Locked On Titans - Daily Podcast On The Tennessee Titans - CROSSOVER THURSDAY - Titans v Chiefs: Chiefs Struggles, Titans Defense & Game Predictions

Episode Date: October 21, 2021

It is CROSSOVER THURSDAY and Chris Clark from Locked On Chiefs joins the show to breakdown the Week 7 matchup between the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs. First, the boys discuss the current state of their teams and what the injury situation looks like. Then, Tyler answers questions from Chris about the Titans season so far and why they are struggling in pass protection. Finally, Tyler asks Chris about the Chiefs early season turnover issues and the poor run defense.Follow Tyler on Twitter @TicTacTitansFollow the show on Facebook @LockedOnTitansPodSubscribe to the Locked On Titans YouTube channel:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCP3332GMOh4y5PX3q9NFybwSupport Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to the Locked on Titans podcast. I am your host Tyler Rowland Titans fans It is a crossover Thursday edition of the Locked on Titans podcast and as you guys know with the beginning of the YouTube channel Don't really get the opportunity to do the classic old-school Locked on Titans intro very much But I did want to take a quick opportunity here to let you guys know that Chris from the Locked On Chiefs podcast had some audio issues in the form of a rambunctious dog in the background. So tried to mute as much as possible when I was talking and when his dog wasn't going

on. But you're going to hear some barking in the background. Certainly hope that you guys understand that, you know, we all have regular lives. People have kids, people have dogs and things do happen. So I just wanted to come on before the crossover Thursday conversation starts, let you guys know what's going on with the audio, but also take this opportunity to have a classic Locked On Titans intro. So very excited for the beat to drop.

It is a crossover Thursday on the Locked On Titans podcast. Let's get it! And welcome back to another crossover episode. This is Locked on Chiefs, Locked on Tennessee Titans, and we are going to be talking about this game that is going to be against two AFC foes that have a lot going on right now. But we do want to thank you for making Locked on Chiefs and Locked on Titans your first listen every day.

We are free and available on all platforms. Tyler, how are you doing today? I'm doing fantastic, man. I didn't have much sleep after that late night, Monday night football battle between the Titans and the Bills, but wouldn't have it any other way. Excited to break down this next upcoming matchup. Another heavy hitter in the AFC between the Chiefs and the Titans. So excited to talk about the game.

Yeah, it's good that you guys had it on Monday Night Football in Tennessee because you're playing, we're going to Tennessee, and you're going to be on a day's rest less than Kansas City will be. But you have some injuries that you're dealing with coming out of that game. Yeah, it's kind of tough for the Titans right now, specifically in the secondary. They already had their number one cornerback, Christian Fulton, on IR with a hamstring injury last night.

Rookie first-round pick, cornerback Caleb Fari, tore his ACL and is going to be out for the season. They also experienced an injury to Chris Jackson, another depth cornerback for them. His status, Jackson's status right now, is up in the air, but we do know that the Titans will be without Caleb Farley and Christian Fulton in this game. And the Bills did a really good job of attacking Breon Borders

and attacking Chris Jackson, the depth cornerbacks for the Titans. So I would imagine the Chiefs would be doing that as well. Julio Jones right now is day-to-day per Mike Vrabel's press conference on Tuesday. So we'll see what happens with him. I would be surprised if Julio plays in this game, though. And then Taylor LeJuan was knocked unconscious during the game. Luckily, movement in all extremities. He said on Twitter on Tuesday, he's all right.

He's good to go. But with the severity of the injury and how bad it looked out there, I also wouldn't be shocked to see Taylor LeJuan maybe sit this week out in concussion protocol and try to get right for the rest of the season. So the Titans are dealing with some significant injuries. Julio Jones, Taylor LeJuan and their cornerback group. But

overall, you know, football is all about depth so that the Titans will have a next man up mentality and be ready to go. What are the injuries kind of looking like early on for the Chiefs right now? Well, I think what you said about Taylor LeJuan, I do think that he's going to be a guy that's probably going to be sitting out just because I think, you know, with a short week,

