The Kansas City Chiefs lost to the Tennessee Titans in the regular season but can they win in the AFC Championship? Bold predictions for the playoff game.
Every step of the way in the 2020 NFL Playoffs, the Tennessee Titans have been underdogs. And yet, they’ve topped the Patriots and Ravens to make it to the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, one win away from Super Bowl LIV. However, they’ll be underdogs once again as they take on the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the conference title game.
Despite being the underdogs, the Titans have to feel confident. Not only has running back Derrick Henry been on an unprecedented tear as the first NFL player to ever have three-straight 180-yard rushing games but Tennessee beat the Chiefs in the regular season when they met in Week 10. That’s something that has to give them optimism.
At the same time, however, the Chiefs were a bit downtrodden in that game. Patrick Mahomes had just come back from his knee injury, Tyreek Hill was banged up and the defense was also at less than full capacity as well. Now that those things have changed, you have to wonder if the outcome of this matchup will as well.
This is a fascinating matchup for the AFC Championship Game but what happens on Sunday? Let’s make five bold predictions for the Chiefs and Titans with a trip to Miami and Super Bowl LIV on the line.
5. Derrick Henry held below 120 rushing yards
Beating a dead horse, the catalyst for what the Titans have been doing in their dark-horse playoff run has been running back Derrick Henry. He’s been on a tear unlike anything we’ve ever seen before in the history of the NFL and it seems like no one can stop him, especially a lackluster Chiefs run defense — even if Chris Jones plays.
However, one of the reasons that Henry has been so dominant, aside from his elite talent, in the postseason is that Tennessee has been able to control the game at every juncture in the first two rounds. Ryan Tannehill hasn’t been asked to do all that much and, while playing with the lead, it’s been a field day for the Titans and their star running back.
Against the Chiefs, however, I don’t see that being the case. Yes, Tennessee has slowed high-scoring offenses (hello, Baltimore) already but the Chiefs are the most talent-filled and dangerous offense in the NFL, which they showed in the comeback against Houston. They can go off in an instant and I think they do so early against the Titans.
While Henry will remain a part of the gameplan, he won’t be the gameplan. As such, his streak of 180-yard rushing games will come to an end by a wide margin, even if he still has a nice game against a defense that can be had.