Chiefs vs. Titans: Game and score predictions

In Week 6, all of Arrowhead Pride’s contributors picked the Kansas City Chiefs to defeat the Washington Football Team — but their spreads ranged from two to 18 points. Our composite pick for a 36-26 Chiefs victory had 22 points of error when compared to the 31-13 final. Our readers were leaning more towards a blowout — 23% called for one, while just 14% of the staff did so — but one in seven of our readers also thought the Chiefs would lose.

In Week 7, the Chiefs are on the road to face the Tennessee Titans. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, Kansas City is favored by 5 points. Let’s see what the staff — and our readers — think about the matchup.

Tom Childs (@tomchilds56)

This feels like the beginning of one of those streaks that we’ve seen so often since Andy Reid came to town. With Patrick Mahomes and his band of merry men finding their mojo last week, the Titans will become the next victim of an offense that — outside of turnovers — has been breezing through opposing defenses. Yeah, Derrick Henry “might get his” — but I think we are going to see a matchup that will resemble the 2019 AFC Championship Game. Chiefs 38, Titans 21

John Dixon (@Arrowheadphones)

Even if he breaks his leg on the opening play, Tennessee running back Derrick Henry’s name will be part of the headline for this game. Will he go crazy against Kansas City with long runs and multiple touchdowns — as he did in Week 10 of 2019? Or will the Chiefs limit his yardage — as they did in the AFC Championship that season? I’m thinking it will be like both games: the Chiefs will limit Henry’s impact on the game, but the final outcome will be close. Chiefs 35, Titans 31

Talon Graff (@CoachGraff34)

Kansas City has yet another tough test — but with a win, could gain serious ground in the race for the division. Tennessee is coming off a big win on Monday night — but had it not been for some questionable coaching decisions and footing, the outcome could have been different. Regardless, the Titans look much improved since Week 1 — but the key to any game against them is stopping (or rather, slowing down) Derrick Henry. The star running back has at least 130 yards on the ground during the last three weeks — and has gone over 100 yards for five straight games. Chiefs defenders will have to wrap him up, making sure to get No. 22 down before he finds the open field. Mahomes and the offense face a less-than-stellar secondary, so getting points shouldn’t be too hard. Chiefs 38, Titans 34

Kristian Gumminger (@kgumminger)

Each person that came to the podium this week referenced the same thing: energy. Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce all talked about the energy that they felt in the second half against the Washington Football Team. And who can blame them? It’s the best the team has looked all year. It looked like an unstoppable force that could once again make it among those teams being seen as Super Bowl contenders. As was said throughout the week, “Don’t let the Chiefs get back into this race and get hot.” The Tennessee Titans had a great win on Monday Night Football — but to me, it doesn’t really matter. I look for the Chiefs to not only win this game, but put the rest of the AFC on notice; the Kansas City offense has its way with the Tennessee defense. I missed on Josh Gordon scoring his first Chiefs touchdown in Week 6. But with Jody Fortson out this week, I think Gordon gets his first. Chiefs 42, Titans 28

Mark Gunnels (@MarkAGunnels)

In the second half against Washington, the Chiefs finally looked like the team we all expected it to be. The offense played clean football and the defense looked formidable. But it was just Washington — and now, Kansas City has to deal with Derrick Henry and company. The Titans’ secondary is severely banged up, so I believe Mahomes will have a field day. That will force Tennessee to pass the ball a little bit more than it would prefer. Also, we may finally see this Chiefs’ defense as close to full strength (minus Anthony Hitchens) as we have seen all this year. Chiefs 38, Titans 27

Ron Kopp Jr. (@Ron_Kopp)

The Chiefs continue their early-season stretch of playing every AFC team that has a legitimate chance at winning the conference. Until their big win against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, the Titans didn’t appear to be much of a threat — but the explosiveness of their offense could win them any matchup in any given week. I don’t see the Chiefs’ defense slowing that offense down very much — but I also see Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs’ passing attack having their most impressive game of the season. It will be a really exciting, back-and-forth game in Nashville — one that the Chiefs will pull out. Josh Gordon makes his first big play of the season. Chiefs 45, Titans 40

Rocky Magaña (@RockyMagana)

Since joining the Chiefs as defensive coordinator, Steve Spagnuolo has had one message for his unit against the Titans: kill the engine. That means players need to tackle Derrick Henry’s legs. Despite being the monster that he is, Henry has pretty skinny legs; it’s easy to get your hands on them. If you can wrap him up below his upper body — and manage not to get your skull crushed by a stiff-arm — then you can contain his production. Last week, the Chiefs had their get-right game against an inferior opponent — while the Titans made sure that everybody will respect them by beating the Bills. If the Chiefs win the coin toss, elect to receive the ball and score early, then I would expect the defense to pack the box against Henry in hopes of getting a stop. If the Chiefs can get out to a 10+ lead early in the game, then they have a good chance of taking Henry out of this game — and winning. Otherwise, I think this will be a track meet. Chiefs 42, Titans 38

Kramer Sansone (@KramerTalks)

