Titans vs. Chiefs: Reasons for optimism and concern for Tennessee

Concern: Chiefs’ passing attack

When it comes to the Chiefs’ offense, there are a laundry list of guys to be worried about in the passing attack.

Tennessee has to deal with Patrick Mahomes, who is capable of beating teams with both his elite arm and legs, and he put up 446 yards and three touchdowns against the Titans in Week 10.

Then you have a slew of speedy wide receivers, including Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Mecole Hardman. And if that wasn’t enough, the Chiefs sport arguably the best tight end in the NFL in Travis Kelce, who just torched the Texans in the divisional round with 10 catches for 134 yards and three touchdowns.

Oh, and the Titans have had a tough time defending tight ends this season (Kelce had seven catches for 75 yards and a score in Week 10 against Tennessee).

On the bright side, Tennessee can completely sell out to stop KC through the air. The Chiefs’ rushing attack hasn’t had much success this season (98.1 rushing yards per game, ranked 23rd), and Mahomes was the team’s leading rusher against the Texans.

The Titans are going to need big games out of Jurrell Casey and Harold Landry, both of whom are capable of creating pressure. As good as the Titans’ secondary has played in the playoffs, Tennessee’s cornerbacks can only guard KC’s speedy receivers for so long on any given play.

And, even if the Titans can dominate time of possession, the Chiefs can counteract that with their ability to score points quickly thanks to explosive plays.