The Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs have played their fair share of big games against one another. Since 2019, the teams have played a total of four times, splitting matchups evenly at two games apiece.
The most recent matchup was last season, when the Titans nearly shocked the Chiefs in overtime on Sunday Night Football in a game in which their rookie quarterback, Malik Willis, only completed five passes in relief of an injured Ryan Tannehill.
It was the Titans’ defense that ultimately kept them competitive throughout the game despite having a flat offensive attack for the majority of it.
Believe it or not, Tennessee’s defense has often done well against superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes whenever tasked with facing him.
The Titans’ strongest game against the MVP signal-caller came back in 2021, when the Titans held Kansas City’s offense to just three points en route to a 24-point victory at home, a game in which Mahomes admitted Tennessee “beat our ass.”
In an episode of the wildly popular Netflix show, “Quarterback”, we got to see a snippet of Mahomes reflecting on some of his previous battles with Tennessee and head coach Mike Vrabel.
The Texas Tech legend was especially complimentary of the Titans’ defense and Vrabel, stating the following:
“The Tennessee Titans defense, man, they’re one of the toughest opponents in the league,” Mahomes said. “Coach Vrabel is a great coach and they have a great game plan every single week. I know people joke around about it, but it’s kind of like when you were facing the Patriots in the early 2000s.
“Vrabel has obviously learned from coach [Bill] Belichick, they have more wrinkles and stuff that you don’t really expect, and you have to be physical and battle to the very end every single time.”
Patrick Mahomes with EXTREMELY high praise of Mike Vrabel and his #Titans defense. pic.twitter.com/YliM1UKOqq
— BWill (@BWillTFTV) July 13, 2023
It’s clear that Titans head coach, who has often proved to be very popular with his own players, as well as players around the league, has earned the respect of the best player in the NFL — and that’s the type of praise that truly means something.
Random people on Twitter can try to downplay how well-coached this Titans team consistently is, but those who actually have to face a Vrabel-led team know just how tough it can be to put Tennessee down.
