Titans dominating Chiefs in every facet over first half of Week 7

The Titans have done everything right in the first half of their highly anticipated Week 7 bout against the Chiefs, dominating the action on both sides of the ball.

If anyone thought the Tennessee Titans were due for a letdown in Week 7 against the Kansas City Chiefs after pulling off a surprising Monday Night Football victory over the Buffalo Bills the week before, they were wrong.

Over the first half of this midseason bout, Tennessee has dominated the action on both sides of the ball, frustrating quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Co. while riding the hot play from quarterback Ryan Tannehill and running back Derrick Henry.

Perhaps no greater example of this was how the Titans first got on the board, a 5-yard touchdown pass from Henry, who received the direct snap, to tight end MyCole Pruitt:

From there, the floodgates opened over the course of the first half.

Titans offense, defense swarms all over the Chiefs during first half

Tennessee got off to a 27-0 lead over the first two quarters, doing everything right on offense while not letting Mahomes and Co. get much of anything going on offense.

And even when Mahomes tried to scramble to help Kansas City get on the board late before halftime, an uncharacteristic fumble was recovered by the Titans defense.

That was the second turnover generated by the head coach Mike Vrabel’s defense, the first being an interception off Mahomes by linebacker Rashaan Evans.

Yes, it might be fair to wonder what’s going wrong with the Chiefs, who are now in serious danger of falling to 3-4 after the game.

But let’s give some credit to Tennessee, too, looking to improve to 5-2.

Statistical dominance by Titans over Chiefs in first half

Think about some of these numbers from Tennessee over the first two quarters, highlighted by the fact Tannehill, Henry and the offense were able to generate 18 first downs to the Chiefs’ four.

Not surprisingly, Tennessee mustered 277 net yards of offense, whereas Kansas City managed a mere 67, and it took nearly two quarters for Mahomes to finally hit wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Read More: Titans vs. Chiefs: Injuries, betting odds and how to watch

And while the Titans were able to go an impressive 6-of-7 in the red zone over the first two quarters, Kansas City wasn’t even able to get within Tennessee’s 20-yard line for a red-zone appearance.

But perhaps the biggest statistical shocker of all was the time-of-possession battle, which Tennessee absolutely dominated:

• Titans: 23:16
• Chiefs: 6:44

Yeah, that’s domination. And it helps explain why Tennessee is off to a red-hot shutout start in Week 7.

The Chiefs will receive the second-half kickoff to start the third quarter.