Titans at Chiefs Odds

Written by Matthew Martz

The Tennessee Titans head to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs Sunday December 26^th; game time is at 1 PM ET on CBS. The teams have faced off three times and Tennessee has taken two of the contests. Back in October of 2008, the Titans blew out the Chiefs 34-10.

According to the latest NFL odds the Kansas City Chiefs are 5-point favorites over Tennessee with a game total of 42 points.

The Titans beat Houston last week 31-17 after mounting an impressive 24-3 half time lead.

Things settled down after that, but the Texans never made a serious threat, scoring a touchdown in the third and fourth. Matt Schaub watched a strong performance go to waste, finishing with 325 yards on 35 completions with two touchdowns. Kerry Collins didn’t need to be quite that good to end the Titans six-game skid as he finished with just 237 yards with 14 completions and two touchdowns of his own..

The Titans had less first downs, total plays, passing yards, and time of possession but still managed the victory.

Running back Chris Johnson sparkled with 130 yards on 24 carries as the defense held out keeping the Tennessee’s playoff hopes alive for another week.

The Titans are third in the AFC South with a 6-8 record. Rushing has been its go to asset on offense, ranking 13^th (115.6) behind a strong season from Johnson. He has 1,267 yards and 11 touchdowns on 282 carries. Kerry Collins has matched Vince Young’s production with 10 touchdowns, and has 1,288 yards for the year. However, the passing attack ranks 29^th in the league (186.0). The defense actually kept a few of those games during the losing streak respectable, and ranks 26th in opponent passing (247.8) and 17^th in opponent rushing (114.1). During the streak, the Titans were outscored 148-96, but in three of the losses, the defense surrendered 20 points or less.

Over in St. Louis, the Chiefs beat up the Rams last week 27-13 as Matt Cassel made a successful return from his appendectomy. Not his best effort, he should be at full strength heading into the playoffs. He finished with 184 yards and a touchdown while completing 15 of 29. The Chiefs defense did a good job against St. Louis’ Sam Bradford who was shutout in the loss, failing to throw a touchdown while completing 21 of 43 for 181 yards. The rookie did make history by becoming the third freshman to pass the 3,000-yard mark.

The running tandem of Charles and Jones continued to do what KC does best, running for 188 yards on 33 combined carries and scoring once a piece. It was a nice return to form after a surprising 31-0 loss against San Diego in week 14.

Kansas City has been the ground pounders of the league all year and nothing will change that formula as they head into the playoffs. Jones and Charles have provided 10 touchdowns and over 2,100 yards for the 1^st ranked rush attack (168.6). They can’t miss a step either as the passing is at the bottom, ranked 30^th (184.0). When Cassel does throw the ball, he is productive, completing 227 of 383 for 24 touchdowns. The defense has slipped just a little as the season wears on, but still limits opponents to 226.5 passing yards (good for 19^th) and 107 on the ground (13^th).

Matt’s Free Prediction: Chiefs -5 – Tennessee has a plan of attack quite similar to KC, run with the ball, and stop opponents from doing the same. But Kansas City does it better and with more consistency. Look for KC to win its 10^th game.

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