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. Chad Henne is in his 13th NFL season but first playoff game as the reliever to an injury Patrick Mahomes. But his awful interception against the Cleveland Browns has given one of his former.

Chad Henne is in his 13th NFL season but first playoff game as the reliever to an injury Patrick Mahomes. But his awful interception against the Cleveland Browns has given one of his former college teammates some deja vu.

Taking to Twitter, former Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards gave a shoutout to his former quarterback. He joked that Henne’s interception was reminiscent of a famous throw Henne made at Michigan back in 2004.

“Chad thought it was UM vs MSU 04…. Love you Chad but I’m at home,” Edwards wrote.

Chad thought it was UM vs MSU 04….. love you Chad but I’m at home 🤣🤣🤣

— Braylon Edwards (@OfficialBraylon) January 17, 2021

Edwards is referring to this play from the 2004 Michigan-Michigan State game. With 3:00 remaining in the fourth quarter, Henne threw the ball up – seemingly into the range of a Spartans defender. But Edwards jumped up and came down with the ball, tying the game.

The Wolverines would win the game 45-37 in 3OT. They would finish the season as Big Ten co-champions and earned a spot in the Rose Bowl.

It’s pretty remarkable how similar the plays are. But in fairness, it’s been a while since Henne was in a spot as big as that one.

Fortunately for Henne, the Browns didn’t immediately make him and the Chiefs pay for his mistake. The Browns punted on the ensuing drive, keeping the Chiefs in the lead, 22-17.

Can Chad Henne overcome his mistake and lead the Chiefs to the AFC Championship Game?

The game is being played on CBS.

The post Former Michigan Wide Receiver Reacts To Seeing Chad Henne appeared first on The Spun.

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.

Chad Henney

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.

Chad Henne Stats

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.