The Tennessee Titans enter a Week 9 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs after having won five games in a row following an 0-2 start. The road to 5-2 hasn’t been pretty, but the Titans are making it work.
On the flip side, the Chiefs sport the same record but have looked like one of the best teams in the NFL on the way there. Kansas City has won three of its last four and, like the Titans, sits in first place in the division.
But there is more than just a win on the line in this contest, as the Titans and Chiefs are both jockeying for playoff positioning. Tennessee owns the No. 2 seed currently, with Kansas City hot on its heels at No. 3.
That means the winner of this contest will hold sole possession of the No. 2 seed for now behind the Buffalo Bills — a team that beat both the Chiefs and Titans in 2022 — and will own the all-important head-to-head tie-breaker.
Here’s a look at four burning questions for Tennessee going into Week 9.
Will Ryan Tannehill play?
While Tennessee’s passing attack hasn’t been good even with Tannehill in the lineup, there’s no doubt he gives the offense the best chance to hit its ceiling after what we saw from Malik Willis in Week 8, when Tannehill was ruled out due to an ankle injury and illness.
On Wednesday, Tannehill admitted it was the ankle that kept him out, not the illness, while also noting he’ll likely be playing through pain.
“Matter of if I can do my job or if I can’t.” Ryan Tannehill says pain is just going to be part of it. #Titans. pic.twitter.com/wJCoAhahmO
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) November 2, 2022
Tennessee not only needs Tannehill to play in order to beat the Chiefs, it needs him to play at a high level, also. That will be difficult if he isn’t 100 percent on Sunday.
Will any other injured players return?
The Titans still have a lengthy injured reserve list, but some of those players have been eligible to return for weeks now, including wide receiver Racey McMath and cornerback Elijah Molden.
The Titans could use all the help they can get in their lackluster receiving corps. Molden’s return would improve a secondary that has made strides recently but struggled overall this season.
We already mentioned Tannehill, and we’re keeping an eye on outside linebacker Rashad Weaver, who was also ruled out last week, and safety Amani Hooker, who exited Week 8 early with a shoulder injury.
Tennessee’s pass-rush and secondary need to be at their best in Week 9, so getting Weaver back and having Hooker on the field will be huge for the team’s chances of keeping Kansas City’s potent offense in check.
The Titans parting ways with defensive back Ugo Amadi this week and not replacing him on the roster gives us hope that at least Molden may return.
Can the Titans keep up with the Chiefs?
With the Titans having issues on offense and scoring just 18.9 points per game, which ranks 24th in the NFL, this team cannot afford to get into a track meet with a Chiefs offense that ranks first in points per game (31.9), and second in passing yards per game (296.0).
Now, is it possible the Titans break out of their offensive slump in this game?
Anything is possible, but chances are that won’t happen with what we’ve seen through seven games. It also won’t help that Tannehill likely won’t be 100 percent if he plays.
That means the Titans will once again have to lean on their defense to play at a very high level, while also needing Derrick Henry and the rushing attack to sustain drives and keep the Chiefs’ offense off the field.
The bad news for the rushing attack is that the Chiefs come into this game with the No. 3 run defense in the NFL, and Kansas City is no stranger to having success against Henry.
In fact, it was Tannehill, along with the defense, who put the Titans over the top in their 27-3 Week 7 win in 2021.
The good news is the Chiefs’ defense won’t have Frank Clark, and there is precedent for Tennessee’s defense having success against Kansas City, something we saw in 2021 when the Titans limited KC to three points.
Can Titans rise to the occasion?
One thing the Titans have going for them going into a game in which they are rightly massive underdogs is their propensity to play up to their competition and win games they aren’t expected to during the Mike Vrabel era.
For the 5-2 Titans who sit near the top of the conference, this is very much a measuring-stick game. Tennessee didn’t handle its last such contest well at all, losing to the Bills 41-7 in Week 2.
If the Titans can’t compete with the Chiefs and Bills, two teams who sport the same or similar records but have looked much better getting there, they won’t go far in the playoffs this year.
With how wounded this team is and how bad its passing attack is struggling, a close, hard-fought loss on the road against one of the league’s best teams would amount to at least a small victory for Tennessee.
