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Titans vs. Chiefs Point Spread: NFL Conference Championships Odds, Prediction
The Titans upsetting the Chiefs in a playoff game in Kansas City would not be unheard of. That’s because two years ago in a Wild-Card game at Arrowhead Stadium, the Titans rallied from down 21-3 in the third quarter to stun the Chiefs 22-21. Marcus Mariota was the Tennessee quarterback then and threw for 205 yards and two scores. Derrick Henry – more on him below – rushed for 156 yards and a touchdown. Patrick Mahomes was backup up to Alex Smith that season for the Chiefs, and Smith threw for 264 yards and two scores in his final game with the team.
NFL Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Kansas City is in the AFC title game for the second year in a row. It would have beaten the visiting New England Patriots last year in this game but not for a late offsides call in regulation on former Chief Dee Ford that wiped out a Tom Brady interception. The Patriots would win in overtime. The Chiefs haven’t been to the Super Bowl since before the AFL/NFL merger. They beat the Minnesota Vikings in SB IV by a score of 23-7 in January 1970.
After that upset two years ago in Kansas City, the Titans would lose in New England. It’s their first trip to the AFC title game since January 2003 when they lost in Oakland. The Titans’ lone Super Bowl appearance was a memorable 23-16 loss to the Rams in XXXIV when Tennessee came up one yard short of tying the game on the final play.
The Chiefs are +130 favourites at Sports Interaction to win it all and the Titans are +650 long shots.
Like the NFC title game, this is a regular-season rematch. Kansas City lost 35-32 in Nashville in Week 10 despite 446 yards passing and three scores from Mahomes. It was quite the wild ending. Ryan Tannehill hit Adam Humphries on the go-ahead TD pass with 23 seconds left. The Titans have covered the past four in the series.
Tennessee Titans
Tennessee’s Wild-Card round upset of the Patriots was a surprise, but last Saturday’s 28-12 win at top-seeded Baltimore was downright shocking as the Ravens had the NFL’s best regular-season mark and were on a franchise-record 12-game winning streak. Expected NFL MVP Lamar Jackson got his yards but only scored once on that Titans defence. He was intercepted twice and lost a fumble. Tannehill threw for only 88 yards but didn’t turn the ball over with three total touchdowns (two passing, one rushing).
The star of the game for the second week in a row, though, was Derrick Henry. The former Heisman winner had 195 yards rushing on 30 carries AND threw a short touchdown pass. Counting his final regular-season game, Henry is the first player in NFL history with three straight games of at least 180 yards rushing. Needless to say, the Chiefs are going to try and make Tannehill beat them through the air. The Titans are 5-0 ATS in their past five road games.
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City looked cooked on Sunday when it trailed visiting Houston 24-0 in the second quarter, but then Mahomes went nuts. He had four touchdown passes in that quarter alone and finished with 321 yards passing and five scores while also rushing for a team-best 53 yards in a 51-31 victory. Tight end Travis Kelce was a monster with 10 catches for 134 yards and three scores, and Damian Williams rushed for two. There’s just no offence like this in the NFL.
The Chiefs became the first team in post-season history to win by 20 points after trailing by at least 20. They also were the first team in history to score a touchdown on seven consecutive drives in a playoff game. Defensive tackle Chris Jones, who led the team with nine sacks this season, didn’t play with a calf injury and he remains in question for this one. The Chiefs are 6-0-1 ATS in their past seven games.
TEN
KC