Three Keys to a Titans Victory at Kansas City
NASHVILLE – In their two playoff victories thus far the Tennessee Titans have beaten teams with the NFL’s No. 1 defense (New England) and the No. 1 offense (Baltimore).
Two different challenges, to be sure, but the same things made the difference in each.
So, there is no reason to think that a victory in Sunday’s AFC Championship matchup with Kansas City at Arrowhead Stadium will require anything different.
“You have to be able to do things before you have confidence in them,” coach Mike Vrabel said. “You can’t just talk about it. You have to go and do it and experience it and understand that, ‘Hey, if we execute these keys … we win [if] we execute the game plan, and players make plays.’
“So, you have to have those experiences that you’ve done it to be able to draw upon it. The more you do it, the more confident that you get.”
With that in mind, here are three keys to a Titans’ victory over the Chiefs:
Feed the beast: Running back Derrick Henry and the offensive line have been central to both victories. Henry has run the ball 64 times, has caught three passes and has thrown one pass, which means Henry has had the ball in his hands for 61.8 percent of the offense’s plays in the postseason and has accounted for 71.2 percent of the total yards (277 rushing yards, 29 receiving yards, 1 passing yard). The Patriots and Ravens each did their best to stop him to no avail. Until a team proves that it can keep Henry from moving the chains and working the clock, there is no reason for the offense to do anything different.
Draw the line: Tennessee’s defense has allowed a whopping 837 yards of offense in the postseason. That’s an average of 418.5 per contest. Consider that in 2012, when the Titans allowed a league-high 358 points in the regular season, opponents averaged 374.9 yards per game. The current bunch, though, has shown it can protect the goal line. The Patriots and Ravens combined for twice as many field goal attempts (four) as touchdowns. It was a similar scenario when Tennessee and Kansas City met in the regular season. The Chiefs piled up 530 total yards (the most against the Titans in 2019) but were forced to attempt six field goals, one of which was aborted and one of which was blocked. Forcing them to kick again is critical to taking the next step in the postseason.
Take your pick: There have been seven interceptions in this year’s first eight playoff games. Tennessee has accounted for three of them. That is already the most in a single playoff year of the Titans era (1999-present). Even in their Super Bowl season (1999) they had just two interceptions in four playoff games. One of this year’s picks led to a touchdown that started the scoring and put Tennessee ahead to stay at Baltimore. Another, which cornerback Logan Ryan returned nine yards for a touchdown, capped the scoring and eliminated any chance for a Patriots rally at New England. It is no secret that Kansas City will throw the ball early and often in this one, and an interception or two by the Tennessee’s defense could make a huge difference.
