The Kansas City Chiefs ground out a tough, come-from-behind overtime victory against the Tennesse Titans on “Sunday Night Football.” This was one of those gritty wins that can provide a team with a lot of confidence for the final stretch of the season. They got punched in the mouth, but they managed to punch back and battled their way to a 20-17 victory.
What else did we learn about the Chiefs in their Week 9 win? Here are four of our biggest takeaways after the game:
Defense clutched up when it mattered most
Through most of the first and second quarters, the Chiefs’ defense couldn’t stop anything the Titans threw at them. They surrendered a big play in the passing game to the Titans’ rookie tight end. They surrendered a run of 50+ yards to Derrick Henry. They surrendered a big run to QB Malik Willis. They were a sieve for big plays. The team eventually adjusted and started using a 5-2 front, getting more bodies on the line of scrimmage and it paid off in slowing the ground game and the quarterback run game.
Down five after the half, the defense put on a huge performance to keep the team in the game until the offense started clicking. In the second half and overtime, the Chiefs allowed a whopping 10 yards of offense and one first down on more than two dozen offensive plays by the Titans. They allowed one field goal, but forced six punts and finished the game by forcing a turnover on downs.
In total they allowed just one third-down conversion to Derrick Henry, Malik Willis and the Titans’ offense all night. Sure, Ryan Tannehill being out made that offense quite one-dimensional, but the defensive play was stellar and a massive reason why they had a chance to win.
Patrick Mahomes was the running game in this one, but that has to change in the future
I don’t know what it is about playing the Titans, but Patrick Mahomes always seems to come alive in the ground game. He recorded his most rushing yards in a single game this season with six carries for 63 yards, a touchdown and a rushing two-point conversion. This actually marked the most rushing yards he’d ever recorded in a regular-season game and the second-most rushing yards in a single game of his career. The only time he’s had more rushing yards in a single game was the 69 rushing yards he recorded in the divisional round against the Bills last season.
While it was all fun and good for Mahomes to be the team’s leading rusher in this game, he even admitted after the game that the Chiefs will have to get the run game going at some point this season.
“Obviously, we want to kind of get the run game going later this season and stay more balanced,” he said. “That’s a good defensive line and they were doing a good job stopping that. Coach Reid kind of put it in my hands to go out there and make stuff happen. It looked bad for two-and-a-half quarters but we were able to make it happen at the end.”
Food for thought as the season continues and the playoffs inch nearer.
Noah Gray needs more opportunities in the passing game
One of the biggest plays in overtime came from of the most unlikely and forgotten offensive players. Second-year TE Noah Gray caught an incredible 27-yard reception over Titans rookie CB Roger McCreary in overtime on third-and-1, putting the Chiefs in Harrison Butker’s range for what would eventually become the game-winning field goal.
Speaking about the play after the game, Patrick Mahomes revealed that he has about going Gray’s direction in the passing game.
“It’s funny, I think I said it in training camp, I think I don’t target Noah (Gray) enough,” Mahomes said. “Because a lot of times plays are called, either to him or he’s one of the options I can give him a chance on, and it seems like I don’t throw it to him and he’s always open. As the season goes on and our careers go on, I want to give him more and more chances because I think he can be a big part of this offense. That whole tight end room has been great for us this season, but for him to make that catch in that moment — that was a tough catch that he made. That was a big one for us, probably the reason we were able to get down there and win.”
Perhaps we’ll see some more big moments from Gray down the line.
This team can erase deficits as good as any
Kansas City earned a reputation for comeback wins during their quest for Super Bowl LIV, but the team has changed quite a bit since then. With their win over the Titans in Week 9, the Chiefs have now completed four come-from-behind wins this season. Even with all the changes on the offensive side of the ball, this group doesn’t seem to struggle or back down when they’re at a point deficit.
Per CBS Sports stathead Jeff Kerr, K.C. became the first team with four comeback wins in the first eight games of a season where they’ve trailed by eight or more points in those four games. This group is certainly rivaling the 2019 Chiefs team in terms of their ability to come back from any situation and win a game. We’ll see if they can keep it up throughout the remainder of the season.
