Dominoes have fallen in perfect order for the Kansas City Chiefs.
After earning a week 17 win over the Chargers, and Miami miraculously upsetting New England, the Chiefs earned a first-round bye. With the week off, Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the Chiefs were able to watch Tom Brady be beat at home by the Tennessee Titans.
Instead of facing the Pats at home, the Chiefs faced a week 6 rematch against the Houston Texans. Initially, everything that could have gone wrong did. Kansas City appeared to still be on their bye week after a blown coverage led to a Texan touchdown, and a Tyreek Hill muffed punt resulted in another score.
Trailing 24-0, All-Pro rookie Mecole Hardmon created the spark that ignited the Chiefs largest playoff comeback in franchise history. Following Hardmons 58-yard kick return that set the Chiefs up in Houston territory, Mahomes and the offense responded with 41 unanswered points.
Before the Chiefs electrifying 51-31 comeback win, potential league MVP Lamar Jackson and the No.1 seed Baltimore Ravens had been eliminated by the Tennessee Titans. Meaning the road to Super Bowl 54 would go through Kansas City in the AFC.
In a way, things could not have turned out better. No Wildcard game, no Brady, no Ravens, and most importantly, hosting the AFC title game. The Chiefs will face a Titan team that did not have a guaranteed place in the playoffs until a week 17 win over the Texans.
It has been an interesting season nonetheless for Tennessee. They benched quarterback Marcus Mariota, the teams 2015 No.2 pick for Ryan Tannehill. Over the offseason, Tannehill had been traded over from Miami in exchange for two future draft picks.
Tannehill took over the Titans midway through a 16-0 loss against the Broncos. In his first two starts, the former Dolphin led Tennessee to two consecutive wins, and two weeks later spoiled Mahomes return from a dislocated knee. Tannehill tossed 2 touchdowns in the 35-32 victory over the Titans.
While Tannehill has been the driver, running back Derrick Henry has been the motor of this Titan playoff run. In the regular season, Henry led the league with 1,540 yards rushing to go along with 16 touchdowns. Against Kansas City in week 11, Henry rushed for 188 yards on 23 carries and 2 touchdowns.
In his two games thus far in the playoffs, Henry has 377 yards on 64 carries, averaging a whopping 5.8 carries. The former Heisman Trophy winner has been close to nearly 200 yards in both playoff contests, and the Chiefs ranking 26th in rushing defense in the regular season is concerning.
The best way to stop the stop the Tennessee ground-and-pound machine? Keep it from happening, and make Tannehill throw downfield. The former Texas A&M Aggie is by no means known for his gunslinging abilities.
During his days in College Station, Tannehill featured as receiver until his senior year in Aggieland. While Tannehill will not beat you with his arm, he has the ability to succeed in 3-and-manageable situations with his quick-thinking decision making.
Of course, every coach instructs his players to deliver the first punch, but it is absolutely true for head coach Andy Reid this week. Not only because it is the AFC Championship game, but to keep Tennessee playing from behind and force Tannehill to make plays from the pocket.
If the Chiefs can force more passing situations for Tannehill, that can only lower the amount of touches for the NFLs leading rusher. In his two playoff games thus far, Tannehill has thrown only 29 passes, which is a number most QBs range per game.
The Chiefs have won their last seven games, but Henry and Tennessee were the last team to get one over Mahomes and company. But if the Chiefs can score quickly and frequently, forcing Tennessee to abandon the ground game, then it should be the teams first AFC championship in its history.
