AFC Championship Game Preview

                                  

                                    

                                   TENNESSEE TITANS at KANSAS CITY CHIEFS


The Kansas City Chiefs are looking to advance to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years when they host the upstart Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium this Sunday.
The Titans are on a roll just as much as Kansas City has been as they went on the road and defeated the New England Patriots in the wild card round and then blasted the Baltimore Ravens, the team with the best record in the NFL during the regular season, in the divisional round to get to this point. The Chiefs roared back from an early 24-0 first quarter deficit last week to defeat the Houston Texans, 51-31 to get to the AFC title match for the second consecutive season.
Led by quarterback Patrick Mahomes and en explosive offense, the Chiefs can score quickly from anywhere on the field and will be looking to exploit a very stingy Titans defense that held the Patriots to just 13 points and the Ravens to only 12 points in an easy win against the NFL's highest scoring offense this past season.
Tennessee has been riding the legs of running back Derrick Henry, who has rushed for 377 yards in the two playoff games, which is an NFL record for a two-game stretch in the playoffs. Along with timely passing to keep opposing defenses honest, the Titans have outscored their post-season opponents by a 48-25 margin so far.
Tennessee did beat the Chiefs during the regular season (35-32 back in Week 10 in Tennessee) and they also eliminated the Chiefs during the wild card round in the 2017 playoffs in Kansas City, so they know they can handle what then Chiefs will bring during the game this Sunday.
All in all, this should be an exciting game that could be a close one provided the Titans can stick to their game plan of running and defense to keep things close, which would bode well for their chances of winning and getting back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1999 season.
However, if the Chiefs get it going early with their passing attack and light up the scoreboard, it will be difficult for the Titans to keep pace through the air as their quarterback Ryan Tannehill has yet to crack the 100-yard plateau in a playoff game this year.
The Chiefs are favored of course (being the home team) but the Titans have shown they have the mettle to win in the playoffs having taken out New England and Baltimore with road victories, so look for a potentially tight game with the Chiefs getting the win as they draw out to a bigger lead in the fourth quarter and hold off the Titans to get to the Super Bowl.


                               PREDICTION -  Kansas City 31, Tennessee 24