Chiefs succeeded versus Titans where Patriots and Ravens failed

The Titans had handcuffed the Patriots and Ravens with their 6’3” 250-lb. ox, it would take a fool not to attempt the same against the Chiefs.

The Tennessee Titans proved their worth in January with victories at New England and Baltimore. And as a credit to their accomplishments, a win at Kansas City would have cemented the Titans as the best the AFC has to offer in the Super Bowl on February 2.

The Titans surprised many by getting a lead over the Patriots in Foxborough in the wild card round and then sitting on it. They shocked everyone by doing the same to the top-seeded Ravens in the divisional round. In both of those games, the Titans were able to play their game by getting a lead and then paralyzing their opponent with their defense.

Tennessee running back Derrick Henry was the national media hero after rushing for 182 yards at New England and 185 at Baltimore. Surely he would feast on the Chiefs’ 29th-ranked rushing DVOA unit if he could pile up that kind of production against those two stout defenses. Right?

Things looked bleak for the Chiefs early. Tennessee roared to a 10-0 lead. A Chiefs touchdown cut it to 10-7, but the Titans answered by hitting paydirt again to re-take a 10-point lead. It appeared that head coach Mike Vrabel’s method of playing keep-away could work.

Unless the defense could stop Henry.

Leading 17-14 with four minutes in the 2nd quarter, Tennessee began their drive with two handoffs to Henry. This was where the wheels began to fall off. Defensive tackle Chris Jones stuffed Henry for a 1-yard gain on first down, then teamed up with defensive end Terrell Suggs to corral Henry for no gain. Tennessee ultimately punted on a three-and-out, and the Chiefs regained possession at the 2-minute warning with a chance to take the lead.

And take the lead they did. In memorable fashion.

Unlike the Patriots and Ravens, the Chiefs found little trouble moving the ball against the Titans. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes carved up Tennessee, and most importantly, made zero mistakes. Down 14-17, Mahomes and the Chiefs took possession at the two-minute warning and marched 86 yards, the drive capped by an eye-popping 27-yard touchdown run by Mahomes that electrified the Kansas City crowd and utterly deflated the Titans.

With their first possession in the second half on Sunday, the Titans trailed, 17-21. Going with their bread-and-butter, the Titans began ramming ahead with sudden superstar Henry, the fourth-year pro who had rushed for over 150 yards in six of his previous eight games leading into the AFC title game. And why not? The Titans had handcuffed the Patriots and Ravens with their 6’3” 250-lb. ox, it would take a fool not to attempt the same against the Chiefs.

After a penalty, the Titans had 1st and 5 at their own 37. They would proceed to hand off to Henry three consecutive times—a four-yard gainer on first down gave way to two straight stuffs by defensive tackle Mike Pennel. Over eight minutes remained in the 3rd quarter.

The Titans would not hand the ball off again.

A subsequent punt led to an uncharacteristic 13-play, 73-yard drive in which the Chiefs devoured over 7 minutes of clock and stretched their lead to 28-17. Tennessee managed one first down before Chiefs defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon forced another punt with a sack of Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Chiefs marched again, this time milking over four minutes off the clock before quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with wide receiver Sammy Watkins for a 60-yard touchdown that effectively sealed the game.

In defeating the Titans at their own game, the Chiefs put the entire league on notice in the national spotlight: The narrative that the Kansas City Chiefs have a weak defense is officially dead. Ironically, the Chiefs contained Henry when the Ravens and Patriots – supposedly the two best defenses in the conference – could not.