it's going to be hard to get through the concussion protocol. So really going to be watching that. But when you start looking at Kansas City, the question is, is Chris Jones going to be back? And I don't know the answer to that right now. They did not have practice on Tuesday. They did not have their normal press conference on Tuesday that we would normally have going into this. So really kind of questionable whether or not he'll be back. There were a couple of injuries. Obviously, Jody Fortson

is going on IR, and he is a depth guy at tight end. But it's a guy that really gave them something that they didn't have. It's a big body that can go up and get the ball. Yeah, they have that in Josh Gordon now, so we'll see whether or not they body that can go up and get the ball. Yeah, they have that in Josh Gordon now, so we'll see whether or not they use that. Kansas City obviously won their game against the Washington football team, and that worked out really well for them. But a lot of questions going into this game, considering Kansas City's 3-3,

and that's definitely not where most people expected them to be at this point. Right, right, yeah, for sure. Any update on Travis Kelsey? I mean, he played in the game, but he looked really banged up there at the end of Right, right. Yeah, for sure. Any update on Travis Kelsey? I mean, he played in the game, but he looked really banged up there at the end of that matchup. No real update at this point. I think that he's going to be fine.

I expect that he's still going to play. You still have questions on the offensive line as well. Trey Smith kind of got banged up during the game and he played through it. But the question is, is, you know,

when he is not playing, is that going to tighten up? Is it going to cause issues on that ankle? He's played fantastic this season, so you hope that he's able to go. But, you know, it's a big question going into this. You know, who's going to be available? If Chris Jones is available, that changes the ability to get after the passer. Yeah, absolutely. And that's you know, the pass rush for the Chiefs, something that we're going to talk about. But

coming out of it with the injuries, obviously the Titans won a big game on Monday night football against the Buffalo Bills doing the rest of the AFC a favor. They're taking them on a game that people didn't expect the Titans to win, but the pass rush up front, the defensive front for the Titans really showed up in this game. And, of course, A.J. Brown, Derrick Henry, and Ryan Tannehill made play. So a big time win for

the Titans coming out of week six, a game that people didn't expect them to win, kind of erases the sins of that terrible Jets loss that the Titans had. So the Titans are in about as good of a spot at four and two from a psychology standpoint with the team and the fan base as you could expect to be. I know you said that the Chiefs are 3-3, but is it as bad as it seems, I guess, coming out of that game against Washington? It's really hard to say if it's as bad as it seems. I think it is bad just because Kansas City is beating themselves in a lot of these games. If they don't turn the ball over 10 times in three games,

then I think that they're probably at the very least five and one, if not close to six and oh, I do think that they beat themselves in multiple different games, including that Bills game that they played last weekend or last Sunday night, two Sundays ago. I think that whenever you turn over the ball, you have to play perfect at the other places on the team. And Kansas City's defense isn't there yet, and the special teams have been okay, but they haven't been great. So it's really hard to overcome any kind of turnovers. And when you turn over the ball four times in one game,

you don't deserve to win the game. So that's the reality of what it's coming down to. And you wish that Kansas City would get past that, and maybe they will. But at this point, I think that they are what they are they're a three and three team and I you know I'm not saying that they can't end up going you know 12 and 5 or you know 13 and 4 or something like that and it sounds really weird to say that because it's 17 games but the reality is they have a very talented team if they can get to the point where they stop beating themselves I do think that that's something where they can get on a run. So that's going to be definitely something to watch going forward. And it's a sum of what

parts can they get to work in this game and going forward in the rest of the season. When we start talking about parts, I need to tell you about our friends at Rock Auto. Save time and money when you use Rock Auto. Why spend 30 to 50, even 100% more for the same parts from a chain store or car dealership? Rock Auto is a family business serving do-it-yourselfers for over 20 years. Rock Auto prices are reliably low for every customer. They have everything you could ever need. Brake parts, tail lamps, motor oil, and even new carpets. Go explore their easy-to-use website today to find the solution to your auto parts needs.

