by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Nov 03, 2022
Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
Venue: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, MO
Where to watch: NBC
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Chiefs -12.5
FanDuel: Chiefs -12.5
BetMGM: Chiefs -12.5
Caesars: Chiefs -12.5
Season record
Titans: 5-2
Chiefs: 5-2
November is here, the midway mark is here in the NFL season, and there's a lot of good football left to be played. Have you been keeping up with the NFC East? It's insane, right? What about what happened in the trade market this week? Even more insane! The landscape of the NFL has suddenly changed, and this week will be the first time to actually see what transpires. Our champion handicappers are killing it this NFL season. Jack Banks is sitting with a 13-8-0 mark over the last month, and Sean Murphy was even better with a 6-1-0 run this last week. What will our guys do this week with an enticing week coming up? Make sure you're plugged to bigal.com to find out!
Titans - Chiefs preview, analysis and prediction
Last week
Titans: won 17-10 at Texans; won five straight
Chiefs: won 44-23 at 49ers; won three of four
Usually, when the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs get together, weird things happen. Look at last year when Tennessee whooped them at home and everyone thought the Chiefs were done. Kansas City ended up making the AFC Championship Game while the Titans were knocked off by the team that knocked off the Chiefs in said conference title game, in the Divisional Round.
So when these two 5-2 teams meet on Sunday Night Football, there's really no clear-cut idea how this is going to go. Because on one hand, Tennessee has had this way of having Kansas City's number before. They've found a way to take down Patrick Mahomes, to isolate him in a game where it's just him throwing the ball and nothing else. There's also the factor of Derrick Henry returning to full Derrick Henry form and there's not really anything to oppose to that.
The Titans are coming off a 17-10 win over the Houston Texans last week for their fifth straight win and it came with Malik Willis playing for the injured Ryan Tannehill. At the time of publishing, Tannehill still hasn't practiced and the prized rookie might have to go again. It's one thing to be steady against a very bleh Texans defense. Trying to go toe-to-toe with Mahomes? That's another animal.
But the day belonged to Henry, the former rushing champ who turned back the clock to run for 219 yards and two touchdowns. If this is a sign of things to come, and with Wilils' running ability, it might be time to open up what the Titans are trying to do offensively. And that might change some things.
"Credit to those guys up front on blocking — O-line, receivers, tight ends, fullbacks," Henry said. "They are sacrificing to be able to block and have the tools to have success, so I can make a play. I give all the credit to them, so I can go out there and do my job. I'm happy to get the win."
Of course, the Chiefs' defense isn't the Texans and Henry won't be running for more than 200 yards in this one, but it's a chance for the Titans' offense to try a different feel with the read-option between Willis and Henry. One can only imagine.
But the Chiefs are coming off a 44-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers, a comfortable win that helped erase the taste out of their mouth following the loss to Buffalo the week prior. Mahomes went full classic by passing for 423 yards and three touchdowns to spoil the Christian McCaffrey debut in San Fran.
"To go out against defense like this and show that we can still be explosive and have those big plays, I think that will bode well for us as the season goes on and people don't know where it's going to come from," Mahomes said.
Usually, when the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs get together, weird things happen. Look at last year when Tennessee whooped them at home and everyone thought the Chiefs were done. Kansas City ended up making the AFC Championship Game while the Titans were knocked off by the team that knocked off the Chiefs in said conference title game, in the Divisional Round.
So when these two 5-2 teams meet on Sunday Night Football, there's really no clear-cut idea how this is going to go. Because on one hand, Tennessee has had this way of having Kansas City's number before. They've found a way to take down Patrick Mahomes, to isolate him in a game where it's just him throwing the ball and nothing else. There's also the factor of Derrick Henry returning to full Derrick Henry form and there's not really anything to oppose to that.
The Titans are coming off a 17-10 win over the Houston Texans last week for their fifth straight win and it came with Malik Willis playing for the injured Ryan Tannehill. At the time of publishing, Tannehill still hasn't practiced and the prized rookie might have to go again. It's one thing to be steady against a very bleh Texans defense. Trying to go toe-to-toe with Mahomes? That's another animal.
But the day belonged to Henry, the former rushing champ who turned back the clock to run for 219 yards and two touchdowns. If this is a sign of things to come, and with Wilils' running ability, it might be time to open up what the Titans are trying to do offensively. And that might change some things.
"Credit to those guys up front on blocking — O-line, receivers, tight ends, fullbacks," Henry said. "They are sacrificing to be able to block and have the tools to have success, so I can make a play. I give all the credit to them, so I can go out there and do my job. I'm happy to get the win."
Of course, the Chiefs' defense isn't the Texans and Henry won't be running for more than 200 yards in this one, but it's a chance for the Titans' offense to try a different feel with the read-option between Willis and Henry. One can only imagine.
But the Chiefs are coming off a 44-23 win over the San Francisco 49ers, a comfortable win that helped erase the taste out of their mouth following the loss to Buffalo the week prior. Mahomes went full classic by passing for 423 yards and three touchdowns to spoil the Christian McCaffrey debut in San Fran.
"To go out against defense like this and show that we can still be explosive and have those big plays, I think that will bode well for us as the season goes on and people don't know where it's going to come from," Mahomes said.
Prediction
The Chiefs are laying 12-plus points in this one. The Titans are pushing a rookie QB against one of the best of this generation and it's a huge ask. If the Titans can control the clock and move the ball while running the ball, they're going to hang around. Defensively, they've held their last four opponents to 17 points or fewer. If they can keep Kansas City one-dimensional, there's a chance. I don't know if that's going to happen. Chiefs by 14
Betting trends
Titans are 12-6 ATS as an underdog the last three years; 3-1 this season.
Titans are 16-15 ATS against conference opponents the last three years; 4-1 this season.
Titans are 1-5 ATS after giving up 99 rushing yards or fewer in four straight games the last three years.
Chiefs are 10-15 ATS at home the last three years; 0-3 this season.
Chiefs are 2-9 ATS off a non-conference game the last three years.
Statistical leaders
Titans:
Passing: Ryan Tannehill -- 1,097 yards, 6 TD, 3 INT
Rushing: Derrick Henry -- 755 yards, 7 TD
Receiving: Robert Woods -- 256 yards, 1 TD
Defense: Jeffery Simmons -- 5.5 sacks
Chiefs:
Passing: Patrick Mahomes -- 2,159 yards, 20 TD, 5 INT
Rushing: Clyde Edwards-Helaire -- 288 yards, 3 TD
Receiving: Travis Kelce -- 553 yards, 7 TD
Defense: Chris Jones -- 5 sacks
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this Tennessee Titans - Kansas City Chiefs prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NFL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
