Chiefs vs. Titans: Game and score predictions

In Week 9, Arrowhead Pride writers were almost evenly split about the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings. Six picked the Chiefs to win and five picked the Vikings — although almost all thought it would be a pretty close game. Readers were similarly conflicted. 56% thought the Chiefs would win, and 86% saw it as a close game.

What do we all think about the Week 10 game against the Tennessee Titans? Let’s find out.

Tom Childs (@tomchilds56)

Pat Mahomes is back. Chiefs 33, Titans 10

John Dixon (@Arrowheadphones)

The Titans just lost cornerback Malcolm Butler for the season, but they have a pretty good pass defense; they rank seventh in opponent passer rating. I think it’s reasonable to expect Patrick Mahomes to be a little slow out of the gate — and under these circumstances, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Andy Reid put Matt Moore on the field if the Chiefs get a significant lead late in the game. So I’m not expecting a big blowout. I am, however, expecting a substantial victory. Chiefs 30, Titans 16

Ethan Douglas (@ChiefsAnalytics)

The reigning MVP, and more importantly, the reigning EPA/play leader is back this week. MVP chants will echo throughout Nashville as the king reminds the world who the real best quarterback in the league is. Chiefs 54, Titans 24

Ron Kopp Jr. (@Ron_Kopp)

As we enter the second half of the regular season, the Chiefs are hitting their stride. They’re steadily getting healthy, the defense is rounding into shape, and their schedule for the foreseeable future is nothing to be scared of. They’ll start in Tennessee with an average (at best) Titans team that plays old-school football with a solid run game and a stout defensive front. Ryan Tannehill seems to be playing better than Marcus Mariota was — but it won’t matter. With Mahomes assumed to be returning and the receiving corps as healthy as it’s been all season, there should be a ton of points put up by the Chiefs offense. Chiefs 38, Titans 17

Matt Lane (@ChiefinCarolina)

For the first time since Week 1, the Chiefs are almost completely healthy. When the Chiefs have the football, all eyes will be on Patrick Mahomes and this offense that is finally looking to #EstablishTheFun. With the Titans’ pass rush slowed down by injury, look for a big game from Mahomes champing at the bit to return to the field and Tyreek Hill, who has been on a tear since coming back. When the Titans have the ball, the entire focus should be on stopping Derrick Henry and the Titans run game. With the box being stacked with a rolled down Tyrann Mathieu and the improved play from the defensive tackles and linebackers, the Titans should have a hard time moving the ball. Chiefs 38, Titans 20

Robert Rimpson (@RRimpsanity)

Riding high off of a walk-off win against Minnesota, the Chiefs already had a really good chance of beating the Titans at home. They can add a healthy Patrick Mahomes to that list of reasons, as it seems the high-powered Chiefs offense is finally starting to get healthy. The offense is playing well, the defense has been much improved, everything seems to be looking up for KC in the second half of the season. My one gripe is that the defense hasn’t shown the ability to really shutout an offense and keep them from scoring a high amount of points. Opposing offenses have scored three or more touchdowns in three of the last four games, which is the only reason I can’t foresee a blowout. Chiefs 31, Titans 24

Matt Stagner (@stagdsp)

The Chiefs have performed pretty well given the multitude of injuries, including the one that matters most. The new-look defense is starting to look like we hoped it might. They’re getting contributions from up and down the roster. It’s time they start getting some good fortune. We haven’t forgotten the excruciating losses to the Titans in recent years. Pat returns, and the Chiefs get their revenge. Chiefs 35, Titans 10

Craig Stout (@barleyhop)

The Tennessee Titans run the ball well and stop the run well. The Chiefs defense has done an admirable job defending the run lately, and the Chiefs’ rushing attack....won’t really matter with Patrick Mahomes back and his offensive weapons healthy. Tennessee just lost a starting cornerback from an already struggling pass defense, making life rough when trying to defend Tyreek Hill, Sammy Watkins and Travis Kelce. The Titans are a well-coached team, but they’re catching a bad matchup for them at the wrong time. Chiefs roll. Chiefs 42, Titans 14

Kent Swanson (@kent_swanson)

This will be the first time since the first quarter of the first game of the season that we get to see all the weapons and the reigning MVP on the field and healthy together. It’s time to light up the scoreboard and give the league their first look at what they’ll have to deal with for the stretch run. The recent defensive performance is enough for this team to win a Super Bowl. The offense will lead the way, and I expect a message sent right out of the gates. It’s time to #EstablishTheFun. Chiefs 45, Titans 17

Pete Sweeney (@pgsween)

The story going into the game will be Patrick Mahomes’ return, but I think by the end, it could be how well the defense has played for what will be four straight weeks. Patrick Mahomes throws for three touchdowns and runs for one on the ground, and the Chiefs defense does the rest. Chiefs 31, Titans 7

Ties in the standings are broken with prediction points error — how much each prediction misses the actual point spread and the number of points scored by each team.

With five members of the staff choosing the wrong winner in the Chiefs-Vikings game — and those picking the Vikings tending to predict a bigger spread than those choosing the Chiefs — our composite prediction was Vikings 25.4, Chiefs 24.5. So while the combined pick was (again) wrong, it was the closest score prediction of the season, generating only 7.6 points of error.

So far this season, no one on the staff has accurately predicted the actual score of a game. But in Week 9, Craig Stout came tantalizingly close. His prediction of a 27-24 Chiefs win had only two points of error — the closest prediction yet — and moved him into third place. John Dixon saw it as a 24-21 Chiefs victory, which had just four points of error and moved him up a couple of spots. Otherwise, with five picking the wrong team — including two who had 7-1 records going into Week 9 — the standings got a bit of a shakeup.