Go to rockauto.com right now and see all the parts available for your car or truck. Write locked on and how did you hear about us box so they know that we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Rockauto.com Now, when we start looking forward to this game with the titans and chiefs you know obviously we've already kind of talked about the injuries but one of the things that really stood out to me and i didn't get a chance to watch a lot of the titans game on monday night but ha brown really

didn't show up until the second half are you thinking that he is going to be a guy that's going to be able to go and be a full go for this game, or do you think he's still coming back from an injury? Well, I think he's on a limited snap count for the time being. The Titans really do a concerted job to make sure that they rotate their wide receivers at any lengths. It doesn't matter. They're not going to run out their best players out there every single snap.

It's just not the way that they operate, what they want out of the offense. So for my money, A.J. Brown is going to be able to be good to go in this game. He's going to be able to make an impact, but obviously he's going to be on a snap count as well. So I wouldn't expect to see A.J. Brown out there every single snap, which wouldn't make sense for the Titans' run-heavy offense anyway. You don't want A.J. just in there every play, digging out safeties and blocking as hard as possible,

especially when the Titans have some big physical wide receivers on the depth chart who can do that as well. But he's definitely going to be out there enough to make an impact and be out there enough to be able to put his fingerprints all over the game. So A.J. Brown, barring any setback this week, will be in that game and will have the ability to make an impact. When you start looking at this Tennessee team, the thing that sticks out to me is, yes, they're 4-2 now, and yes, they won a game that a lot of people, I guess I won't say

nobody, but a lot of people didn't expect them to win against the Buffalo Bills. But I still think that the offense has underperformed, and part of that is Julio Jones not being available. What have you seen from this offense to date, and do you think that Julio Jones is one of the reasons they haven't been as good as maybe expected, or is it something else? No, I think that's fair. I mean, it's all part of a puzzle. Everything is so interconnected. I think the biggest issue with the offense in the early season

was the offensive line. The Titans going into this matchup against the Bills gave up the most sacks in the NFL through five weeks with 20 sacks allowed. Anytime that you have that much pressure on your quarterback, it's just going to completely stall a lot of your offense. Now, because the Titans have talent on offense, they have a good offensive system. They've still been able to score points, generally speaking. But when you get in tight battles and you really need scorers and you can't count on your offensive line to score points, generally speaking. But when you get in tight battles and you really need scorers and you can't count on your offensive line to pass protect,

that's really going to ruin your game plan. That's what ruined them against the Cardinals. It ruined them against the Jets. Gave them trouble at times in their other games as well, but wasn't able to really kill them. So I think the offensive struggles early on have been a function of the pass protection. I mean, the Titans gave up 24 sacks all of last season in 2020. They were at 20 through five weeks in 2021. I mean, yeah, that's a night and day difference. And that's

the biggest impact on the offense that I've seen. Another thing is the Titans have been having slow starts and they haven't been going to play action on first down as much. Their efficiency on first and second down has been way down this year and it's left them with more third and longs. You add in third and long problem with pass protection problem

with having XFL wide receivers when A.J. Brown and Julio are out and you're going to have a lot of problems on offense. Luckily, they have one of the greatest running backs of all time in the backfield, and he's been able to carry them and really spark the offense when things are looking bleak. But for the Titans, zero sacks allowed against a really good, talented front from the Buffalo Bills.

They looked really improved in that area. The problems they were having were communication-based. They were having a hard time picking up stunts and twists and games up front, having a hard time picking up disguised blitzes. That communication can improve with reps, with time, throughout the season. This is a Titans offensive line that was without Taylor LeJuan for the beginning of the preseason as he recovered from a torn ACL. They were without their starting center and right guard, Ben Jones

and Nate Davis, respectively, for the last 10 days of the preseason. So this offensive line never got full speed reps together in training camp or in the preseason, and that's maybe contributed to the slow start, but they're looking like they're getting things together. So with improved pass protection, with the Titans getting healthy with their weapons,

at least in A.J. Brown, that can kind of create a domino effect for this offense to get back to the level that it's been at the last two years. And they put 34 points on the best defense in the NFL last night on Monday Night Football with a banged up Julio Jones and Taylor LeJuan missing a lot of that game. So I am willing to say that the Titans are correcting some of those early issues and the Titans explosive offense is back. I can't say that I can argue with you on that.

