Vin+ 3,121 Posted December 18, 2016 http://hosted.stats.com/fb/preview.asp?g=20161218012&home=12&vis=10 Just one victory away from clinching a spot in the AFC playoffs, the Kansas City Chiefs host the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. Early weather predictions call for temperatures in the low teens with the wind-chill factor falling into single digits. That's cold conditions for even Kansas City in December. The 10-3 Chiefs moved into the control seat of the AFC West with their victory last week over Oakland in similar conditions. Head coach Andy Reid's team can assure itself of at least a spot in the six-team postseason field with one more victory in the remaining three games. "Every game is important as you go down the stretch," Reid said. "Nothing has been declared yet, so you've got to keep the pedal to the metal." The 7-6 Titans will arrive in Kansas City with their postseason chances still alive. They share first place in the AFC South with the Houston Texans. Tennessee is coming off a 13-10 victory over Denver on Sunday in Nashville. The man that leads the offense says the Titans will have quite a task dealing with the Chiefs' defense at Arrowhead and in the cold. "I think they have a great defense," quarterback Marcus Mariota said. "They have a bunch of playmakers across the board. They find ways to get turnovers and when they do, they're really good at turning it into points. Up front they do a great job of doing different things, causing some identification problems and just doing things in terms of communication for an offense. You have to make sure everyone's on the same page and doing the same thing." Mariota comes off his least productive performance of the 2016 season last Sunday against Denver. He threw for only 88 yards, completing just six of 20 passes, a completion percentage of 30 percent and an average of 4.4 yards per attempt. That doesn't jive with his play in November, when he was named the AFC's Offensive Player of the Month with 11 scoring throws, two interceptions, a completion percentage of 66 percent and an average of 8.7 yards per attempt. Reid has been very impressed by Mariota's overall performance this year. "His ability to throw the football and read the defenses have come a long ways," Reid said. "Things have slowed down for him. The addition of the run game has also helped their football team. You can see that he's more comfortable now then he was when he first came in. He's healthy now too, which helps." Kansas City is coming off a mini-bye after winning last Thursday night. That 21-13 victory over the Raiders was the third for the Chiefs in 12 days, with two of those on the road - including a 75-minute overtime decision against Denver. That was three victories by a total of 12 points. "It was a gritty, gritty performance," Reid said. "That's a tough thing to do with that many games in that short period of time and to play at a high level against really good football teams. I think credit is due there." But in the NFL, that's considered old news and promises nothing for the coming Sunday. "The games just get bigger every week when you are in this situation," Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith said. "It's so close right now, you can't start counting the games and doing the math. You can't let yourself go there. We have a team coming in that's really playing good and we have to take care of our business." For another victory, the Chiefs' defense must handle a strong Titans running game that put up 180 yards against the highly ranked Denver defense. Tennessee is also the NFL's top offense in the red zone, scoring touchdowns on 71.4 percent of its 42 trips inside the 20-yard line. The Titans are the fourth-best third-down offense, converting 46 percent of their chances. In the season's first 13 games, head coach Mike Mularkey's team has been in the mix for victory every week. Tennessee has not lost by double digits, and it has won four games that were decided by six points or less. The Titans also are 3-3 on the road. "Every one of these games, we've had a chance to win," Mularkey said. "They've all been close. We've won some of them. We've lost some of the close ones. I think the experience has been great for (the players.) Our guys believe we're going to win the game, no matter what the situation is." Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RazorStar 4,025 Posted December 18, 2016 The chiefs have to lose sometime, please let it be now. 17 26 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted December 18, 2016 (edited) Edited December 18, 2016 by oochymp Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBen07 285 Posted December 18, 2016 Hell of a gutsy win Tennessee. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteVo+ 3,702 Posted December 19, 2016 That is vintage Andy Reid, folks. For those who missed it... http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2016121805/2016/REG15/titans@chiefs#menu=gameinfo%7CcontentId%3A0ap3000000758808&tab=videos Succop attempts game-winner from 53 yards. Falls short. No play; Chiefs called timeout. Succop gets another shot, nails it. Titans win. Never change, Andy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Favre4Ever+ 4,476 Posted December 19, 2016 Chiefs failed by giving Tyreek Hill one touch (that went for a huge TD). Why is he not consistently streamed into the gameplan? That kid is a monster and makes teams pay. It was a very McCarthy-esquee coaching decision. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
56AceInDaPlace 110 Posted December 19, 2016 Chiefs failed by giving Tyreek Hill one touch (that went for a huge TD). Why is he not consistently streamed into the gameplan? That kid is a monster and makes teams pay. It was a very McCarthy-esquee coaching decision. He had some drops yesterday. Non contact drops. That's probably why. The most shocking thing was how CLUTCH we were all 3 phases late. We need to drive and score and we put a touchdown on the board. Didn't get the 2 points. But then we need a stop on 3rd down. They called a great play and we stuffed it. Then we drive quickly and Succop makes a kick nobody thought he'd make. Total team win yesterday. Every aspect of the game offense defense and special teams showed up. After being down 14-0 halfway through the first quarter. Chiefs only scored 3 points the rest of the game??? With 4 trips in the redzone?? Coaching staff has impressed this year. Chiefs should be sick for awhile after that loss. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBen07 285 Posted December 19, 2016 Interesting fact that is seen on the clip: Succop's career long of 54 yards was made at Arrowhead. Looks like that place is a good luck charm for him Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FartWaffles 1,857 Posted December 20, 2016 Not icing the kicker should be the new icing the kicker. Head coach motions to the ref like he's going to call a timeout, and then just flat out nopes it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oochymp 2,393 Posted December 20, 2016 Interesting fact that is seen on the clip: Succop's career long of 54 yards was made at Arrowhead. Looks like that place is a good luck charm for him he also started his career with the Chiefs, played there for about five years before we signed him, so a lot of his field goals were at Arrowhead Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigBen07 285 Posted December 20, 2016 Ah I'd forgotten about where he started. Thanks, Oochy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites