AFC Championship Game Review: Kansas City Wears Down Tennessee to Reach First Super Bowl in Half a Century

🏈🏈🏈🏈

 

AFC Championship Game

Tennessee Titans  

at

Kansas City Chiefs

Kansas City 35, Tennessee 24

For the first time in 50 years, the Chiefs are going to the Super Bowl!           

How long has it been, exactly, since KC last played in the big game? Richard Nixon was still in his first term, and Watergate had not yet happened, let alone gotten the Nixon Administration in hot water and tainted their image. The Vietnam War was still raging. The Cold War was still active, and the Soviet Union was still a superpower. There was still an East Germany, and Berlin was still divided. Mandela was still in jail in South Africa, and apartheid would still be around for nearly a quarter of a century yet. The first Earth Day had not yet taken place. The Tennessee Titans were the Houston Oilers, and nobody had ever heard of the Seattle Seahawks, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Carolina Panthers, the Baltimore Ravens, or the Houston Texans. Only the Packers and the Jets had won the Super Bowl before the Chiefs won that one, and only the Raiders, Colts, and Vikings had qualified for a Super Bowl, up to that point. Andy Reid, the current head coach of the Chiefs, was 11 years old, while Patrick Mahomes would not yet be born for well over a quarter of a century yet. Best of all, hardly anyone had heard of Donald Trump.           

Yes, it was a long time ago, to be sure. Half a century has passed, to be exact.           

Well, the Chiefs are AFC Champions again, having enjoyed their most successful postseason in a very long time. KC had enjoyed some successful seasons during the interim. They qualified for two AFC title games before this season, losing to Buffalo in the 1993-94 season, with Joe Montana at the helm and Marcus Allen at running back. And they lost last year to Brady, Belichick, and the Pats, in overtime. They also enjoyed some remarkable regular seasons, including three 13-3 seasons in 1995, 1997, and 2003. In fact, they have qualified for the postseason 16 times since the 1990 season, when the Chiefs enjoyed a breakout season.           

Kansas City finished this season 12-4 for a second straight season, good enough for the AFC West title (which they won easily) and a playoff bye (last year as the top seed, this time around as the second seed). But when the Ravens got bounced by the upstart Titans, and with the Chiefs overcoming a 24-0 deficit to Houston last weekend to win, the AFC Championship Game this season was going to be at Arrowhead Stadium for a second straight season. And this time, they did not have to face the most experienced team in the playoffs once they got to the AFC title game, either.           

The Chiefs nevertheless got off to another sluggish start, falling behind by 10 points, twice. The Titans offense looked like they were having their way against the KC defense, and the Chiefs offense once again appeared sluggish in trying to find their rhythm. Once they did, however, they once again looked explosive.           

Patrick Mahomes threw two touchdown passes to Tyreek Hill, and then just before halftime, with the Titans trying to cling to a narrow 17-14 lead and the Chiefs driving, Mahomes broke free for a remarkable 27-yard touchdown run, breaking tackles against the normally stellar Titans defenders, and energizing the Chiefs and the home crowd, allowing KC to take a 21-17 lead into the lockers for halftime.           

The third quarter remained scoreless, but the Chiefs were able to put the game out of reach with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, for a 35-17 lead.           

Statistically, it was not so lopsided. The time of possession battle was more or less even, and the Chiefs produced 27 first downs, to 20 for the Titans. Neither team produced a turnover. But KC produced a decisive advantage in total offensive yards, gaining 404 total yards, to just 295 for Tennessee.           

Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes completed 23 of 35 passes for 294 yards and three touchdowns. He also led KC in rushing, with 53 yards in eight carries, including that amazing, highlight reel touchdown just before the end of the first half, which had to be one of the most incredible plays of the entire season. His favorite go to target on this day was Sammy Watkins, who had seven catches for 114 yards and a touchdown in the fourth quarter.           

In a losing cause for Tennessee, Ryan Tannehill completed 21 of 31 passes for 209 yards and two touchdowns. His favorite target was Corey Davis, who gabbed five catches for 65 yards. On the ground, Derrick Henry added 69 yards and one touchdown on 19 carries.           


With the win, the Chiefs earned the right to head to Miami to take on the NFC Champions, the San Francisco 49ers, in Super Bowl LIV the weekend after next.

My pick: Accurate

Patrick Mahomes lifts Chiefs to first Super Bowl in 50 years by Adam Teicher, ESPN Staff Writer.\, January 19, 2020:


https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28518095/patrick-mahomes-lifts-chiefs-first-super-bowl-50-years