I think that their offense is looking a lot better the past couple of weeks. The one thing that I would ask you about though, is the Tennessee Titans have been known more as a defensive units over the past couple of seasons. That doesn't really seem like it's been the case this year. They're allowing close to, it looks like, 30 points a game right now. What have you seen on the defensive side? Obviously, you're missing your starting corners, and that's going to hurt.

And you also lost a guy like Cam Batson, I guess, his last night as well. So you're hurting more in depth in those different positions. But what have you seen from their defense this year? Yes, they played some good offenses, but they've also played some offenses that probably aren't very good. Yeah. Well, you know, I do have to say, I wouldn't necessarily say that the Titans have been a defensive-led unit

the last few years, most certainly a juggernaut on offense with a struggling defense. But I would say that despite what the points say for the Titans defense right now, the Titans defense is much improved from what it's been the last few years. I mean, last year the Titans were giving up a first down on third down 51% of the time. That's a historic rate. Also, the Titans defense only had 19 sacks last year, which was the second least amount of sacks for any playoff team in the modern era.

I said that the Titans had 24 sacks allowed all last year and 20 through week five. Well, the Titans only had 19 sacks all of last year as a defense, and they're already up to 13 sacks through six weeks this year. So you can already see the difference just in the numbers there. But the Titans up front, what the Titans did in the offseason is they took the money out of the secondary with Adory Jackson, Malcolm Butler, Kenny Vaccaro, and they put that money to the defensive front with Bud Dupree, Danico Autry. And although Bud Dupree hasn't made a huge impact throughout the year, Danico Autry has been fantastic. And Jeffrey Simmons and Harold Landry,

two guys who are young and on the Titans already, have just exploded. Harold Landry's third in the NFL in sacks with six and a half. Jeffrey Simmons is a top five interior defensive lineman. He is the man who made that play on the goal line to win the Titans the game. Last night had an offensive lineman in one arm, had the quarterback in the other arm,

and put them both on the ground with no gain. Jeffrey Simmons, as a Chiefs fan, is a name that you should know, but if you don't, you better learn it quickly because for two weeks in a row now, he has completely disrupted the game plan of the offense that he was going against. So when you see the improvements from Simmons, you see the improvements from Landry,

you add that to the addition of Danico Autry, the addition of Bud Dupree. It's resulted in a much improved defensive front for the Titans. And in my opinion, philosophically speaking, a defense is best built on the pass rush and it'll help the coverage where it needs to. I'm not a guy who thinks you put all your money in coverage to help your pass rush. I think football should be played the opposite way. The Titans philosophically followed that path in the all season and it has resulted in an improved defense, despite the scoring numbers not looking excellent. Well, I think what you're going to struggle against, at least going into the future without your starting corners,

is the question of can you guys get there quicker enough to get pressure on the QBs? Because I agree with you completely. I do think that defenses should be built from up front, should be built around the pass rush, should be built to stop the run. Kansas City is going to struggle against that way against Derrick Henry, but we can get to that in a minute. But when you start looking at the defensive side,

are they going to be able to get to a point where they're able to slow down offenses? Because the question is, can they going to be able to get to a point where they're able to slow down offenses? Because the question is, can they get two or three seconds? Can their secondary hold up for two or three seconds to give the pass rush the time to get there? Well, I think it's going to be tougher and tougher to do that with the injuries that the Titans are sustaining right now. But one thing that I guess I will point out is the Titans did a great job in the red zone against the Bills. That was a big thing that they did last night, held the Bills to two for five in the red zone.

And whenever the Titans have won big games against good teams, you look at the playoff win against Baltimore in 2019, you look at the regular season win against Baltimore in 2019, the win against the Bills in 2020. You look at the win against the Chiefs as well in 2019. The Titans' defense in big games when they play their best, they are able to be good in the red zone.

These teams are going to go up and down the field when you play good teams in the NFL. That's how it works. You're not going to stop Kansas City just at will. They're going to go up and down the field like the Bills did on Monday Night Football. They're going to get a bunch of yards, but can you hold them to field goals and your offense score touchdowns? Right now, the Titans are one of the best.

