ClutchPoints
The Kansas City Chiefs will travel to Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Sunday, December 21st to take on the Tennessee Titans in a Week 16 matchup that features two teams heading in vastly different directions. While the Chiefs have been eliminated from playoff contention and lost their franchise quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, to a season-ending torn ACL, they remain a more talented roster than the struggling Titans, who sit at just 2-12. Gardner Minshew will make his first start of the season under center for Kansas City, tasked with leading an offense that has sputtered down the stretch.
The Titans have been an absolute disaster this season, particularly at home where they are 0-7 and have given up points at will to opposing offenses. Tennessee’s defense ranks among the worst in the NFL, allowing 5.8 yards per play and a concerning 0.460 points per play, which ranks near the bottom of the league. Meanwhile, the Chiefs offense, despite recent struggles and Mahomes’ absence, still boasts weapons like Travis Kelce, Rashee Rice, Xavier Worthy, and running back Kareem Hunt.
This game will ultimately come down to which team has more pride left to play for, and that advantage goes to the Chiefs. Despite missing their superstar quarterback, Kansas City’s defense is significantly better than Tennessee’s, and they have Andy Reid calling plays on the offensive side of the ball. The Titans have nothing to play for at this point in the season, while the Chiefs still have a chance to finish .500 and show they can compete without their franchise player.
Kareem Hunt has been a bright spot for the Chiefs down the stretch, and he’ll have a field day against the Titans’ defense that has struggled mightily in coverage and at defending the run. Hunt is projected for 31 rushing yards, but that projection seems incredibly conservative given the matchup. The Titans have allowed over 110 rushing yards per game to opposing running backs, and Hunt has the explosiveness to create chunk plays on both carries and receptions.
Expect Hunt to approach or exceed 100 all-purpose yards while scoring at least one receiving touchdown and possibly a rushing touchdown as well. The Titans defense simply doesn’t have the schematic discipline or talent level to contain a dynamic player like Hunt, especially when the offensive line is getting favorable matchups. Hunt’s versatility as both a rusher and receiver will be on full display in Week 16.
The narrative surrounding Gardner Minshew heading into this matchup has been overwhelmingly negative, as he threw an interception on his first drive in the Chiefs’ playoff-elimination loss to the Chargers. However, the situation couldn’t be more different this week: he’ll face a Titans defense that has been exploited by nearly every offensive coordinator in the NFL this season. Minshew will have had a full week to prepare with the first-team offense...
