Coming off their bye week, the Kansas City Chiefs will host the Tennessee Titans on “Sunday Night Football.”
Both teams enter this game at 5-2, making it a pivotal matchup in the AFC standings. When we last saw the Chiefs, they routed the San Fransisco 49ers 44-23. Kansas City was dominant in the second half, scoring 30 points while also recording three sacks and a safety.
The Titans are coming off a 17-10 road victory over the Houston Texans. This game was all about running back Derrick Henry, who unbelievably recorded his fourth consecutive 200-yard game against the Texans, earning AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. This game also featured the first career start for Malik Willis, who didn’t need to do much with Henry doing all the heavy lifting.
Let’s jump into this matchup and see what it will take for the Chiefs to come out on top.
Chiefs' offense vs. Titans' defense
Mike Vrabel is in his fifth season as the Titans’ head coach. The former All-Pro linebacker is obviously a defensive-minded coach whose players take on his intensity and toughness. With his second-year defensive coordinator Shane Bowen, the two run a base 3-4 defense.
A pass rush staple they like to use is the diamond front. The diamond front is a type of zone blitz where the defense matches the offense’s five offensive linemen with five defensive linemen along the line of scrimmage. After the ball is snapped, some defenders may drop off into coverage while others rush.
They could also elect to bring all five or drop one and replace a dropping defensive lineman with a blitzing linebacker, corner or safety. There are a lot of options that can be built off this look, but the beauty of the design is the ability for the defense to dictate blocking assignments to create mismatches in their favor.
The Titans’ defense is middle of the pack when it comes to taking down the QB, ranking 14th in the NFL in sacks. It’s very stout against the run, however, ranking second in run defense. Tennessee has allowed a league-low one rushing touchdown this season.
Back in the secondary, the Titans play a lot of variations of zone coverage. Here is an excellent breakdown from our friends at Titans Wire. Tennessee has struggled against the pass this season, surrendering the ninth-most passing yards and sixth-most passing touchdowns.
On paper, it seems that this is a matchup where the Chiefs should go with a pass-heavy game plan, but don’t forget that two weeks ago they rushed for 115 yards and three touchdowns against the No. 1 ranked 49ers’ run defense. Establishing a running attack that the Titans have to at least respect will really open things up for an already dangerous Chiefs’ passing game.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes got the deep passing game going against the Niners and could keep it going against the Titans who are allowing the sixth-most yards per completion.
Chiefs' defense vs. Titans' offense
Todd Downing is in his second season as the Titans’ offensive coordinator. The Titans’ offense regressed significantly last season and has been even worse so far in 2022, putting Downing in some hot water. Tennessee ranks dead last in total offense, averaging just 285.6 yards per game.
The big positive for Titans’ offense is of course Derrick Henry, who leads the NFL in rushing yards per game with 107.9. Downing uses 21 personnel (two running backs and a tight end) as his base offense. His running game is mostly inside and outside zone running behind the fullback. This forces defenses to stay in base formations more often.
Although he only has 14 carries on the season, Dontrell Hilliard is a good change-of-pace back who is averaging 7.8 yards per carry and is a dangerous receiving back. It’s clear that the success of the Tennessee offense hinges on the running game. Chiefs’ defenders will need to get off blocks and tackle with proper form.
Containing the rushing attack and forcing the Titans to throw the ball will be a winning formula for K.C. The Titans are averaging the second-least passing yards per game and are tied for the fewest touchdown passes in the league. Downing wants to get the ball out of quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s hands quickly on horizontal passes such as slants and crossing routes.
Tannehill is struggling to establish chemistry with his new receivers. Newcomer Robert Woods hasn’t made much of an impact and the two leading receivers behind him are running backs, Henry and Hilliard. The Chiefs’ secondary has struggled as well, ranking 30th in pass defense. It will be discouraging if it continues to struggle against a weak Titans’ passing game.
