Kansas City Chiefs outlast Tennessee Titans in overtime 20-17
It took the Kansas City Chiefs 91 offensive plays and an extra eight minutes of game time, but they eventually took down the Tennessee Titans on Sunday Night Football, edging them out 20-17.
Even though the Chiefs scored just 20 points in the game (and only 17 in regulation), it was a once-in-a-career type of night throwing the ball for quarterback Patrick Mahomes, at least in terms of how often he had to pass. Mahomes completed 43-of-68 passes for 446 yards, one touchdown and one interception in the win. That’s the most pass attempts he’s ever had in an NFL game, and it’s the second most he’s had between his college and pro careers.
He once threw 88 passes in a 2016 game for Texas Tech.
That wasn’t all he had to do to will the Chiefs to a win in Week 9, as he also led the team in rushing with 63 yards on 6 carries, also rushing in a touchdown and the game-tying two-point conversion in the fourth quarter.
The rest of Kansas City’s rushing attack tallied 14 yards on 13 carries.
“We want to try to get the run game going as the season goes on and kind of stay more balanced, but that’s a good defensive line and they were doing a good job of stopping that,” Mahomes said. “And coach Reid kind of put it in my hands to go out there and try to make some stuff happen.”
For as good as Mahomes was, the Chiefs defense came up big multiple times throughout the night, especially in the second half. That unit made life miserable for Titans rookie quarterback Malik Willis, who made the second start of his career on Sunday due to an injury to regular starter Ryan Tannehill.
Willis completed just five passes for the whole game, none of which went to wide receivers, finishing 5-of-16 for 80 yards with no touchdowns. He was also sacked three times, including twice on Tennessee’s lone overtime possession.
Titans running back Derrick Henry, coming off his best game of the season last week, ended up with a solid box score line, carrying the ball 17 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. For the most part, though the Chiefs kept “Tractorcito” in check; 56 of Henry’s yards came on one run in the second quarter. He had just 59 yards on 16 carries for the rest of the game.
“Appreciated the way the defense played,” Chiefs coach Andy Reid said. “We were bringing it, bringing it, bringing it. And they tuned it up the whole second half.”
With the win, the Chiefs are now 6-2 on the year and have won consecutive games. Reid is also now 21-3 in his career coming off of bye weeks.
This was also a vital win in terms of the race for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoff picture. The Buffalo Bills still hold the top spot halfway through the season due to the head-to-head tiebreaker, but because they lost on Sunday to the Jacksonville Jaguars they now have the same record as the Chiefs.
Kansas City will host Jacksonville next Sunday.
For more reaction to the Kansas City Chiefs’ 20-17 overtime win over the Tennessee Titans, check out Mic’d Up with Jake and Fulton from noon-3 p.m., and 580 Sports Talk with Brendan and Dan from 3-5 p.m. Monday on 580 WIBW.
