Insider: ‘Very Real Possibility’ Chiefs WR Makes Long-Awaited Return in Week 16

After having his 21-day practice window to return from injured reserve opened on December 13, there’s a “very real possibility” that Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Hollywood Brown could make his Chiefs debut in Week 16, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.

“He practiced on Friday, and from my understanding, he was so quick and so impressive in practice on Friday that there is a possibility — a very real possibility — that Hollywood Brown makes his Chiefs debut not in Week 17 or 18 but this coming week,” Rapoport said on NFL Network on December 15.

Brown, 27, has been sidelined since the preseason due to an injury to his SC joint. If he is activated from injured reserve in Week 16, that means he will make his debut against the Houston Texans on Saturday, December 21.

Now that quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a sprained ankle against the Cleveland Browns in Week 15, the Chiefs need all the help they can get offensively. Brown returning will be a welcomed addition to a Kansas City squad amidst a schedule crunch that involves three games over 11 days.

Patrick Mahomes Struggled With Deep Ball vs Browns

Though Brown’s presence could help spark Kansas City’s downfield passing attack, Mahomes will have to be more accurate in that category if the team wants to make those types of big plays.

According to Next Gen Stats, Mahomes was o-for-6 on pass attempts 20-plus yards down the field in Week 15. He is 2-for-14 on those types of throws over the last three games.

As a player who thrived on the deep ball early in his career, Mahomes has taken a step back as a deep ball thrower this season. Though there have been several occasions when his deep ball incompletions were because of the pass catcher, Mahomes — most notably against the Browns — has struggled to put the ball where it needs to be so the pass catcher can make a play.

If Mahomes doesn’t fix this issue, then it won’t matter whether or not Brown is in the lineup because the two won’t be able to make plays down the field anyway.

Hopefully, Mahomes can clean up the deep ball inaccuracy over the last three regular season games and be back to his normal form come the playoffs. But that’s easier said than done, especially now that he’s dealing with the ankle injury.

Chiefs Defeat Browns 21-7 in Week 15

The Chiefs defeated the Browns 21-7 in Week 15 to improve to 13-1 on the season.

Mahomes was sidelined for the team’s final two offensive series due to the sprained ankle but finished the game with a 50% completion percentage and threw for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Rookie WR Xavier Worthy had a team-high 11 targets for six catches for 46 yards. Veteran running backs Kareem Hunt and Isiah Pacheco led the backfield with 13 carries each but Hunt (45 yards) out-gained Pacheco (32 yards).

Kansas City’s defense thrived on a season-high six turnovers, which included intercepting Browns QB Jameis Winston four times and recovering two fumbles. The unit had a total of eight tackles for loss and five sacks, per ESPN.