I wouldn't say best, but they're 13th in the NFL, 13th best red zone defense, only allowing a touchdown on 56% of red zone opportunities. So the Titans defense, like I said, the raw numbers wouldn't show it, but the Titans defense has majorly improved on third down. They're majorly improved in the red zone. So against a team like the Chiefs, who has a great offense, it really comes down to can the Titans get those stops in the red zone, force the Chiefs into a few field goals,

and hope that the Titans' offense can make plays to outscore the Chiefs with the few opportunities that they'll have. But we're going to talk more about this game. I'm going to ask some questions about what the Chiefs are going to be doing against the Titans. Before we get into that, I do want to tell you guys about betonline.ag, the number one spot to bet all of the basketball and football action this season. The NBA season started today. Football is in full swing. Baseball playoffs still going. Hockey season has started.

You got boxing, UFC. I mean, if you go to BetOnline.ag right now, they even have your favorite Vegas casino games. So right now is the perfect time to take advantage of all the amazing offers that they have for you over at betonline.ag. And speaking of amazing offers, if you go to betonline.ag right now and sign up, use the promo code LOCKEDON, that's one word, LOCKEDON, and you'll get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit.

They're literally giving you free money at betonline.ag. That's betonline where the game starts. All right, well, let's dive back into this game. I'm going to ask you some questions, Chris, about this Chiefs unit. I know that they're 3-3 right now. They're not having the best start to the season that they could ever hope for, but still a dynamic offense with Patrick Mahomes, who I still believe is the best quarterback in the NFL.

Still have Tyreek Hill. Probably still going to have Travis Kelsey, but I know it's a young offensive line, and there have been some turnovers. So what, what's really been your biggest issue standing out with the chiefs offense with this slow start to the season? Just the turnovers. If my homes doesn't turn the ball over as much or the offensive players don't turn over the ball as much,

I think they're going to be in much better shape. And I think that that's really what is stop this team from being where that they should be. If they can do that, then I think they'll be in a much better position. But Mahomes has got to quit turning the ball over. And it's not just on him. I think he's got eight interceptions so far this year. And of those, four of them have been off the receiver's hands.

Tyree Kill. Why does he drop so many passes that turn into interceptions? It's unbelievable. Back-to-back weeks. So it's really hard to win that way. Yeah, and I guess that kind of answers the next question I was going to have is what's kind of the genesis of all the turnovers, where the mistakes are really coming from.

On the flip side of that opening statement that I made there, the offensive line, a lot of young guys. You got a guy from Tennessee that a lot of people would know, Trey Smith, Creed Humphrey, right at center. The guy out of Oklahoma liked him a lot. Lucas Niang has been getting some run on the right side. I think he got replaced by Mike Remmers this week, though. What's going on with that offensive line of the Chiefs? Everybody says they lost that Super Bowl against Tampa Bay purely because their offensive line. Have you seen the improvements that you want to see

from that Super Bowl performance last year, or do you think there's room for growth? I still think there's room for growth, and I think that that's going to continue to be the case, but I think that you look at the Chiefs' offensive line and the interior of the offensive line has been great this year. Creed Humphrey is doing fantastic. Joe Tooney has been everything that you would hope that he could be,

even with a broken hand. Trey Smith has stepped in and has been phenomenal as a rookie. So I think that that's a huge improvement over what they had, especially in the interior last year, because that's where most of the pressure came from. Now, if you start looking at the tackles, I think Orlando Brown Jr. is still a work in progress. He is going from a more run-oriented offense to a pass-oriented offense. I think he's still getting his feet wet, and I think that he will improve as he continues to get used to Mahomes and what Mahomes will do, because I do think there's a lot of that going into this. And then, you know, you start talking about Lucas Niang. Lucas Niang had an injured hamstring last week,

so that's maybe why he didn't play, but Mike Rimmers played very well and he got hurt early in the season. So, or actually in training camp. So it was a matter of replacing him with Niang when Rimmers was hurt. And then Niang came in and played well. So they gave him the starting role. Now Niang's a little banged up. So the question is when Niang is healthy, does he go back to starting with based on last week's game? I'm not sure. Rimmers played very well.

