Kansas City Chiefs' Comeback During SNF Shows Why Tennessee Titans Are Fool's Gold

The Tennessee Titans' AFC South-leading 5-3 record is a farce since the team can't hold up against top competition.

With Sunday's 20-17 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Titans are now 0-3 against opponents that currently sport a winning record. Tennessee's best victory came against the 4-5 Washington Commanders, who are currently in last place in the NFC East.

Mike Vrabel's squad feasted on the league's dregs, but far more is needed to become anything more than a one-and-done participant in this year's postseason.

To Tennessee's credit, the Titans have beaten the teams they should have. The group presents a well-established identity that typically works in its favor.

The two-time reigning AFC South champs will run the ball and do so at a high level. They play a physical brand of football to keep other teams off-balance. Vrabel and Co. do a wonderful job getting the most out of their personnel, and no one can argue the Titans aren't well-coached.

These organizational traits allow Tennessee to be consistently competitive. They don't gloss over the team's shortcomings, though.

The Titans held the Chiefs nearly 12 points below their league-leading scoring average coming into the contest. Kansas City's backs combined for a putrid 14 yards on 12 carries, and quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the way with 63 rushing yards.

Tennessee's defense flustered Mahomes for most of the contest. The reason why the Titans tend to be a bad matchup for the Chiefs is the fact Tennessee can consistently win in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

The Titans create running lanes for Derrick Henry to feature him as their workhorse, while the defensive line is talented enough to win one-on-one matchups without expanding pressure packages.

In fact, the Titans didn't even blitz Mahomes in the first half when establishing their 14-9 lead, according to NFL Next Gen Stats (h/t ESPN's Adam Teicher).

AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

Yet despite all that, superior talent tends to shine through over time, as it did Sunday late in the fourth quarter and overtime. The Titans know they're limited. Vrabel basically admitted as much. Tennessee goes as Henry goes, and everybody knows it.

"We've been able to use him, and he's helped us win a lot of games since I've been here," Tennessee's head coach said after the game. "I don't what else we would do ... throw it 50 times? I mean, who the (bleep) would we throw it to?"

Vrabel's simmering frustration indirectly takes a shot at general manager Jon Robinson.

Henry is truly a special talent. However, the roster around him has eroded, starting with the offensive line.

Nate Davis returned to the lineup at right guard, but left guard isn't nearly as strong, with Rodger Saffold opting to leave in free agency this offseason. Saffold's replacement, Aaron Brewer, is an undersized and nimble blocker who lacks the same strength at the point of attack.

Meanwhile, Dennis Daley starts at left tackle after Taylor Lewan suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Injuries are part of the issue. The Titans can't completely replace a valuable veteran and hope to execute at quite the same level.

The previous statement couldn't be more obvious than at quarterback, where third-round rookie Malik Willis started his second consecutive game for the injured Ryan Tannehill. However, the lack of trust Tennessee had in trying to pass the ball against the Chiefs extends beyond the quarterback position.

The Titans chose to trade last year's top receiver, A.J. Brown, to the Philadelphia Eagles this offseason. Even if rookie first-rounder Treylon Burks was completely healthy right now—which he isn't, as he's dealing with turf toe—he couldn't realistically replicate what the Pro Bowl wide receiver brought to the offense.

Tennessee doesn't have anyone to throw to on the outside. Literally. The Titans' wide receivers didn't catch a single pass against the Chiefs. Not one.

Willis completed five of 16 passes for 80 yards, and 48 of those came on a quick screen to rookie tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo on the Titans' first play from scrimmage.

Brown even took a moment during the game to "critique" the play of his former teammates with a since-deleted tweet. Screen captures live forever, though.

Robert Woods leads the Titans with 256 receiving yards. To understand how disheartening that number really is, he didn't even crack the league's top-75 receivers coming into this weekend's play before posting a donut against the Chiefs.

"We get into this drop-back game, and that's not where we wanna play the game," Vrabel said. "But I know [Willis] made some really nice balls that got up and down that hopefully we can figure out a way to catch and come down with."

Tannehill's eventual return from his injured ankle will help some. His wide receivers aren't going to magically get better. The team's tight ends can make a few plays but not enough. The team's success falls on Henry's shoulders (or, more accurately, his legs), just as Vrabel said.

Fortunately, Tennessee plays in arguably the NFL's weakest division. The Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans own a combined 7-17-2 record. The Titans have already beat up their rivals with a 3-0 record in the division.

A well-prepared team with a superstar at running back and a tough-as-nails defensive front can go a long way in the game of football.

However, the combination simply isn't enough at the professional level for the Titans to be anything more than a champion of a weak division.

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Brent Sobleski covers the NFL for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @brentsobleski.