulled the plug. On a fourth and 1 around midfield and with all the momentum in the world, Tomlin sends out his punting team instead of going for it. The entire city of Cleveland and every living Browns fan in the world wanted to shake Tomlin’s hand right there and then. The Browns would score four minutes later to put the game out of reach. Had genius gone for it, we’d probably be discussing the Steelers against the Chiefs and not the Brownies. Nevertheless, it matters not.

Pittsburgh was not ready to go last week. The Steelers looked out of sorts for the last six weeks of the season and looked bewildered in the first quarter. 13 minutes in and they were down 28-0. Still, they put up 37 points in the next three quarters, racked up 501 yards on Cleveland’s defense and outscored the Brownies 37-20 in the final three quarters.

The Chiefs rested players in Week 17 and had their bye. They needed the time to get players healthy and in particular, the rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire since the Chiefs' rushing effort has been below average all year. There can be a concern whenever a team goes two weeks without appreciable playing time, but the same thing happened last year and the Chiefs beat the Texans 51-31 in the Divisional Round. Patrick Mahomes ended the regular season passing for 4,740 yards and 38 touchdowns. He topped 300 yards in nine matchups.

The Kansas City Chiefs have not covered in eight weeks. The last cover they had was way back on November 1 when they crushed the Jets 35-9. Since then, K.C. did not cover against Carolina, Vegas, Tampa, Denver, Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta and the Chargers. The Brownies, meanwhile, had a sure cover 13 minutes into last week’s game and that leaves a very sour taste in anyone’s mouth that bet against Cleveland last week.

Although it’s a big price, the Chiefs are still being sold short because of a non-cover drought that has lasted two months and because of how easily the Brownies covered last week. However, Cleveland was a +6-point dog last week in Pittsburgh and now they’re just +3 more in Kansas City. What K.C.’s recent results or final scores don’t reveal is that they were wiping the floor with the Dolphins, Bucs and Saints before allowing all three to come in through the back door in garbage time. Both Andy Reid and Mahomes live and thrive for these playoff moments, meaning they force the opposition out of their comfort zone by putting their foot on the pedal and not letting up.

The narrative we’re hearing is that the points offered are too much. Really? The Chiefs have looked mostly disinterested for the past month or so and in the fourth quarter of many games all year in which the victory was never in doubt. They’ll now play Cleveland’s 25th ranked defense, the same defense that Lamar Jackson and the Ravens ripped apart for 47 points in the “greatest game of the year”. After losing that one to a running back disguised as a QB, the Brownies played the Giants and Jets to close out the year before playing Pittsburgh’s backups in the final game of the year and sneaking by, 24-22. Incidentally, they lost to the Jets by 7, which is not easy to do. Last week’s win over Pittsburgh was a resonating cover by Cleveland but we’re here to tell you that it’s fool’s gold. K.C. is spotting deflated points today so be happy you checked with us before making your wager. See ya at the cashier’s booth late tonight.

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