The Kansas City Chiefs have achieved a Super Bowl LIV thanks to a 35:24 home win in the AFC Championship Game against the Tennessee Titans. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes towered over and brought the guests to winning ways after initial difficulties. A long dry spell ends for the chiefs.
Contrary to the expectations of many in advance, the Titans managed not only to take the lead, but also to keep up. At least until the break. Then Patrick Mahomes seized the game and the Chiefs offense was unstoppable.
The Titans started the game with a field goal because they were – atypical for the past few weeks – stopped in the Red Zone. However, they got the ball back quickly and then put in another long drive, which this time ended in the end zone: Derrick Henry ran from Direct Range to the end zone from a short distance.
The chiefs, however, found their way into the game afterwards and flashed what this offense is capable of. An 8-yard touchdown pass from Mahomes on Tyreek Hill that ran a jet sweep brought the home side to the scoreboard. The Titans then put down one of their dreaded time-consuming drives, which they eventually completed with a touchdown pass on offensive lineman Dennis Kelly, who came into play as an extra blocker. The Titans took more than nine minutes off the clock.
No problem for the chiefs, who scored two more touchdowns within the final six minutes. Mahomes found Hill for a 20-yard touchdown pass and with just eleven seconds left, Mahomes himself ran well over 27 yards into the end zone. Mahomes shook off several defenders and broke through a few bad tackle attempts. The chiefs led the break at 21:17.
Sammy Watkins makes the decision with a 60-yard touchdown
After the break, both teams initially failed to put off productively active drives, so it took until the end of the third quarter for KC to get back into striking distance. In a very run-heavy drive, it was Damien Williams who cheered the Chiefs with a 3-yard run. Then the Chiefs finally took the wind out of the sails with a sack at 3rd Down. The game was ultimately decided after Mahomes’ 60-yard touchdown pass to Sammy Watkins in the middle of the fourth quarter.
The Titans got another touchdown from tight end Anthony Firkser who followed a fake punt and were allowed to run again for a drive afterwards, but ultimately ran out of time.
The Chiefs are back in the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. Overall, it is her third participation in the Super Bowl, her only title in Super Bowl IV against the Vikings.
AFC Championship Game
No. 2 Kansas City Chiefs – No. 6 Tennessee Titans
Result: 35:24 (7:10, 14: 7, 0: 0, 14: 7) BOXSCORE
Chiefs vs. Titans – the most important statistics
- As in the divisional game against the Texans, the chiefs were again 0:10. This makes them the first team in the history of the NFL playoffs to go back several times in the first half with a difference of at least ten points within a postseason and then still take a lead in half time.
- Mahomes completed a total of 64 yards in his 27-yard touchdown run. This is the longest distance Mahomes has ever run. This is also a record for a quarterback since data collection started NFL Next Gen Stats four years ago.
- After twelve Red Zone touchdowns in a row, the Titans only opened the game with a field goal in the Red Zone. It was the Titans’ first red zone drive without touchdown since week 15 on December 15, 2019.
- Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has been 1-8 against the Titans so far. This second win over Tennessee now puts him on par with Bill Belichick as the only two coaches in the NFL who have beaten each franchise at least twice. In addition, Reid is in the Super Bowl for the second time after the 2004 season.
The star of the game: Patrick Mahomes (Quarterback, Chiefs)
Mahomes (23/35, 294 YDS, 3 TD / 6 CAR, 56 YDS, TD) dominated this game at will. He shone with passports worth seeing over medium and long distances and used his legs when he saw room to run and his receivers were covered. In short: Last year’s MVP found an answer to everything and made basically no mistakes.
The flop of the game: the pass defense of the Titans
After a good start, the Titans found less and less an answer to the Chiefs’ attack. Initially, the guests tried it successfully with flashes from linebackers and defensive backs to put pressure on Mahomes. However, as they continued to play, they increasingly distanced themselves from this and switched to coverage. That didn’t work. Either she hit Mahomes with her legs or with precise passports on mostly open receivers that won her matchups. To make matters worse, the Titans too often afford penalties in key situations. The stops that hit the Titans were again the result of drops from the Chiefs.
Analysis: Chiefs vs. Titans – the tactic board
- The titans’ play calling was sometimes extremely high quality. In the first half, they often rely on play action and a good mix of passing and running moves. The touchdowns were extremely creative calls: The first played from a Wildcat formation with Direct Snap to Henry and Tannehill as a wide receiver. The second TD was a good old play-action pass to an open offensive lineman who came into play as an extra blocker.
- The Titans also ran with the Chiefs’ Heavy Boxes and also blocked it well, sometimes even with 13 people. However, this changed towards the end of the first half: Then the Titans became too heavy and sometimes ran too often in early downs. The Chiefs then reacted with a 6-1 front and won their direct duels on the line with Chris Jones and Mike Pennel, who made important stops or destroyed the blocks.
- The chiefs, on the other hand, played their usual style after initial difficulties: Mahomes took over the main load, extended plays with good pocket movement and scrambles and mostly found open receivers. The Titans also accommodated them by usually only assigning three players for the pass rush, the rest of the shift went to coverage.
- If the Titans then played man coverage, there were two options: either Mahomes found the matchup advantage or he used the free space downfield to run himself and thus achieve numerous first downs.
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