Tennessee Titans could be biggest threat to Chiefs in AFC
If the Kansas City Chiefs don’t reach their third consecutive Super Bowl, it might be because the Tennessee Titans rose up and stopped them.
Nobody is picking the Kansas City Chiefs to falter in 2021.
After all, Patrick Mahomes is the world’s best football player the sport’s most important position. Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce are Hall of Fame talents. Combined, they have proven near impossible to stop over the past five seasons. The defense, led by All-Pros Tyrann Mathieu and Chris Jones, is good enough to win it all.
If the Chiefs don’t win the AFC and eventually their second Super Bowl in three years, it would be an upset. And if an upset happens, perhaps the Tennessee Titans will have plenty to do with it.
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Tennessee has reached the playoffs each of the past two seasons, reaching the AFC Championship Game in 2019 — and losing to Kansas City — before winning the AFC South a year ago, only to fall in the Wild Card round to the Baltimore Ravens.
This offseason, general manager John Robinson kept busy. He allowed wide receiver Corey Davis and tight end Jonnu Smith to leave in free agency. Meanwhile, cornerbacks Adoree Jackson and Malcolm Butler, and safety Kenny Vaccaro changed addresses. However, Robinson also brought in a hoard of new talent, led by receiver Julio Jones, edge rusher Bud Dupree, defensive lineman Denico Autry and corners Janoris Jenkins and rookie Caleb Farley.
All told, no contender looks more remade than Tennessee. Whether that works well or not remains to be seen, but few teams have more talent in their offense or front four than the Titans.
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Additionally, Tennessee has the benefit of playing in what projects to be the conference’s worst division. Both the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars are rebuilding. Although the Indianapolis Colts entered training camp with high hopes, those have been tempered. Foot injuries to quarterback Carson Wentz and All-Pro guard Quenton Nelson put a question mark over their season.
With the Titans playing an easier schedule than teams like the Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, they have a realistic chance of sneaking into the second seed of the AFC playoffs. And if it can, Tennessee has the type of talent to match up with Kansas City on a given day, whether at Arrowhead Stadium or in the friendly confines of Nissan Stadium.
The Titans might not be the betting favorites, but they’re an intriguing gamble.
