When the Kansas City Chiefs step onto LP Field to face the Tennessee Titans in Week 5, they won't be facing the same upstart team surprisingly making waves in the AFC South early this season. At the very least, they won't be facing them at full capacity.
With Jake Locker's multi-week injury suffered last week, the Titans must adjust to a new quarterback against a stout Chiefs defense looking to take full advantage. Locker has been solid this season for the Titans, starting to develop into the franchise leader they were hoping for when they selected him at No. 8 overall in the 2011 Draft. With his injury, the team turns to backup Ryan Fitzpatrick.
A quick look at Fitzpatrick's resume should excite the Chiefs defense. After all, the man's career record as a starter is 23-41-1. In his career, he's started against 27 of the league's 32 teams. Do the math and you come up with a depressing outlook for the Titans offense ... that is, until you look at Fitzpatrick's record versus the Chiefs.
Fitzpatrick is 4-1 against the Chiefs in his career. That gives him a .800 win percentage against the Chiefs when his career mark is .343. He's thrown eight touchdowns against only two interceptions for a passer rating of 86.7 against the Chiefs.
Chiefs fans will likely remember these frustrating games very well, as the Bills offense has somehow steamrolled the team's defense in recent seasons. Last year, the Bills put up 35 points on the Chiefs in a Week 2 victory. In 2011, Fitzpatrick and the Bills trounced the Chiefs in the season opener at Arrowhead, 42-7. In that game, Fitzpatrick threw four touchdown passes and zero interceptions in what was easily the best performance of his career. That was the Eric Berry ACL game.
Times have changed, of course, and the Chiefs are playing much differently these days. The defense has suffocated offensive units in the last four weeks, and now the Titans are trying to adjust to Fitzpatrick. It will be interesting to see if Fitzpatrick has a knack for beating the Chiefs or whether the Chiefs defense does its thing.