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A couple points that nobody’s really talking about: The Titans have controlled the LOS on both sides of the ball in recent weeks. It’s very difficult to beat a team that controls the LOS. Titans punter Brett Kern is a huge ace in the hole. He is quietly having the most incredible season I’ve ever seen from a punter and has played a huge role in the Titans’ success this year, Week after week, Kern has shown incredible control and consistency, repeatedly pinning opponents inside their own 20 (or 10) and forcing them to drive 85-90 yards (or more) on virtually every single drive. Here’s how dominant Kern has been: Last week’s game was one of his worst performances of the season, as three punts rolled into the endzone for touchbacks. (For comparison, Kern had only two touchbacks total in the regular season). And despite Kern having one of his worst performances, the Ravens didn’t start a single drive from outside their own 25-yard line. The Chiefs offense is obviously capable of pulling off a 80-90 yard drive. Hell, they might even do it twice in one game. But when they’re forced to drive the length of the field every time they get the ball....that’s a tall order. The league’s #1 and #7 scoring offenses tried...and mustered only a single touchdown apiece.

I believe you’re interpreting the low number of WR catches as ineffectiveness. I think it’s more about the way things played out and the ridiculously low number of passes overall. Khalif Raymond looked pretty friggin’ open on his touchdown. Davis was wide open on his TD...and he was also wide open on the play at New England where he stepped OOB before catching what should have been a TD. But the fact is, WR play rarely determines wins and losses. When an NFL defense chooses to focus on on taking away one or two WRs, they usually can....but doing so leaves them vulnerable in other areas. Rather than forcing throws to the WRs, the Titans are perfectly willing to attack and exploit those other areas. As as long as they get the W at day’s end, it doesn’t matter at all where it comes from.

Chiefs WRs had 20 TDs this year. Titans WRs had 17. Hardly a huge gap. Titans TEs had 7 TDs. Chiefs TEs had 5. Titans had 21 rushing TDs this year. Henry accounted 16 of them...which matched the Chiefs entire team total. The Chiefs are really good at throwing the ball around and piling up yards. The Titans are really good at putting it in the end zone by whatever means necessary.

It's funny that the national media conversation has centered around Henry and Mahomes while Tannehill is treated as an afterthought. A direct comparison of Tannehill and Mahomes since week 10, including playoffs: Tannehill (9 games): 132/198, 1922 yds, 66.7% completions, 9.7 Yds/att, 19 TD, 3 INT, 123.7 passer rating. (+ 4 rushing TDs) Mahomes (8 games): 185/278, 2172 yds, 66.5% compl, 7.8 yds/att, 16 TD, 4 INT, 103.3 passer rating (+ 2 rushing TDs) Despite Mahomes having far more pass attempts, Tannehill has outperformed him in virtually every meaningful category. Not because Mahomes has been bad at all...but because Tannehill has been that damned good. Perhaps the better question is this: if Tannehill plays at the level he's maintained since week 10....can Mahomes keep up?

The plane will be landing shortly. The steamroller arrives tomorrow afternoon, but it ain't stopping.

Clark had exactly one solo tackle on Henry in the last matchup. Henry gained 7 yards.

Fixed

This is terrible news. @DMeade was good people. I travel to Norton VA for work a couple times a year...even been to Clintwood a time or two. Rural as hell, but it’s spectacularly beautiful country.

In the playoffs, referees are known to overlook a lot of borderline ticky-tack stuff and allow teams to play physical. These teams are the best of the best and everybody's one game away from the Super Bowl; the officials are generally inclined to let the teams play.

I doubt they go into any game expecting a 2:1 run/pass ratio. They have a plan for how to attack each opponent, then adjust the playcalling based on how the game develops. Consider the Titans' play selection in the first half of the past two games: vs Patriots 10 Tannehill passes 14 Henry runs vs. Ravens 12 Tannehill passes 12 Henry runs Their initial gameplans and playcalling were far more balanced than the final stats indicate; it only became lopsided after the Titans decided to control the tempo and shorten the game. I have no doubt they have a similarly balanced gameplan for this week. Here's to hoping for another situation where the crowd is taken out of it early and the Titans bleed the clock in the second half.... Titans faithful lustily chanting "HENNN-RY! HENNN-RY!" as Chiefs nation quietly heads for the exits.

Coaches' film showing Derrick Henry's touches vs the Ravens in the divisional round. Stats: 30 carries, 195 yards 1 pass attempt, 3 yards, 1 TD

Coaches' film showing all of Tannehill's dropbacks in the divisional playoff vs the Ravens. Stats: 7/14, 88 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT, 109.5 passer rating

Let's see just how badly the Chiefs' unstoppable passing attack blows the Titans' one-dimensional offense out of the water: Total Pass attempts: Chiefs - 576 Titans - 448 Passing Touchdowns Chiefs - 30 Titans - 29 20+ yard completions Chiefs - 59 Titans - 58 40+ yard completions Chiefs - 18 Titans - 15 QB metrics Mahomes - 65.9% completions, 8.6 yds/attempt, 105.3 passer rating, 36.4% first downs, 5.4% TDs Tannehill - 70.7% completions, 9.6 yds/attempt, 117.5 passer rating, 44.1% first downs, 7.7% TDs. The Chiefs have obviously thrown the ball a lot more than the Titans have.....but despite the dramatic difference in pass attempts, the numbers that matter most (touchdowns & big plays) are almost identical. It's also worth noting that Tannehill has converted first downs and touchdowns at a significantly higher rate than Mahomes.

It's funny to think back just a few weeks ago.... the Titans were on the outside looking in and needed the Steelers to lose, and fans were complaining about backing into the playoffs and saying the team didn't deserve to be there. Nobody backs into the AFC championship. This team has earned it every step of the way by steadily improving week after week; right now they're as healthy as they've been all season and they're playing as well as anyone in the NFL. This is a damned good football team.

We will rape ze horses and ride off on ze women!