Rapid reaction from the Tennessee Titans’ 26-9 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 21 at Nissan Stadium:

Talking pointsThe Titans seized a golden opportunity to grab their third win of the season, playing well enough to beat a depleted Chiefs team that had already been eliminated from the playoffs and was down to its third-string quarterback. Chris Oladokun came on for Gardner Minshew, who started in place of Patrick Mahomes, and understandably, this wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from the Chiefs’ offense, which went 1-for-9 on third down, didn’t score a touchdown and didn’t even advance into the Titans’ red zone until the game’s final 21 minutes. The Titans outgained the Chiefs in total yardage 376 to 133 in what was easily their most complete game of the season.Titans quarterback Cam Ward, too, enjoyed one of his best performances of the season, completing 21 of 28 passes for 228 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. In other words, he played winning football. He led TD drives of 11, nine and 10 plays, making a few highlight-reel throws along the way. The Titans, meanwhile, were 9-for-17 on third down. Ward’s improvement has been modest as a rookie, but it has continued, and offers a little more hope for 2026.It has helped Ward that the Titans have been more effective running the football of late, and that continued in this game. Tony Pollard and Tyjae Spears found success on the ground, breaking carries of 15 yards each while continuing to run hard in the game’s final stages. Pollard finished with 102 rushing yards. Spears had 52 and also had 53 receiving yards, breaking a screen pass for 34 yards.Where the game turned

With the Titans leading 16-9 in the fourth quarter, the Chiefs’ defense got a stop and forced kicker Joey Slye out for a 51-yard field goal. Slye made it, but KC’s Kevin Knowles jumped offsides to give the Titans the first down. Ward then hit Elic Ayomanor for a 24-yard completion to set up a Spears touchdown that all but put the game away with 11:56 remaining.

Key number

5 — Number of drives in which the Titans crossed the Chiefs’ 50-yard line and didn’t score any points. For the Titans, that made 35 of those possessions this season (hat tip to my Tennessean co-worker Nick Suss for that eye-opening stat). In fairness, though, the last of those five possessions was the final one in a game that had already been decided and the Titans were in a victory formation.

What I liked

It continues to go overshadowed amid this awful Titans season just how well defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is playing. This has been one of the best individual defensive seasons in the NFL. This time, it was Simmons batting down passes and corralling a ballcarrier for a safety, putting the game’s first points on the scoreboard.

What I didn’t like

OK, beating the Chiefs without Mahomes is definitely not the same, and the Titans wasted a few scoring opportunities and could’ve won by more than they did. But after a very long season, this afternoon was cathartic. The Titans clearly was the best of these two teams on this day. Doesn’t mean much in the big picture, but at least this was a lot more fun for Titans fans to watch.

Reach Tennessean sports columnist Gentry Estes at gestes@tennessean.com and hang out with him on Bluesky @gentryestes.bsky.social