The Kansas City Chiefs got a chance to see how the NFL’s other half lives against the Tennessee Titans, as the Chiefs lost backup quarterback Gardner Minshew to a knee injury early in the game and were subsequently routed by the Titans, 26-9.
This game started badly for the Chiefs, then went downhill. The first score of the game came on a Tennessee safety that occurred an a rushing attempt from deep in KC territory by running back Kareem Hunt early in the second quarter, as Hunt was unable to get out of the end zone when Titans defensive tackle Jeffrey Simmons dropped Hunt in the end zone to go up 2-0. The CBS broadcast showed Chiefs linemen Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith clearly looking unhappy about the scoring play and the degree to which Hunt got blown up.
Things quickly got worse with Minshew's injury. He was hobbled on the team’s first drive, but he stayed in the game until he came up limping again on what looked to be a non-contact injury. The quarterback was quickly downgraded to being out for the game with a knee injury, and shortly after that he left the field without his helmet.
Kansas City briefly regrouped to take the lead, 3-2, on a drive lead by Chris Oladokun, the Chiefs’ third string quarterback. If Oladokun’s name sounds unfamiliar to Chiefs fans, that’s because his only prior game experience came while backing up quarterback Carson Wentz last January when he took a few snaps during Kansas City’s blowout 38-0 loss to the Denver Broncos, according to Nate Taylor of ESPN, who also reported MInshew's injury as yet another torn ACL for a Chiefs quarterback.
The Chiefs’ lead didn’t last long. Titans quarterback Cam Ward led Tennesee on a long drive of 11 plays and 89 yards, with that drive ending with a seven-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chig Okonkwo. Kansas City managed a brief comeback that let to a 41-yard field goal from kicker Harrison Butker to make it 9-6 at halftime.
Any hopes the Chiefs had of making this one competitive quickly vanished in the third quarter. Ward led yet another drive that culminated in a second touchdown pass to receiver Chimere Dike to make the score 16-6, but Butker missed his next attempt from 51-yards out, and the best the Chiefs were able to do was another Butker field goal from 41-yards late in the quarter to make it 16-9.
The Titans pulled away in the fourth quarter, as Ward basically had his way with the Chiefs defense. He finished 21-for-28 for 228 yards and two touchdown passes, and running back Tony Pollard rushed for 102 yards on 21 carries. Injured quarterbacks aside, the biggest disappointment for the Chiefs was the poor play of their defense, which was on the field for most of the day and couldn’t stop Ward or Pollard.
As for Oladokun, he ended up 11-for-16 for just 11 yards, and most of what happened offensively for Kansas City was typical of what happens to teams that have to play their third-string quarterback. The running game didn’t give him much help, with Isiah Pacheco leading the way with just 34 yards on eight carries.
The Chiefs’ slog of a season continues on Christmas night at home against the Denver Broncos in what will almost certainly be an ugly affair. Tennessee’s third win for the season knocks them out of what was an advantageous draft slot, but the Titans have now won two of three, and they have to be happy about Ward’s ongoing development as they return home to face the New Orleans Saints next week.