I think the offensive line still has room to grow, but I'm very impressed with what I've seen so far. My real question for you outside of the offensive line and the turnovers is the run game for the Chiefs. Got an injury to Clyde Edwards. Hilaire, sorry, can't throw that H on there. I know that's a big no-no. But Darrell Williams has seemed to play pretty well right now. The Chiefs are the

10th best rushing offense in the NFL at about 125 yards per game. What's allowed them to have that success in the run game early? I think it's a lot on the offensive line, but I think it's also on Mahomes. Yeah, I mean, the running backs are doing what they need to do. Clyde's

had some really good games. Darrell Williams has played well. Jared McKinnon is starting to get involved as well, so I think that's going to help. But Mahomes, when he goes up against defenses that like to play man-to-man, he will eat them alive running for first downs. Yeah, I know. I remember Rashawn Evans missing that tackle on Mahomes on the sideline right before halftime of the 2019 ASE championship game.

And one of my favorite plays ever. That's one of my least favorite plays ever. And I swear on anything, I will remember that play when they put me in the ground. That'll still be on my mind. I'll still be mad at Rashawn Evans. Trust me, dude, I get it completely. And it was an amazing play by Mahomes. But really, my point is, is that he does enough with his legs to get them extra yards.

And I do think that the running backs are doing their job. I think the offensive line is helping them in their opening up holes. But if you're going to play man-to-man coverage against Patrick Mahomes, you need to have a spy of some sort, and that makes it a lot harder on your defense. Or he is going to run. He's not Lamar Jackson. I'm not trying to say he is. But he is mobile enough, and he is, I don't know, tricky enough to get to a point

where he gets the first downs that he needs to, and he moves the sticks, which is all you really need. Yeah, yeah. He's definitely an efficient runner, I would say, not really a volume one, as the Titans know firsthand, as we just talked about. Well, flip it over to the less exciting, less efficient side of the ball for the chiefs,

that defense right now, they're definitely struggling, but I think if you had to pinpoint any individual struggle overall, it would be the pass rush right now. The chiefs have the least amount of sacks of any team in the NFL with only seven. I know Chris Jones is hurt. Can you just give us an update on what the pass rush looks like for the

chiefs right now and why they're having trouble getting to the quarterback? They don't have the manpower to get to the quarterback right now. And that's the thing. That's the problem is, you know, they go out and they get a guy like Geron Reed, who you think is going to be able to push the pocket in the interior. And he hasn't done it so far this year. Chris Jones moved to defensive end.

And I think he played well in the first week problem is he hurt his wrist that week too and he tried to play through it and if you can't hand fight as a pass rusher you're pretty much not going to be very helpful uh so I think that's part of the reason that they haven't had him play the past couple of games is they're trying to get that wrist right they're trying to get it to where he can actually do what he needs to do and get after the passer. And then you still haven't had Frank Clark healthy. I don't think at all this season, he played 81% of the snaps this past week.

And I think he looked better, but I still don't know that he's a hundred percent healthy from the hamstring injuries he's had. He's had hamstring injuries with both different hamstrings. So that's a problem. Then you add in, you know, a guy like Tashaun Morton who got got after the passer last year he's had time he's had different pass rushes this year that have

looked pretty good Mike Dana is is shown some promise as well but if you're not going to get pressure with the front four which Kansas City hasn't you have to send it from other places and when they're sending it from other places they're still not getting home and that's really the big problem because that gives you big plays downfield. If you don't get home with a blitz, you're going to get burnt. And that's what's happened. Yeah. Yeah. That makes a ton of sense. Well, the last question that I want to ask you about the Chiefs is that run defense.

Right now, they're one of the worst run defenses in the NFL, the sixth worst. They're giving up 133 yards per game. I mean, that has to be your main concern when taking on the Titans is Derek Henry going against, you know, that porous run defense. That's a huge concern. And Derek Henry, and there's a lot of talk today about people, you know, questioning whether or not Derek Henry is going to be, you know, a guy that can be in the Hall of Fame.

