Titans vs Chiefs Ends in Heartbreak

The Tennessee Titans faced off against the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs in a game that many thought the Chiefs would roll in.  A few minutes into the first quarter, it appeared that way. A disastrous play on special teams occurred when Damian Williams was trying to block for Darius Reynaud. The football took an unlucky bounce off of Williams’ heel.  It was a foot race into the end zone as the Chiefs recovered and took a 7-0 lead. The Titans offense looked like it was on life support as they entered halftime down 13-0.

As usual, the Titans get off to a slow start—with the exception of last week’s victory over the New York Jets. The Titans answered with a touchdown on a Chris Johnson reception from Ryan Fitzpatrick for 49 yards on what was a broken play. Johnson used his world class speed to cut across the field, putting points on the board and life back into the fans at LP Field.

Sep 29, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Titans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (4) drops back into the pocket at LP Field. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

The Titans went on to score an additional 10 points to take a 17-13 lead.  Everything seemed to be getting on track despite having Fitzpatrick at the helm for the first time as a starter for the injured Jake Locker.

If only the game could have ended there. The game took a downward spiral for the Titans. They surrendered 13 unanswered points and were shut out after two interceptions from Fitzpatrick.

Take a deep breath. Despite looking at the stats and seeing two interceptions, give Fitzpatrick some credit. It is obvious, clearly, that Fitzpatrick does not possess the attributes of Locker. He did show a little bit of maneuverability by moving up in the pocket and making some tough throws while also scampering six times for 50 yards and a touchdown today.

His first interception was all on him but the second was assisted by Kendall Wright. Wright, who played a very solid game and contributed 74 yards on six receptions, tried turning around to make a tough catch on his back shoulder in traffic. It was tipped right into Quinton Demps hands, the Kansas City Chiefs defender.

This game was the first in three very tough match ups the Titans have before their Week 8 bye. The Titans square off in Seattle next week to take on the Seahawks, which could arguably be on of the toughest places to play in the NFL. The Titans don’t have much of a choice but to try and make this work with Fitzpatrick until Locker gets healthy.

When Locker went down and laid motionless before getting carted off, Titans fans everywhere were stunned in disbelief. We managed to get off to a 3-1 start and our quarterback gets hurt. Last week we prayed for the best, braced for the worst, and now have to rely on Fitzpatrick through at least the bye week to keep us afloat in the AFC. Last week hurt, but today really hurt because if we had our starting quarterback, we could have pulled off what many people would’ve called a big upset.

On a final note, congratulations to the Kansas City Chiefs for making it through some very tough years and winning their way to a 5-0 start for the first time in over a decade.