The Kansas City Chiefs are playing a pivotal Week 12 matchup against the Indianapolis Colts, but they’ve stumbled out of the gate, trailing at halftime. Veteran wideout Hollywood Brown has been largely invisible in the opening half, raising immediate concerns about his status and usage. Let’s take a closer look.
What Happened to Kansas City Chiefs WR Hollywood Brown?
Despite the slow start, Brown is not injured and has not left the game. Instead, he simply went untargeted in the first half despite being on the field for nine of the 41 snaps.
Chiefs halftime WR snap count
Xavier Worthy 31
Rashee Rice 29
JuJu Smith-Schuster 21
Tyquan Thornton 12
Hollywood Brown 9Out of 41 plays
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) November 23, 2025
The veteran has been targeted in every one of the Chiefs’ first 10 games this season, yet he did not receive a single pass thrown his way until late in the second quarter against Indianapolis. However, by the end of the game, he had caught a pass for 10 yards as the Chiefs won 23-20.
Entering Week 12, Brown had hauled in 38 receptions for 429 yards and four touchdowns, trailing only Travis Kelce on the team. He has topped 40 receiving yards in six of the 10 games this year and currently ranks 29th in PFSN’s WR Impact metric, carrying a score of 77.0 and a C+ grade.
Brown opened the season in explosive fashion, posting 99 yards on 10 receptions across 16 targets in Week 1 after Xavier Worthy left early. Since then, however, his usage has sputtered, surpassing 50 receiving yards just once.
The only time Brown failed to record a single catch this season came in Week 8, when he was ill leading up to the matchup against the Washington Commanders.
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Meanwhile, the Chiefs fell behind early in Week 12. Daniel Jones connected with Michael Pittman Jr. for a 6-yard touchdown to put the Colts on the board in the first quarter. Kansas City appeared to answer in the second quarter when Travis Kelce powered into the end zone, but right tackle Jawaan Taylor was flagged, wiping the score off the board. The Chiefs were forced to settle for a field goal.
Indianapolis struck again with 10 minutes remaining in the half, as Jones threw his second touchdown of the day. Kansas City mounted late pushes twice before halftime, but both drives stalled and resulted in field goals, leaving the score 14–9 in favor of the Colts at the break.
The second half saw the Colts unable to find the end zone, while the Chiefs responded with a touchdown early in the fourth quarter before a field goal tied the game at 20–20, sending it into overtime. Ultimately, a decisive field goal in the extra period sealed the victory for Kansas City.
At 5–5, the Chiefs entered Week 12 sitting third in the AFC West and facing a legitimate risk of missing the postseason for the first time in over a decade. But after winning this game, the Chiefs’ chances of making the playoffs have increased to 47.60%, according to PFSN’s Playoff Predictor.
