Why Andy Reid and the Chiefs didn’t have to change much for Chad Henne

When Patrick Mahomes suffered an apparent concussion against the Browns, the football world froze. Arguably the best player in the sport was suddenly sidelined with a trip to the AFC Championship game on the line.

Everyone froze except for Andy Reid, Eric Bienemy and the rest of the Chiefs coaching staff. Chad Henne came into the game, the Chiefs adjusted, and were able to keep their foot on the gas en route to a 22-17 victory.

Not that Henne, who was making his first playoff appearance in the 13th season of his career, was exceptional. In fact he did his best to tank the game with an awful interception in the end zone that resembled an arm punt, but at the end of the day the Chiefs’ talent and organization on offense was enough to keep Henne afloat.

It didn’t seem like the Chiefs changed much of their offense to accommodate the shift in talent from Mahomes to Henne. The Chiefs still leaned on a vertical passing game, which did result in the aforementioned interception. But on the first play of the next drive, Tyreek Hill made an tough, contested catch over a Browns defensive back to help Henne.

Henne added his own playmaking skills with a scramble on third and long that set up the game-winning play for the Chiefs. With the Chiefs driving 22-17, Henne scanned the field and couldn’t find anyone open. Instead of forcing something ill-advised, he decided to take one for the team and sprint for the first-down marker — and almost made it! He dove (kinda) but landed just inches short.

There remained one more play where the Chiefs coaching staff really aided Henne in his quest to close the game out. On the final play that mattered, the Chiefs stalled for a bit — looking like they were simply trying to draw the Browns into a penalty before punting — but then ran an easy read for Henne to complete a pass to Hill to send the Chiefs to their third-consecutive AFC Championship game.

Instead of running to just get the inches needed for a first down, Henne rolled out to his right and found Hill wide open for a first down on a quick out route.

A combination of coaching, a gutsy play from Henne, and staying true to what they do well helped the Chiefs cross the finish line. Henne’s teammates were quick to compliment him after the game, and Mahomes tweeted his thoughts.

Henne has been around for a long time, but his stint as a full-time starter was fairly short. Prior to Week 17 this year, which the Chiefs used to rest some players, Henne hadn’t started a game since 2014.

He’s clearly not going to be able to come remotely close to consistently doing the things Mahomes does to make Kansas City’s offense one of the most dynamic we’ve ever seen. Reid and Bieniemy would no doubt adjust if Mahomes cannot return by next weekend.

But hopefully we don’t have to find out what they’d do if Henne got the start in championship game against the Bills. Hopefully Mahomes can be healthy enough to be out there again.