What an absolute thriller of a game that was.
The Tennessee Titans pulled off a stunner, defeating the Chiefs 35-32.
If you want to find a specific reason the Titans won this game, look no further than Derrick Henry. Henry, who had 23 carries for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns, was on a mission today.
A mission to absolutely torch a Chiefs run defense that came as as the 4th worst in the NFL.
Henry did what he’s been doing all year, taking the little room he’s been given, then making the absolute most out of every single last inch. He dragged defenders down the field and ended up showing off his breakway speed on this 68 yard touchdown run.
THERE GOES DERRICK HENRY.
68-yard TD to give the @Titans the lead! #KCvsTEN @KingHenry_2
đź“ş: CBS
📱: NFL app // Yahoo Sports app
Watch free on mobile: https://t.co/414bcK9I5b pic.twitter.com/9NM4tH8ROy— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2019
It was that kind of day for Henry, as he was arguably the lone reason this Titans offense had the success they ended up having today.
While Henry was busy carrying the offense, the Titans WRs were nowhere to be found for most of the afternoon. AJ Brown only finished with 1 catch for 17 yards, Tajae Sharpe finished with 1 catch for 20 yards, even Kalif Raymond led the team in receiving yards with 52.
Adam Humphries only had 1 catch as well, but his catch was by far the most important to the Titans all game long. Late in the game, Humphries ran a quick skinny post to the middle of the field, and raced into the end zone.
That score gave the Titans the lead and ultimately gave the Titans a big, big win before their bye week.
I won’t end this article without addressing the defense and Joshua Kalu’s FG block to officially secure a Titans win.
Let’s start out with the defense and Patrick Mahomes’ downright mastery of this offense.
I’ve never seen someone like Patrick Mahomes. Sure, I’ve seen him do his thing plenty of times watching on TV. The plays he makes are unbelievable just on a screen, but watching him work in person was a gift.
It was mesmerizing to watch Andy Reid dial up successful play after successful play. Even running the same play action, halfback sprint play 4,5 times a game. He had no excuse to stop running it, it just kept working time and time again.
Back to Mahomes.
He’s a true star in in a league where elite QBs dominate the headlines. He’s going to be a problem for every team in the league for a long, long time.
I can’t fault the defense too much for the points and the amount of yardage that they gave up. They were up against a historic offense, with a QB who can and will shred any defense in the league.
Forget about it and move on to the bye.
Now finally on to the play that sealed a Titans win.
First off, it shouldn’t have gotten to that point anyways. The Titans played a very soft defense on a crucial play that got the Chiefs in position for a game tying FG.
Rushing 2 and giving Mahomes all day to throw, with the bazooka of an arm he has?
No, that’s not how you do it.
Either way, Joshua Kalu bailed the Titans out with a springy FG block. Kalu said after the game that he had been studying the cadence on the Chiefs’ holder, trying to get an edge on the snap count whenever an opportunity arose.
Kalu got the opportunity and ended up making probably the best play of his career.
.@Titans DB @BluesKalus on his blocked field goal to preserve win over @Chiefs. pic.twitter.com/BPwsiTDv5W
— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) November 10, 2019
THE @TITANS BLOCK IT TO BEAT THE CHIEFS! #KCvsTEN #Titans pic.twitter.com/QE8FrTwbMB
— NFL (@NFL) November 10, 2019
Props to him and hell even Ryan Tannehill.
Tannehill didn’t get a lot of chances to make plays(only attempted 19 throws), but when he got his chances, he made them count and got this offense moving.
This win was an emotional fun, full of highs and lows, but it’s hard to see the Titans sustaining this type of winning.
Their formula of running the football and playing good defense worked today, even though the playing good defense aspect fell flat on its face.
They need to get their WRs going a lot more early and often if they want to continue to put points on the board. I know it sounds like a crappy cliche, but that’s really what needs to happen down the stretch.
The offensive line surely needs to play better as well, even though I’ve probably said this a thousand times.
All in all, it was a good win for the Titans, who sit at 5-5 and have a chance to let this win start a streak of consistent success down the stretch.
I’m not in the club of calling this win a signature win, a win the Titans seemed to get often last season.
I don’t believe it’ll be a springboard for some wins to be stringed together, but I’ve been wrong plenty of times.
Featured photo via Wesley Hitt/Getty Images
