Chiefs speedster Hollywood Brown catches five passes in his 2024 debut

On their first offensive possession of their 27-19 win, the Kansas City Chiefs faced a crucial 4th-and-1.

Then Marquise “Hollywood” Brown caught a cross route for 12 yards. Not only was it the first of his two first-down conversions against the Houston Texans, but it was also his first reception since joining the Chiefs.

“It was good to get Hollywood involved again,” Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said.

Looking to return to their once explosive downfield passing game, the Chiefs signed Brown to a one-year, $7 million contract in the offseason and had high expectations.

But Brown suffered a sternoclavicular injury that required shoulder surgery after catching a pass on the first play of the Chiefs’ first preseason game on Aug. 10.

In his first regular season game this year after a stint on injured reserve, Brown had five catches for 45 yards.

“He did a great job,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “We will involve him more and more as the season progresses.”

Brown’s longest play came on the Chiefs’ first possession of the second quarter. On this 3rd-and-7 play, he lined up in a huddle formation for the 20-yard catch.

On a 2nd-and-9 of the same drive, he caught a six-yard pass.

Two plays later, Mahomes rolled out and narrowly missed Brown on what could have been a long reception. Although it was incomplete, it mostly showed how well Mahomes’ ankle held up despite his injury last weekend.

In fact, Mahomes was the Chiefs’ second-leading rusher in the game, rushing for 33 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown run for the game’s first score.

“Pat is a warrior,” wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins said.

Hopkins, who still lives in Houston, had four catches for 37 yards against the team that drafted him in the first round of the 2013 NFL Draft.

Hopkins’ next team was the Arizona Cardinals, and Hopkins played there with Brown in 2022. Now they are reunited in Kansas City.

Brown also had two more catches in the fourth quarter. He had a three-yard reception two plays before Harrison Butker kicked a 27-yard field goal. On the Chiefs’ final drive of the game, Brown got going on a 2nd-and-8 before catching a pass for four yards.

He was targeted two more times in the second half.

“I missed him on a few throws here and there,” Mahomes said. “He got more open and just won against man coverage.”

Brown had been training well since returning from injured reserve. Because it was a shoulder injury, he was able to do cardio and stay in shape throughout much of the recovery process.

“He’s one of those really good endurance athletes anyway,” Reid said. “But he was training his legs the whole time.”

Reid called Saturday’s win the Chiefs’ best overall game as Kansas City improved to an NFL-best 14-1 record while remaining undefeated at home in the regular season.

Reid also said it was Xavier Worthy’s best game. The rookie wide receiver had seven catches for 65 yards as well as a touchdown and three rushes for 10 yards.

That’s partly due to the rookie’s continued development, but it also helps to have another speedster like Brown to stretch the field and put even more strain on the defense.

“It was great to have him back,” Worthy said. “It just opens up a lot more.”