In Week 10, the 6-3 Kansas City Chiefs head to the Music City to take on the 4-5 Tennessee Titans.
After playing without starting quarterback Pat Mahomes for the last two games, Head Coach Andy Reid said on Friday that the reigning MVP will get the start on Sunday. In his absence, the offense didn’t lose a step with backup Matt Moore under center and the defense began to buy into Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive scheme.
Over the last three weeks, Kansas City’s defense ranks atop the National Football League with 69 quarterback pressures, which has led to 14 sacks in that span, and eighth in the league allowing just 3.76 yards per carry to opposing running backs.
The Chiefs have held their own, stopping some of the top rushers in the NFL in Delvin Cook, Aaron Jones, and Phillip Lindsay. It doesn’t get any easier this week when Kansas City takes on one of the heavier backs in today’s game, Derrick Henry, who Chiefs fans may remember from the 2017 AFC Wildcard game against Tennessee where Henry stole the show and rushed for 156 yards on 23 carries and a touchdown to help the Titans rally from a 21-3 deficit to beat the Chiefs 22-21.
Standing at 6-foot-3-inches and 247-pounds, Henry is an absolute tank on the football field and ranks sixth in the league with 19 carries of 10 yards or more from the line of scrimmage. No doubt he’ll be another tough challenge for Kansas City’s defense, which won’t be easy.
However, stopping Henry and the Titans run game will have its rewards if the Chiefs are able to do so. Tennessee has not fared well as a passing team and has struggled to get their offense going early in games, getting shutout in the first quarter on four of five games they lost.
Matter of fact, Tennessee plays better with a lead because it allows them to keep going to Henry and dictate the tempo of the game. If the Chiefs can hold him to minimal gains and jump out to an early lead, it’ll force Tennessee to throw the football which hasn’t worked out this season. The Titans have yet to complete a comeback which means if Mahomes and Kansas City’s offense get things going early and put up a lead, Tennesseemost likely won’t be able to keep up.
Again, Tennessee has not been a very good passing team. Although their current starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill is 2-1 since Head Coach Mike Vrabel benched Marcus Mariota a few weeks ago, the Titans won over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and L.A. Chargers because they got a lead and didn’t lose it.
In simpler terms, if Tennessee falls behind, they’ll tend to stay behind but if get ahead, however, they’ll be a tougher team to reckon with.
As stated before, the Titans prefer to run the football and that’s because their offensive line ranks at the bottom of the league in pass protection with 38 sacks allowed so far this year.
Whether that’s solely due to bad offensive line play or a combination with the quarterback holding onto the ball too long, it’s a stat that could have the Chiefs pass rushers licking their chops for a potential field day.
Nevertheless, don’t expect the Titans to roll over or be an easy opponent, this is a team that still has a lot of talent and today’s game is considered a ‘must-win’ for them.
The Titans are desperate for victories right and they still feel they’re in the mix to win the AFC South division.
Keep in mind that Indianapolis is without their starting quarterback Jacoby Brissett right now due to a knee injury that has kept him off the field and Houston also lost their best defensive player in J.J. Watt, who tore his pectoral a few weeks ago and is out of the rest of the season.
Tennessee has every intention to take advantage of their division foe’s setbacks and sitting two games back in their division right now, a statement win over the Chiefs is just what they need to gain some firm ground towards earning a playoff bid.
To do that, the Titans will resort to what’s has won them games so far and that’s by relying on their power run game and tough defense that sits in the top half of the NFL right now.
If the Chiefs defense can continue down the resurgent trend they’ve been on for the past three weeks and Mahomes picks up where he left off before getting hurt, Kansas City could be singing when they leave the Music City later tonight.
