Final Score: Titans completely dominate Chiefs in 27-3 beatdown

For an important game in Nashville, Kansas City chose not to show up.

After gaining momentum with a good second half in Week 6 against the Washington Football Team, the Kansas City Chiefs came out against the Tennessee Titans and fell flat on their face. And after their 27-3 loss to the Titans, they aren’t showing any signs of getting up. Turnovers and bad defense in the first half put them in an insurmountable hole.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes finished with 206 passing yards, no touchdowns, and two turnovers; his leading receiver was wide receiver Byron Pringle, who earned 73 yards on five catches. Linebacker Nick Bolton was the lone highlight of the day for the defense; he earned 15 total tackles — with four of them behind the line of scrimmage.

The Chiefs won the toss, deferring to the second half. The Titans took the ball and used play-action passes and a hurry-up tempo to march down the field. An offsides penalty by defensive end Frank Clark bailed them out of a third-and-5. They scored on a direct snap to running back Derrick Henry — who threw a touchdown pass to tight end MyCole Pruitt to take an early 7-0 lead.

Kansas City responded with two first downs on their drive. A false start by left guard Joe Thuney set the Chiefs back; on a third-and-9, Mahomes was sacked by pressure from the left edge. Mahomes fumbled as he was tackled, but it was recovered by right guard Trey Smith. The Chiefs punted.

Starting deep in their own territory, the Titans were backed into a third-and-long — but converted on a screen pass to running back Jeremy McNichols out of the backfield. On the next play, wide receiver A.J. Brown made a long reception over cornerback L’Jarius Sneed to get the Titans into Chiefs territory. A few plays later, the Chiefs’ defense forced another third down — but Titans quaterback Ryan Tannehill found wide receiver A.J. Brown in the end zone, covered solely by cornerback Mike Hughes. The score stretched to 14-0, which lasted through the end of the first quarter.

After a first-down run by running back Darrel Williams, the Chiefs opened up the second quarter with a third-and-10. Pressure forced Mahomes to scramble around, eventually forcing a desperate incompletion. The Chiefs punted for the second-consecutive drive.

On the Titans’ third drive, they got two first downs by way of a Tannehill scramble and a screen pass to Henry. They got deeper into Chiefs’ territory with a big pass to Pruitt for 22 yards. A quick screen got them another first down into the red zone. On third-and-6 cornerback Rashad Fenton had tight coverage on a deep target to wide receiver Julio Jones, forcing an incompletion and a field goal attempt. The kick was successful, pushing the lead to 17-0.

With eight minutes remaining in the first half, Mahomes looked to make a big throw to answer — but forced a deep throw as he scrambled. It was intercepted by linebacker Rashaan Evans after it was tipped into the air.

Tennessee took over just inside Chiefs’ territory, and a few successful plays by the Chiefs’ defense forced them into third-and-8. Clark got pressure and forced an errant incompletion, but a holding flag on the defensive coverage negated the play. A Henry run on the next play — followed by a big catch-and-run by Jones — put them inside the 10-yard line. The Chiefs got them to third-and-goal — but a roll-out pass by Tannehill turned into a touchdown run.

With two minutes remaining in the half and trailing 24-0, the Chiefs earned a first down on a post-catch pitch from tight end Travis Kelce to running back Jerick McKinnon. A few plays later, a scrambling Mahomes earned a first down — then fumbled the ball away for another turnover. Tennesse got into field goal position to tack on three points and take a 27-0 lead into halftime.

The Chiefs began the third quarter with the ball, moving into Tennessee secondary on the backs of Kelce and Hill with big gains. A few plays later, a first down was negated by holding on wide receiver Demarcus Robinson to set up second-and-14 — but Mahomes found Pringle deep to earn a first down. Another holding call — this time on Trey Smith — set them back again. Then on third-and-9, a target to Kelce fell incomplete. A field goal made the deficit 27-3.

Tennessee took over and immediately hurt themselves with a holding penalty — but it didn’t matter, as they still obtained first down with big plays by Brown and Henry. They continued into Chiefs’ territory with another big pass to Brown, who beat cornerback Sneed on the route. A few plays later, pressure got to Tannehill — and his short throw out of desperation was intercepted by linebacker Willie Gay Jr.

To try and respond, the Chiefs moved the ball down the field — getting into Tennessee territory with big gains by Kelce and Pringle. However, a third-down sack ruined the drive, forcing a field goal attempt. Harrison Butker’s 57-yard kick went wide right.

To start the fourth quarter, the Chiefs bounced back and forced a punt after a stuffed run on third-and-short. However, the punt pinned the Chiefs’ offense inside the five-yard line.

Still down 27-3, the Chiefs tried to get the game back to possibly a two-possession deficit. They converted one fourth down — but their next attempt led to a sack of Mahomes, who was hit hard and left the game.

The defense forced another punt on Titans’ next possession — but it pinned Kansas City inside the five-yard line. Backup quarterback Chad Henne got one first down — but couldn’t convert on the next third-down attempt after a misfire to Kelce. A meaningless fourth-down attempt was caught by Tyreek Hill to lead into the two-minute warning.

Henne continued to take the Chiefs down the field, working deep into Tennessee territory as the game came to a close. With little time left, wide receiver Mecole Hardman ran towards the end zone after a catch but fumbled the ball away — a microcosm of the Chiefs’ offense in both this game and the season.

Tennessee knelt to secure the 27-3 win.

Injuries

Defensive end Alex Okafor went down with a leg injury early in the fourth quarter that forced him to go to the sideline.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was hit on a sack and fumble that looked ugly; the tackler’s knee went directly into Mahomes’ facemask, and the quarterback was very slow getting up. He went to the blue medical tent and came out quickly, but Chad Henne still took the field the next time the offense had the ball. CBS reported that Mahomes passed the concussion protocol.

Special teams

As the gunner on punt coverage, Marcus Kemp made a smooth play saving a punt from going into the end zone. The Titans had to start their drive at the three-yard line.

Kicker Harrison Butker converted a 42-yard field goal to cap the opening drive of the second half. Late in the third quarter, he attempted a 57-yard field goal — but it went wide right and missed.

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