Titans coach Mike Mularkey said the Chiefs play complementary football, with offense, defense and special teams feeding off one another. And therein lies the genius of Mularkey’s earlier decision. “Next week’s game against the Broncos at Arrowhead will be the real decider of whether this is the Chiefs” year, or if they’re just a flash in the pan. “If we could make one or two of them it’s a different day”. Safety Eric Berry’s strip of Rishard Matthews negated a positive Titans drive that would have likely ended in points and also resulted in a touchdown, and they also recovered a fumble by quarterback Marcus Mariota.
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(At) Baltimore 27, Philadelphia 26: The Ravens survived a desperate comeback bid by the Eagles, stopping a two-point conversion with 4 seconds left in a win that kept Baltimore in the thick of the playoff hunt.
He made the only one that mattered. It was a smart move, considering both the Broncos and Chiefs were strong pass-rushing teams – but weak against the run. And somehow they lost on the last play of the game.
“The first ball I thought I hit well”, Succop said. The Titans have averaged 143.7 rushing yards over the last seven games, while the K.C. defense is giving up 130 over its last seven.
“It was scary but I’m glad they called a timeout”, said tight end Delanie Walker.
Mariota led Tennessee down the field, completing four of his six passes and picking up two first downs before spiking the ball at the Kansas City 35 with five seconds to play. Game over – or so it seemed.
(At) Houston 21, Jacksonville 20: Tom Savage threw for 260 yards after Brock Osweiler was benched in the second quarter, and Lamar Miller scored Houston’s only touchdown with less than three minutes left.
Succop’s 53-yard field goal as time expired gave the Titans a 19-17 victory over Kansas City in one of the season’s most stunning upsets.
The Chiefs (10-3) own a three-game winning streak, claiming victories in eight of their past nine games. A bad interception by Alex Smith. It meant a temporary tie. If the Chiefs want to be a legitimate threat in the postseason they will need to utilize Kelce in all aspects of their passing game. Wilson and whoever else might work on the inside for the Kansas City defense must be able to handle the Titans’ offensive line and running backs. With the lead, that’s an acceptable one. The win vaulted Kansas City past Oakland into first place in the AFC West. Kansas City has won 20 of its last 23 regular season games over the past two seasons. When Andy Reid has a lead, he runs down the clock.
The rise of the Titans rests largely with the emergence of second-year quarterback Marcus Mariota. It’s not quite clockwork but it’s close enough. Reid fell to 1-6 in his career against the Titans.
The first came as he was trying to escape the pass rush, and defensive tackle Dontari Poe got his hand on the ball.
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The Titans quarterback admitted that Sunday’s tilt in Kansas City, which is now calling for a high of 14 degrees and a low of four degrees, will be the chilliest of his life.
