When the Chiefs won the overtime coin toss Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium, most observers assumed the game was over with Patrick Mahomes getting the ball first.
They had to wait for the Titans to get a crack as well but were ultimately proved right when Malik Willis's fourth and forever pass fell wildly incomplete, completing a come-from-behind 20-17 overtime win for the Chiefs.
Mahomes was the star of the game, somehow racking up a preposterous 509 total yards by himself on a night when the Titans defense was the best unit on the field. But the biggest impact on the game's outcome was the ineptitude of the Titans offense run by the rookie Willis, who was making his second straight start after Ryan Tannehill was ruled out once again prior to kickoff with an ankle injury.
Derrick Henry ran for 115 yards on 17 carries, but the Titans managed just one first down after halftime. Willis completed an NFL season-low five of his 16 pass attempts for 80 yards - a week after completing just six passes for 55 yards in Houston - and not a single wide receiver made a catch.
Mahomes showed why he's an MVP, rallying the Chiefs from a 17-9 fourth-quarter deficit. His third and 17 scramble midway through the fourth quarter brought back memories of a sideline scamper against the Titans in the AFC Championship game three years ago. Later on the drive he took off again facing third and nine, maneuvering his way through the defense and into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown.
Kansas City still needed the two-point conversion to tie, and Mahomes made sure it got that as well, scrambling to the pylon to force overtime. It was a one-yard run after a questionable flag was thrown for defensive holding by the Titans' Josh Kalu on a play that Travis Kelce engaged him, ripping his helmet off. That came one play after offsetting penalties negated an incompletion.
Mahomes then drove the Chiefs 64 yards in 13 plays in overtime to set up Harrison Butker's eventual game-winning field goal. He was brilliant on the drive; stepping up in the pocket to avoid pressure and hit Kelce for 18 one play, completing an out-of-sorts third and one by buying time and finding Noah Gray for a juggling catch down to the 20, and hit Juju Smith-Shuster on fourth and inches ahead of the kick.
In all Mahomes threw 68 times, two shy of the NFL record, completing 43 for 446 yards. He did that despite the Titans blanketing Kelce and pressuring him repeatedly with four sacks.
The Chiefs went seven straight possessions without points yet found a way to win because of Mahomes, and thanks to a Titans offense that only really showed up for the second quarter.
Tennessee ran just four plays in the first quarter before two impressive drives capped by Henry's touchdowns gave it the lead. But, as has been the case much of this season, the offense sputtered after halftime, gaining just seven total yards. Willis was sacked on consecutive plays on the OT drive before that final incompletion.
Yes, the Titans had multiple opportunities to put this game away. They gained just eight yards after Roger McCreary's third-quarter interception in Kansas City territory and had to settle for a field goal.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine couldn't come down with a second down bomb and Dontrell Hilliard was smacked behind the line of scrimmage on a third down screen which forced a punt instead of an attempt at what would've been a huge insurance field goal midway through the fourth quarter.
Multiple defensive players missed Mahomes on that third and 17 scramble, Rashad Weaver rushed too far upfield on the touchdown run, presenting a running lane for the QB to take off, and the penalties on the two-point try gave one too many opportunities to the league's highest-scoring offense.
But in the end, it was the inability of the Tennessee offense, particularly the passing game, that spoiled what was a masterful gameplan from Mike Vrabel and, especially, his defensive staff.
It was a game the Titans could've won against all odds, but didn't happen because the team's only pass-catching playmaker, A.J. Brown was traded away in the offseason.
Brown's impact has been evident throughout the Eagles' 7-0 start this season, and his absence has never been more felt for the Titans than it was in the second half and overtime Sunday night. Even Brown himself noted on Twitter, "ain't nobody open".
That lack of a real receiving threat could be the ultimate demise of a team built around a championship-caliber defense and Henry, who is once again leading the league in rushing. But this is a passing league and the Titans are woefully inept in that category because of Jon Robinson's trade of Brown.
And if this season goes south or ends earlier than hoped in January, that trade will likely be to blame. Just as it was Sunday when the coaching staff designed a beautiful game plan, the defense battled its tail off and the passing game let them down.
All the pieces were in place for a monumental road win. But the Chiefs had a superstar in Mahomes while the Titans offense had no answer.
