Lessons learned from the Chiefs loss to the Titans in Week 10

When Kansas City Has the Ball…

Kansas City should have learned from the Week 10 game that despite being a solid group, Tennessee’s defense cannot stop a Chiefs offense running at 75% or greater proficiency. In the first matchup, Tennessee had no answer for Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce and additionally got burned on a huge play by rookie Mecole Hardman. Even Demarcus Robinson had 4 catches for 56 yards against the Titans.

The part no Tennessee fan wants to admit: Kansas City was far from full strength when the two tangoed on November 10th. Patrick Mahomes was in his first game back from a terrifying knee injury, and the offensive line was a patchwork missing both left tackle Eric Fisher and right guard Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Despite these three deficiencies, Kansas City still had every opportunity to win the game, save for two lost field goal opportunities late in the game.

So, what should the Chiefs take from the first Titans game when they have the ball:

First, they should be confident that they are better than Tennessee’s defense. If they play their game, they should roll.

Second, the Chiefs will not have enough opportunities with the ball to score 51 points in just a shade over two quarters. Tennessee will work hard to shorten the game by pounding the rock. The Chiefs must capitalize on as many possessions as possible. If they get to the 30s again, they should roll.

Third, Tennessee is not fast enough to keep up with the speed of the Chiefs offense. Tyreek Hill was barely a factor against Houston, but he should be an integral part of the game plan. Hardman should be on the field significnatly more than the 11 snaps he saw last week. The Chiefs should continue to use Damien Williams out of the backfield. The Chiefs built the fastest offense in football for games like this one, and they should exploit it at every turn.