The Titans are coming off an impressive win at home last week against the Buffalo Bills — and while taking on the Chiefs this Sunday, I can see them riding that moment. Against Washington, the Kansas City defense played 100% better — but they still did not get to the quarterback for a sack. I also think the unit’s lack of a run defense is going to be a huge factor that will allow the Titans to defeat the Chiefs. Tackling Derrick Henry is hard; he already has 10 touchdowns through 10 games. Still, the Chiefs’ defense could play as it did during the 2019 AFC Championship game, in which the team held Henry to 69 yards and a score on 19 carries. If the Chiefs are going to win, they will need Ryan Tannehill to try to beat them. No matter how it turns out, this game will be a close one. Titans 34, Chiefs 31

Jared Sapp (@TrumanChief)

To be clear, there is nothing that the Chiefs’ defense — or any other defense — can do to stop Derrick Henry. But the team’s offense can step up, forcing the Titans to shift their game plan. When these two teams met in the 2019 AFC Championship, the Chiefs scored 21 first-half points. As a result, the Titans shifted to passing in the second half, limiting Henry to just seven rushing yards after halftime. The Chiefs’ offense should roll against a Titans defense that has underachieved — and is suffering from many injuries. The Chiefs’ passing defense has an opportunity to build on last week’s performance. Quarterback Ryan Tannehill has been sacked 20 times — the most in the NFL. He will also be missing his starting left tackle in a week in which the Kansas City defensive line will play at full strength. I expect this game to play out in a way similar to the last time these two teams played: a close first half, followed by the Chiefs pulling away in the second. Ultimately, injuries on both sides of the ball will be too much for the Titans to overcome — no matter what Henry does. Chiefs 38, Titans 27

Stephen Serda (@StephenSerda)

This week, the Chiefs are likely going to have to live with whatever Derrick Henry does to them on the ground. As long as the Chiefs offense comes into this game with the energy they had in the second half against Washington, that should be fine. The Titans' secondary has been awful all season, allowing the NFL’s most yards to opposing wide receivers — meaning that Patrick Mahomes should feast on this defense. Mecole Hardman is coming off his two strongest performances of the year, giving this game a “long Mecole touchdown” vibe. The Chiefs' defense probably won’t make you feel any more confident — but as long as the offense doesn't turn the football over, they’ll score enough to win. Chiefs 35, Titans 27

Matt Stagner (@stagdsp)

I’m saying it now: Derrick Henry will NOT decide the outcome of this game. He’ll put up some yards — maybe break one long play — but the Chiefs will still control their own fate. The defense doesn’t have to hold Henry to under 50 yards — or even 100 or 200 yards. Instead, it just has to force the Titans into field goals instead of touchdowns. The formula is simple: if the Kansas City offense doesn’t turn the ball over — and the defense gets at least 3 stops — the Chiefs win. That’s true this week — and in every week of the season. I think the Chiefs offense could go off — perhaps finally getting production from both Josh Gordon and Jerick McKinnon. While this will be a good overall test, it’s one the Chiefs should win by more than a touchdown. Chiefs 35, Titans 23

Bryan Stewart (@BryanStewart_)

I want to believe this game won’t induce a lot of stress among Chiefs fans — but honestly, that isn’t how I foresee things will go. If you read my article detailing the Chiefs’ defensive line in Washington, you know I have concerns about the unit defending Tennessee’s stretch zone runs — but given Tennessee’s depleted secondary, Kansas City should be able to move the ball somewhat easily. So while Derrick Henry will get his fair share of yards, the Chiefs should come out on top — as long as the defense can hold the Titans to field goals. Chiefs 38, Titans 31

Pete Sweeney (@pgsween)

Lost in the well-deserved attention for running back Derrick Henry (who is playing like the NFL’s most valuable player) has been the matchup of Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill — whom I expect to play despite being questionable — against an incredibly thin Titans secondary. Already without cornerback Kristian Fulton, the Titans lost Caleb Farley on Monday night against Buffalo. I think this is a game where you see Henry accumulate 140-150 yards — but if the Chiefs offense doesn’t turn the football over, the team absolutely cannot lose; it will have scored too many touchdowns. It sounds simple — because it is that simple. Chiefs 39, Titans 27

Ethan Willinger (@ecwillinger)

I feel like I can just copy and paste my write-up from last week: “This game will feature two teams that depend on offensive production to overcome shortcomings on the other side of the ball.” In such a scenario, I like the Chiefs — especially when the opposing offense depends on production from its rushing attack. Kansas City will want to challenge Tennessee’s depleted secondary, coaxing its offense into an aerial shootout. The Titans also have one less day of rest than the Chiefs, which could make a big difference — both in terms of player availability and endurance. Chiefs 38, Titans 31

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.

Among the staff, Kristian Gumminger’s call for a 35-17 Kansas City victory over Washington was the most accurate, carrying only eight points of error. Tom Childs, Mark Gunnels, Stephen Serda, Bryan Stewart and Pete Sweeney tied for second place in Week 6, predicting four different scores that all had 22 points of error. Kristian moved up into a tie for second place in the standings — and Pete finally moved out of the cellar.