Kansas City Chiefs vs Tennessee Titans
Controlling the clock and keeping Patrick Mahomes off the field, that was supposed to be the way the Titans stayed in this game. The Chiefs had the ball for almost 38 minutes, Mahomes threw for 446 yards and three scores, and the Titans got the victory. Derrick Henry ran like a monster and the Chiefs missed field goals on their last two possessions in what was a crazy game.
Kansas City Chiefs
Quarterback
- Patrick Mahomes: 36/50 446 yards, 3 TD, 2 Sacks
The Chiefs welcomed Patrick Mahomes back to the lineup and he delivered a beast of a game. The game opened with a little of a scare as Mahomes targeted Tyreek Hill deep down the middle of the field, where the ball was picked off by Kenny Vaccaro. However, upon further review, the call on the field was reversed. In total, Mahomes targeted Hill and Travis Kelce eight times on his first drive back, which led to a three-yard Kelce touchdown. Following a Ryan Tannehill fumble, the Chiefs took over with a short field from the Tennessee 20 yard line; however, this possession did not go as planned. On the first play, an offensive holding penalty negated a Damien Williams catch that would’ve taken the Chiefs down to the 8-yard line. On 2nd and 6, an offensive pass interference penalty negated a 16-yard Travis Kelce touchdown. On the very next play, another offensive holding penalty set the Chiefs back to the Tennessee 36-yard line. Overall, this was vintage Mahomes as he led the Chiefs on four consecutive scoring drives to open the second half. If it would’ve been on five consecutive drives if not for a botched snap on a field goal attempt. Something to keep an eye on is two injuries to the Chiefs offensive line as they lost right tackle Mitchell Schwartz and left guard Martinas Rankin to knee injuries in the second quarter.
Running Backs
- Damien Williams: 19 carries, 77 yards | 5 targets, 5 receptions, 32 yards, 1 Fumble Lost
With LeSean McCoy a healthy scratch, we saw Damien Williams handle 24 of the 29 running back touches. The good news is he totaled 109 total yards, had a key 10-yard catch on a 4th and 2, and had a 12-yard catch negated by an offensive holding penalty. The bad news is he had a costly fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Ball security will be the key to him keeping the primary running back role for the Chiefs.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Tyreek Hill: 19 targets, 11 receptions, 157 yards, 1 TD | 1 carry, 3 yards
- Travis Kelce: 7 targets, 7 receptions, 75 yards, 1 TD
- Sammy Watkins: 9 targets, 5 receptions, 39 yards | 2 carries, 12 yards
- Demarcus Robinson: 5 targets, 4 receptions, 56 yards
- Mecole Hardman: 1 target, 1 catch, 63 yards, 1 TD
It seemed like every time Patrick Mahomes was airing the ball out, Tyreek Hill was making an incredible catch or adjustment to the ball to set himself up to make a big play. The total count had Hill targeted 19 times, with four of those coming within the red zone. Hill left the game briefly in the second quarter after he landed awkwardly on the shoulder that caused him to miss time earlier in the year, but returned shortly thereafter to continue to dominate.
Travis Kelce found some of the touchdown regression that he had coming to him as he found the end zone twice. It could’ve been even more, as he had another touchdown called back due to an offensive pass interference penalty. He also saw a deep pass fall incomplete that would’ve led to a big play if not for a defensive pass interference penalty. For those that paid-up for Kelce in drafts, this is the type of production you expected.
Sammy Watkins continues to have the most disappointing high target share in the league. Watkins saw nine targets, none of which were in the red zone, and seven of which were considered short targets. It’s difficult to bench a player getting this many targets, but the productivity just hasn’t come.
Demarcus Robinson caught four of his five targets, one of which was a key 23-yard reception on the final drive. Finally, Mecole Hardman caught his only target and hit the turbo as he jetted his way past the defense for a 63-yard touchdown reception.
Tennessee Titans
Quarterback
- Ryan Tannehill: 13/19, 181 yards, 2 TDs, 4 Sacks | 3 carries, 37 yards, 1 Fumble Lost
Ryan Tannehill wasn’t asked to go too far outside of his comfort zone, as Derrick Henry became their bread and butter. The fumble that Tannehill “lost” was a little iffy, as he got hit and the ball was out, even though I thought Tannehill was down and holding the ball at his side. The refs saw it differently though and ruled the play a fumble recovery for the Chiefs. That led to the Chiefs going up 10-0 early, but Tannehill was not waving a white flag on this day. On the Titans first play of the first possession of the second quarter, Tannehill found Kalif Raymond deep down the middle on a play that was originally ruled a 73-yard touchdown. However, upon further review, it was ruled that Raymond was down by contact, making it a 52-yard completion. Three plays later, Tannehill found Anthony Firkser on a 9-yard slant for the score. In the second half, the Titans leaned on Derrick Henry, but on the game-winning drive, Tannehill had three major plays. The first saw him escape pressure and scramble 18-yards. The second saw Tannehill find Firkser deep down the right side for a 20-yard reception that took the Titans down to the Kansas City 23 yard line. Finally, with the Titans down five and just 23 seconds remaining on the clock, Tannehill found Adam Humphries for a 23-yard touchdown. Did I say finally? Because Tannehill wasn’t done yet. The Titans went for two and Tannehill called his number as he rolled to the right and lowered his shoulder to get into the endzone to put the Titans up by three points.
Running Backs
- Derrick Henry: 23 carries, 188 yards, 2 TD | 2 targets, 2 receptions, 3 yards
Have yourself a day Derrick Henry! Before we celebrate though, let’s talk about how we got there. At halftime, Henry had just nine carries for 48 yards as the Chiefs defense did a decent job of keeping Henry contained. On the Titan’s second possession of the second half, Henry caught a pass from Tannehill for six yards, before taking a handoff and going 68 yards to the house. He broke two tackles on the touchdown run. Two possessions later, the Titans had a 10 play, 75-yard drive that saw Henry carry the ball seven times for 39 yards. He finished that drive off with a one-yard touchdown plunge for his second score of the game. In total, Henry carried the ball 14 times for 140 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.
Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends
- Jonnu Smith: 6 targets, 4 receptions, 30 yards
- A.J. Brown: 4 targets, 1 reception, 17 yards
- Anthony Firkser: 4 targets, 3 receptions, 36 yards, 1 TD
- Adam Humphries: 1 target, 1 reception, 23 yards, 1 TD
- Kalif Raymond: 1 target, 1 reception, 52 yards
With Corey Davis being inactive, I thought we would see a relatively concentrated targets to A.J. Brown and Jonnu Smith. Well, I was kind of right, but the Titans just didn’t end up having to throw the ball that much. Smith saw six targets on the day, but had a big 20-yard reception called back due to an offensive holding penalty.
A.J. Brown didn’t have his first target until the fourth quarter. This is a disappointing showing considering Davis was inactive this week. Anthony Firkser ended up being the primary beneficiary of Davis’ absence, as he saw four targets, catching three of them. One of those catches was a big 20-yard reception that set up the game-winning touchdown pass to Adam Humphries.
-Rich Holman