Chiefs React to 'Great Job' Marquise 'Hollywood' Brown Did in Regular-Season Debut

In his first official game as a Chief, Marquise "Hollywood" Brown made his presence known and gave the team something to dream on moving forward.

Dec 21, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Hollywood Brown (5) runs with the ball during the first half against the Houston Texans at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images / Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

In their Week 16 win over the Houston Texans, the Kansas City Chiefs may have learned a thing or two about themselves on offense. They already knew quarterback Patrick Mahomes would deliver a gritty performance after his high-ankle sprain, but they continued to find things out about rookie wideout Xavier Worthy. Most importantly, they got their first real look at a world with Marquise "Hollywood" Brown on the field.

That latter part, arguably, was the most important. In a limited sample size, Brown managed to make a serious impact and complement the offense quite well. Following Saturday's win, head coach Andy Reid saluted the prized free agent pickup for his performance.

"Yeah, he had the big fourth down one," Reid said. "The great thing about all of those guys is they all want to play. And we just have one ball, so I tried to explain that to him. They all want to go make the play, and he's like that. He loves playing and he knew he was doing well in there and just wanted more. He was feeling well, I should say not doing well, but feeling well."

It's been a long time coming for Brown, who suffered a sternoclavicular injury in Kansas City's preseason opener that ultimately required surgery the next month. After tireless rehab, he finally got activated from the injured reserve list in time for the Texans game. Somehow, he was even better than expected.

Despite playing just 20 snaps (27% of those available), Brown was targeted eight times in the passing game and came down with five receptions for 45 yards. His first, as Reid alluded to, was a fourth-and-1 grab to keep the club's first scoring drive alive. He later added one on a third-and-7. A couple of near-misses with Mahomes could've added even more yardage and perhaps even a touchdown.

Considering this was Brown's first game of the season, Mahomes came away impressed.

“I thought he did a great job," Mahomes said. "I missed him here and there on a couple throws, but I thought he was getting open. He was winning against man coverage, which is huge. He’s a couple throws away from having a really, really big game. Just getting him in there and getting the football in his hands and getting where he can feel confident and running through tackles and stuff like that. I thought he did a great job of that, and we’ll get him involved more and more as the season goes on.”

Thank you Jesus 🙏🏿 https://t.co/Z5lbALAykB

— Hollywood Brown (@Primetime_jet) December 20, 2024

Luckily for the Chiefs, they have a bit more time to get Brown involved before the postseason. His return to the field figures to help rookie Xavier Worthy and veterans Travis Kelce and DeAndre Hopkins. The former was already flashed on Saturday. Having another viable weapon on the field makes 14-1 Kansas City that much more difficult to plan for.

Coming off one of the Chiefs' most efficient offensive outputs of the year, a hobbled Mahomes knows what having Brown back means for everyone on the offense.

“You saw," Mahomes said. "I mean, they’re able to win versus man coverage and I thought those guys did a great job. I think they had won even more than I even threw them the football, but you saw – we moved the ball well today and we have to continue to do that. Some of the drives stalled out quickly but once we kind of got the drives going, it seemed like we could move down the field. We’ll have to continue to answer that we can beat man coverage and then when teams play zone, we’ll have to beat that as well.”

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