The Kansas City Chiefs are traveling to Nashville to face the Tennessee Titans in Week 16. The game will be played at noon CST/1:00 p.m. EST on CBS.
The Chiefs and Titans both come in hobbled, but this game will be crucial for draft positioning.
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The Titans have reasons to be optimistic for a win this week. Here are three of them.
Chiefs’ injuries
The Chiefs come into this game majorly banged up and without incentive to win after being eliminated from playoff contention. Their injury list on Thursday read like a grocery list. Rashee Rice, the Chiefs’ best wide receiver, will likely miss the game. Chris Jones is managing a hamstring issue, Jawaan Taylor with an elbow issue, and Jaylon Moore with a knee issue. That’s two offensive tackles in an already banged-up offensive line. Of course, Patrick Mahomes was also put on the injured reserve. That Mahomes’ injury has led the team to put Gardner Minshew in his stead.
Chiefs QB familiarity
Minshew is a familiar quarterback for the Titans’ defense. They have played him many times over the years, having had crucial stints as the Jaguars’ and Colts’ quarterback. Most recently, this team faced him in 2023 when he was manning the Colts. This familiarity with Minshew will help the Titans’ game plan, having faced him six times before. This familiarity goes in the Titans’ favor.
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Titans’ offensive line gelling
The Titans’ offensive line has been putting together great performances, making it two weeks in a row now. They allowed zero sacks last week and were creating monstrous holes for Tony Pollard to run into. With the injuries on the Chiefs’ defensive line, they have a good shot of building on their previous performances. Confidence is rising that this unit should stick together into next season. What’s most crucial for the offensive line now is finishing this season healthy and having a healthy offseason together.
This article originally appeared on Titans Wire: Tennessee Titans vs. Chiefs: 3 reasons for optimism in Week 16