The Kansas City Chiefs, coming off a win against the Minnesota Vikings, travel to Nashville to take on the Tennessee Titans. The Titans enter off a loss on the road to Christian McCaffrey and the Carolina Panthers. The Chiefs are 6-3 and in first place in the AFC West, while the Titans are in last place in the AFC South but are looking to go into their bye week at .500 and remain in the hunt for a playoff spot.
The Chiefs are getting reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes back for this matchup, which doesn’t bode well for the home team.
Here are the five keys to the game for each team.
Chiefs
- The offensive line must keep Patrick Mahomes upright, which could be a trying task against the Titans’ front seven led by linebacker Harold Landry.
- Stop the Titans’ ground game led by Derrick Henry, pressure Ryan Tannehill, and force Titans punter Brett Kern into frequent action.
- Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, and the rest of the offense need to convert big plays against the Titans’ secondary, which has at times been opportunistic with takeaways.
- Establish a running game. Tennessee has been good against the run with the exception of Week 9, when Christian McCaffrey ran seemingly at will.
- Sustain drives to make the Titans’ faithful a non-factor.
Titans
- Derrick Henry needs 25 touches. The Chiefs’ defense has had difficulty stopping the run on many occasions. If he’s successful, the Titans will be able to keep Mahomes and the Chiefs offense on the sidelines.
- The defense needs to not only contain Mahomes, but they need to pressure him early and often, which is usually easier said than done.
- The offense as a whole must put up points. Touchdowns over field goals (which has not been the Titans strong suit consistently enough as they are on their third kicker in 10 games).
- The Titans’ secondary led by corner Logan Ryan and safety Kevin Byard need to come up with a takeaway or two to give the offense short fields to work with.
- The offensive line can’t afford crucial false start or holding calls, which have been more than detrimental this season.
Game Info
Date: November 10, 2019
Start time: 1:00pm
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Stadium: Nissan Stadium
TV Info: CBS
Betting Odds
Point Spread: Chiefs -6
Over/Under: 48
The Chiefs are favored by six points on the road in this one. The over/under is a little low, in my opinion.
Prediction
Patrick Mahomes will get right back to his MVP form with a touchdown pass on his first drive. He has too many weapons for the Titans to account for, especially with cornerback Malcolm Butler going on injured reserve this week. Tennessee’s only chance in this game is to give Derrick Henry 20-plus carries to keep the clock moving and keep Mahomes off the field.
Henry will have north of 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Mahomes will throw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns.
While I think the Titans will keep it close, in the end, the Chiefs will come away with the victory.
Final Score: Chiefs 31, Titans 24
