Chiefs vs Titans

The Kansas City Chiefs and Tennessee Titans will face off in an important AFC matchup

Kansas City Chiefs (12-5, 1st in AFC West) v. Tennessee (13-4, 1st in NFC South)

Matchup Info

Week 9

• Date: November 6th, 2022
• Time: 8:20 PM EST
• Location: Raymond James Stadium
• TV: NBC

Recent Additions

Titans

• TE Austin Hooper
• K Randy Bullock
• S A.J. Moore
• WR Trey Burks
• CB Roger McCreary
  

Kansas City

• CB Trent McDuffie
• DE George Karlaftis
• S Justin Reid
• WR Juju Smith-SChuster
• WR Skyy Moore

Players To Watch

Titans

RB Derrick Henry: King Henry was off to an MVP level start at the beginning of the 2021 season but a foot injury cut into his magical campaign. He was non-existent in the playoffs leaving many wondering if it had lasting effects on his abilities. This will be a proving ground game for Henry.

WR Trey Burks: The former Arkansas Razorback was downright insane as he became the SEC's best WR. He was drafted 17th overall by the Titans and is expected to replace A.J. Brown who was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles

Chiefs

RB Clyde Edwards-Helaire: Clyde has been iffy ever since he was drafted 32nd overall by the Chiefs in 2020. He's had good and bad games and has shown improvement, but his services will be needed more than ever with offensive losses across the board. The Titans had the best run defense last year, can Clyde produce?

S Justin Reid: Tyrann Mathieu was forced to move on from KC due to salary constraints and age concerns, so his replacement is former Texan Justin Reid. Reid will be crucial in a battle with Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, and new addition Treylon Burks.

Prediction

The Titans have been full of surprises but I think the biggest one is the fading in production by Ryan Tannehill at the end of the 2021 season. I think the clock is running out on the veteran QB and that the Titans offense will be unable to keep up with Mahomes and the Chiefs

Score: Chiefs 35 Titans 20

Titans draft QB of the future

Ryan Tannehill led the Tennessee Titans into the postseason, losing to Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals. This offseason, the Titans drafted a QB Malik Willis, Liberty University, in Round 3, with the 86th pick.

Tannehill, asked about mentoring the new Titans QB, said, "I don't think it's my job to mentor him." Should be an interesting Tennessee Titan preseason camp.

Maik Willis spent two seasons as a backup at Auburn before transferring to Liberty and winning awards and accolades. Now, Titan's Quarterbacks Coach Pat O'Hara says, "Quarterbacks, when they come in, you really have to teach 'the operation,' and that’s really everything you do before you even touch the football.”

O’Hara described the complexity from college to the pros: “It's a huddle, it's a play-call, it's a cadence at the line of scrimmage, it's under center, it's getting us in the right play at the line of the scrimmage. It's shifts, it's motions, and there's an operation that has to take place during the play clock, a 40-second play clock. There's tasks, and all of those tasks are part of the operation. Each day, that’s improving and we just keep moving forward one day at a time."

Analysts do not rate the Tennessee Titans high in 2022

While the return of Derrick Henry should help ease the offensive pressure, the offensive line is projected to have two new untested starts. Last year, there were protection issues and questions will be asked of an offense analysts do not rank highly.

Defense wins championships though

If the Titans offense can find success, the Tennessee Titans defense should be one of the best defenses in the NFL.