The Tennessee Titans simply weren’t able to get it done as their historical season was halted by the dominance of a Kansas City Chiefs team now on an eight-game winning streak as they prepare for a Super Bowl appearance.
The Titans struggled to get the ground attack going and couldn’t accomplish enough in the passing game, while Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes victimized the defense.
Here are five takeaways from the 35-24 loss.
1. The Chiefs tamed the beast that is Derrick Henry.
Hardly any team has been able to come up with an answer to a Titans ground attack led by Henry, who finished the 2019 regular season with the NFL’s rushing title and only seemed to improve over the postseason.
Kansas City limited the big back to just 69 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries in their home win Sunday.
That total doesn’t even begin to touch that of his last two outings, when he rushed for 195 yards on 30 carries in the 28-12 win over the Baltimore Ravens and 182 yards with a touchdown on the ground in a 20-13 victory over the New England Patriots to open the postseason.
The last time the Titans faced the Chiefs back in November was a totally different story, when Henry put up 188 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 23 carries.
2. The Titans didn’t even come close to stopping Mahomes.
The Chiefs offense seemed to score at will in the previous week’s 51-31 victory over the Houston Texans, and Mahomes was able to do practically whatever he wished to on Sunday.
The quarterback had all day to throw on nearly every play, completing 23-of-35 passes for 294 yards with three touchdown passes and not a single interception.
He also finished the game as the team’s leading rusher, gathering first down after first down with a total of 53 rushing yards and one touchdown on eight carries.
3. Too little, too late.
Where was the Anthony Firkser scoring drive earlier on?
It looked like the Titans had a true sense of urgency for the first time of the day midway through the fourth quarter, when it was already practically impossible for them to come back and get the win.
The Titans showed good hustle in the final minutes of the game, but there just wasn’t enough time on the clock, and they continued to hinder themselves with penalties.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill slipped and fell on the Titans’ final fourth-down attempt, sinking a Kansas City dagger that was, well, already pretty far in.
4. Unconventional plays work for Tennessee.
We’ve seen a lot of interesting plays and trickery work for the Titans in Mike Vrabel’s time as the head coach in Nashville.
Obviously the Titans didn’t do enough to get the outcome they were after, but making Dennis Kelly an eligible receiver to reel in not his first, but his second touchdown of the season and allowing Brett Kern to function as a quarterback to complete a first-down pass to safety Amani Hooker both worked well.
Maybe the Titans should have gotten weird a little more than they did in this matchup?
5. There are plenty of decisions to be made.
The Titans organization has a lot to think about when they get back to Tennessee now that the season is officially over for them.
What happens to players like cornerback Logan Ryan and offensive tackle Jack Conklin?
Holding onto Tannehill and Henry is a no-brainer, and the Titans could franchise tag the quarterback while placing Henry on high-paying two-year deal with a third-year option.
