It doesn’t look like the Kansas City Chiefs will have rookie RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire available for the divisional round of the playoffs against the Cleveland Browns.
According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Edwards-Helaire has an “uphill battle” to play against the Browns. He likely won’t get a shot to play unless the team advances to the AFC title game.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that Edwards-Helaire’s chances were slim after he was downgraded to a non-participant during the final two days of the practice week. Andy Reid seemed to indicate that he would be a true game-time decision when he spoke to the media on Friday. He said they were taking things, “day-by-day.”
#Chiefs RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire (ankle/hip) is listed as questionable vs the #Browns, but sources say he has an uphill battle to play today. Not practicing on Thursday or Friday was a bad sign. Sounds like it’ll be another week, barring some dramatic improvement.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 17, 2021
With Edwards-Helaire on the sidelines, the Chiefs will likely rely on Le’Veon Bell as their No. 1 running back heading into the game. Bell is very familiar with the Cleveland Browns from his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bell has 141 carries for 539 yards and three touchdowns against Cleveland during his career. His most recent game against them came with the New York Jets in Week 2 of the 2019 season.
In addition to Bell, look for the team to utilize Darrel Williams as the third-down running back as they have all season. We could also see Darwin Thompson with an opportunity in a change-of-pace role after he had a great Week 17 appearance against the Chargers.
