Five Bold Predictions for Titans at Kansas City
NASHVILLE – The possibilities for the Tennessee Titans seem limitless.
Following a victory at New England in the wild card round and one over Baltimore in the divisional round, a Super Bowl title no longer seems far-fetched, which is a far cry from how people viewed this team just a few months ago. To get to the big game, though, they must get past the Kansas City Chiefs in Sunday’s AFC Championship at Arrowhead Stadium.
Since it seems that anything can happen with Mike Vrabel and his bunch, here are five bold predictions for what might take place against the Chiefs.
There will be three touchdowns of more than 40 yards. The Titans and Chiefs have decidedly different offensive philosophies but can be equally explosive. Tennessee, led by running back Derrick Henry, tied for the league lead during the regular season with five runs of 40 yards or more and has added another in the postseason. Kansas City had a league-high 18 pass plays of 40 yards or more. Both will have their moments in this one. Each will score a touchdown on a big play, but whichever team gets a second likely will be the one that wins.
A.J. Brown finally will reemerge as an important part of the offense. The rookie wide receiver and Tennessee’s leading receiver in the regular season has caught just two passes for 13 yards in the playoffs, and he has been targeted only four times. His longest catch has gone for just nine yards (he has had one rushing attempt that went that far). In the regular season meeting with Kansas City, he had just one catch for 17 yards. Between that and the last two weeks, the Chiefs won’t focus too much attention on him, and he will remind people why he is in the discussion for Offensive Rookie of the Year.
A wide receiver will throw a pass for Tennessee. Maybe it’s Corey Davis. Perhaps it’s Tajaé Sharpe. Could be A.J. Brown or Kalif Raymond. Somebody is going to get to do it. After all, against New England, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota got in the game and threw a pass. Against Baltimore, running back Derrick Henry threw a pass. Both were completed, albeit for short gains (four and three yards, respectively). Offensive coordinator Arthur Smith likes to keep defenses guessing and, thus far, he has been one step ahead of them in the postseason. The next step is to have a receiver throw it.
Mike Vrabel will throw his replay challenge flag. The Tennessee Titans coach has been prudent with his use of challenges in 2019 and has opted, instead, to protect his timeouts. Through 16 games of the regular season and two in the playoffs, he has only challenged five plays – each involved whether a receiver did or did not catch a pass. The stakes will be too high in this game. There will come a moment that he feels he just needs to have a call (whatever it might be) that the officials did not give him at first glance.
The Titans will win. They were big underdogs at New England and Baltimore, yet they won both times. They are big underdogs at Kansas City. So, there is no reason to think they can’t – or won’t – do it again. They have shown they have a formula that works. All that they have to do is execute it.
