Titans Shock Chiefs in Come Back Win

The NFL Postseason kicked off in a spectacular way for fans who like a comeback story. The Tennessee Titans were not expected to win against the Kansas City Chiefs after the disappointing final few games of the regular season. The Titans barely got into the playoffs after winning against the Jacksonville Jaguars in the regular season finale. Injuries have caused the Titans to under-perform throughout the season, but they continue to persevere against the doubters.

Tennessee entered Arrowhead Stadium as the underdogs, and it seemed that the game was over after a disappointing first half. The Chiefs led the Titans 21-3 at halftime, and it seemed that head coach Mike Mularkey was on his way out, as reports had made evident earlier in the day. The Titans would start a comeback for the history books when the teams came out of the locker rooms for the second half.

In the first half, the Chiefs offense was running on all cylinders with the league leader in rushing yards, rookie Kareem Hunt, and the passing attack led by quarterback Alex Smith. The Chiefs defense also forced two fumbles, recovering one of them, along with Marcus Peters who picked off Marcus Mariota. However, the Chiefs could do virtually nothing in the second half compared to the Titans. The Titans defense orchestrated by legendary coordinator, Dick LeBeau forced disruption for Alex Smith and the rest of the Chiefs offense. The front seven led by Pro Bowler Jurrell Casey forced their way into the Chiefs backfield to sack Smith four times. The secondary led by All-Pro safety Kevin Byard was able to keep control of the passing game after the Chiefs lost one of Smith’s favorite targets, Travis Kelce who left due to a concussion early in the game.

Meanwhile on offense, Marcus Mariota and Derrick Henry combined for 202 rushing yards to form three scoring drives that would upset the Chiefs 22-21 in one of the most exciting playoff finishes in recent history. The best moment of Tennessee’s epic comeback came late in the third quarter when Mariota threw a pass that was deflected back to himself, and he ran it in for a six-yard touchdown. Even as a Tennessee fan, I was not expecting them to win this game in such a fashion. I do not expect the Titans to win in either Pittsburgh or New England next week, but after this week you never know what may happen.