The Chiefs do not want to hold Chase Claypool’s beer.
Last week, Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster stirred up the Browns with an unforced error that will resonate through the years in the Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry. This week, Claypool already has thrown some gasoline on a fire that the Steelers will now watch from afar.
“Bad loss, but Browns are gonna clapped next week, so it’s all good,” Claypool said in a social-media video today.
Will that stir the Browns? Possibly. But it will be hard to twist that into motivation against a team other than the Steelers. Unless the Browns convince themselves that Claypool’s attitude reflects everyone’s attitude, including the attitude of players on the Chiefs.
The Chiefs are heavy favorites to win the game. The talent gap between the Chiefs and Browns may not be as great as believed, however. Also, and as Hall of Fame head coach Tony Dungy pointed out last night, the Chiefs likely didn’t spend much of their bye week doing advance preparation for the Browns.
If so, that’s an advantage (albeit slim) for Cleveland. They’ll need every advantage they can get if they’re going to pull off what would be one of the biggest wins the Browns have ever had.