Tennessee @ Kansas City preview
GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
Last Meeting ( Aug 31, 2017 ) Tennessee 6, Kansas City 30
Arrowhead Stadium has provided the Kansas City Chiefs one of the best home-field advantages in the NFL – until the postseason. The Chiefs will try to record their first home playoff victory in 24 years when they host the Tennessee Titans on Saturday in an AFC wild-card matchup.
The back-to-back AFC West champion Chiefs have won four straight following a midseason lull and again look like a contender. Their defense made a dramatic turnaround over the final month of the regular season, holding each of their last four opponents under 350 total yards while forcing 12 turnovers. The Titans are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008, squeaking in by snapping a three-game skid with a 15-10 victory over Jacksonville on Sunday. Tennessee went 3-5 on the road, where it averaged just 17.5 points and 270.8 total yards.
TV: 4:35 p.m. ET, ESPN. LINE: Chiefs -9. O/U: 44
ABOUT THE TITANS (9-7): Tennessee’s offense has shown flashes of brilliance but has been inconsistent, with everything hinging on the running game. DeMarco Murray is doubtful with a torn MCL, meaning Derrick Henry likely will carry the load and try to establish the run to open up the passing game for Marcus Mariota. Tennessee’s defense ranks fourth against the run and came up big last week against the Jaguars with four takeaways.
ABOUT THE CHIEFS (10-6): Kansas City’s offense went through a slump while losing six of seven games in the middle of the season, but everything clicked again in its last four contests. Rookie Kareem Hunt finished as the NFL’s leading rusher while Alex Smith joined Tom Brady and Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks in the league to pass for more than 4,000 yards with fewer than 10 interceptions, finishing with 4,042 yards and five picks. The Chiefs’ once-suspect secondary played well down the stretch.
EXTRA POINTS
1. Chiefs WR Albert Wilson has caught a touchdown pass in each of his last two postseason games.
2. Mariota has thrown 39 touchdown passes and no interceptions in the red zone in his three-year career.
3. Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and Tennessee’s Delanie Walker are the only NFL tight ends with at least 800 receiving yards in each of the last four seasons.
PREDICTION: Chiefs 24, Titans 20