Chiefs (

20.5) at
Titans (

17)

Game Overview ::

By hilow >>

• QB Patrick Mahomes’ season ended in Week 15 when he tore his left ACL and LCL. The Chiefs were also eliminated from postseason contention in that same game.
• The Titans have been eliminated from the playoffs for a long while, using these last games to continue their evaluation mode in the midst of a clean rebuild.
• CB Trent McDuffie (knee), WR Rashee Rice (concussion), RT Jawaan Taylor (triceps), and WR Tyquan Thornton (concussion) did not practice for the Chiefs on Wednesday.
• The Titans placed a trio of safeties on injured reserve at the beginning of the week.
• Travis Kelce is an unrestricted free agent following 2025, is getting married in the offseason, and has gone his entire career without missing the playoffs, until this season. He is currently 203 yards shy of reaching his eighth 1,000-yard season and is 99 yards shy of moving into second on the career receiving list at tight end.

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How kansas city Will Try To Win ::

Gardner Minshew will start for the Chiefs for the remainder of the season. He could also be without the player the offense is largely built around against the Titans, with Rashee Rice currently in the league’s concussion protocol. Hollywood Brown missed Week 15 due to a personal matter, and Tyquan Thornton also finds himself in concussion protocol. There is no way of knowing what the rest of the week will hold for the numerous injuries in Kansas City, but things currently look bleak in the middle of the week in their first game of being eliminated from the playoffs since 2014. The Chiefs could realistically be down to Xavier Worthy, JuJu Smith-Schuster, and Nikko Remigio at wide receiver, with the potential to add Hollywood Brown if he has worked through his personal matter. It has not been in the Chiefs DNA to shift run-heavy with Mahomes under center, and I would be shocked if they all of a sudden shifted the focus of their offense to a ground-and-pound attack against the Titans, regardless of their current situation. Furthering that notion is a Tennessee defense that has become one of the true pass-funnel units, now handily leading the league in PROE forced/faced.

The Chiefs average just 26.6 team rush attempts per game, lead the league in PROE, and their opponent has forced the highest PROE this season. All roads point to an aerial-based offensive game plan, regardless of their current situation. Furthermore, the backfield reverted to a true timeshare in Week 15, with Isiah Pacheco seeing his largest snap rate since returning from a three-game absence in Week 13. Finally, the team has averaged just 19.33 running back carries their last three times out, and the Titans have held their last three opponents to just 3.2 yards per carry. Not a ton to get excited about here.

Travis Kelce is an unrestricted free agent following 2025, is getting married in the offseason, and has gone his entire career without missing the playoffs, until this season. He will be playing with a backup quarterback and potentially without two wide receivers. Kelce is currently 203 yards shy of reaching his eighth 1,000-yard season and is 99 yards shy of moving into second on the career receiving list at tight end, which would pass Jason Witten. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the offensive game plan revolve around Kelce here, with really no other player on the team chasing meaningful milestones or incentives, particularly if Rice and Thornton are held out with their concussions. Andy Reid is not typically a coach who gives additional attention to milestones or contract incentives, but that has come during a decade-long playoff streak that ended last week, and Kelce could be looking at retirement in the coming months. Furthermore, the Titans placed three safeties on injured reserve this week. Amani Hooker is dealing with an injury and is graded as the 87^th of 98 safeties in coverage this season, and the Titans surrender the 13^th most DK points per game to opposing tight ends this season. And finally, Minshew attempted only five passes in relief of Mahomes last week, but three of them were directed at Kelce while one was a throw-away.

How tennessee Will Try To Win ::