I definitely think that he's starting to get the resume of a guy that can be in the Hall of Fame eventually. Yeah, I'm just saying, he's a fantastic running back. I'm not trying to take anything away from him at all. I do think that Kansas City is going to have their work cut out for him this week. And I do think that if he runs for 150 yards, it's going to be tough. But here's the thing about Kansas City.

Kansas City has the ability to do still quick strike offense. The question is, is can Tennessee keep them from throwing the ball down the field? Defenses so far, and I know we're talking defense, but this plays into it. Defenses so far have kept Kansas City from scoring quickly, which has kept them from being able to be the most efficient or more efficient offense than they were in the past, or as they were in the past. But the question is

is if Henry runs the ball for 150 yards is Kansas City going to have enough time to score because right now all they're able to do is think and dunk down the field because they're getting covered too a lot and Mahomes is having to take the shorter passes so it all plays into it and the key for Kansas City one of the keys for Kansas City in this game can they get off to in this game, can they get off to a fast start? Because if they get off to a fast start and they have to take the ball out of Henry's hands, at least to some extent, to try to catch up, that'll play into Kansas City's favor.

Yeah, I mean, absolutely. You're right about that. I think it's going to be a very interesting game to watch. Speaking of watching the game, interesting game, we're going to give you guys some early on in the week predictions here of what we think might happen. So I will go first in this one. And I do see this as a very competitive game.

I do think there are some areas for Tennessee to really play well. I ultimately do think the Chiefs win the game in the end. I'm just not going to go against Patrick Mahomes. I am going to make this score. I'm going to make it 38-34. Kansas City ends up winning this game, but I think it'll be a very close one. And if Kansas City has some turnover issues like they've had throughout the beginning of the year, I think that would set the Titans up to be able to win the game.

Yeah, and I think you have a great point. If they turn the ball over like they have the past couple of weeks, they even turned it over last week, but they're playing the Washington football team, who is not a good team, so they're able to overcome it. The one thing I will point out, and I didn't point this out previously, against the Buffalo Bills in the second half, they only gave up seven points. Against the Washington football team in a whole game, they only gave up 13. So 20 points in the last six quarters. The defense is heading in the right direction. Now, obviously, the offense for the Washington football team is not great,

but still 13 points for a team that is an NFL team is pretty low. So that was impressive. I do think that Kansas City tries – or I think Kansas City can find a way to win this game. I think Tennessee is a very tough matchup for them, especially when you start talking about Derek Henry. If he runs and runs all over Kansas City like he has in the past, it's going to make it very difficult because Kansas City might be without

Anthony Hitchens this game. He got hurt last game. It's questionable whether or not he'll be able to play. If he doesn't, Nick Bolton steps into, I hope, the starting middle linebacker role, which changes things on defense. And Willie Gay is still coming back from an injury as well. Those linebackers have to be able to hit. They have to be able to wrap up.

And the worst thing that could happen for Kansas City is Daniel Sorensen having to stick his head in there on Derrick Henry because he has missed 12 or 14 tackles so far this season. And that for a single player is just absolutely, I don't even know what the right word is. It's unacceptable. No, it is unacceptable. That's a great way to put it.

But, you know, especially for a safety to have that many missed tackles, it's unheard of. The Kansas City defense has actually been playing semi-decent the past couple of weeks with that many missed tackles from a safety position that is basically the last line of defense. So I think Kansas City finds a way to win this game as long as they don't turn the ball over. I think your score is probably pretty close. I would have gone 35-31 or somewhere in there.

I do think it's going to be a high-scoring game for both teams. Yep, absolutely. Me too. And everything that you're saying there about the linebackers and the safeties kind of makes me want to change my prediction, but I'll save that for my Friday game preview show on the Locked on Titans podcast. Well, speaking of that, I am Tyler Rowland, host of the Locked on Titans podcast.

Chris Clark, host of the Locked on Chiefs podcast. Two of the best out there doing it. Make sure that you check out your respective podcast, whatever team you are here to listen for. That's going to do it for us, though, and we will catch you guys on Friday.