The Kansas City Chiefs dispatched the Tennessee Titans on Sunday behind another impressive performance from their young standout QB Patrick Mahomes II. Mahomes threw for 294 yards and 3 scores and added another 53 yards on the ground and a score - a 27-yard scamper to give the Chiefs' their first lead of the game at 21-17 heading into half.
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On the play, he broke toward the sideline while looking to go out of bounds and stop the clock but no one was there. Instead Mahomes headed up the sideline evading a tackle inside the 5 and scoring the go-ahead TD.
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Before Mahomes' electric play to close out the half, the Titans got off to a solid start themselves, leading by 10 on two separate occasions early in the game - 10-0 & 17-7. Similar to the Divisional round game a week ago against the Texans, Kansas City came alive in the second quarter.
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First, it was Mahomes using his arm to hit Tyreek Hill for the second time in the half - this time on a 20 yard pass that he made look beautifully easy. After Tennessee went 3 and out on their ensuing possession, Kansas City got the ball back with one more chance to score and possibly take their first lead of the game before the half.
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Mahomes orchestrated a nice drive down the field that started inside their own 20, and then with time dwindling away in the half, it was Mahomes using his legs for the impressive 27-yard run that put KC on top for the first time in the game - 21-17 with just :11 to go in the half.
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Derrick Henry continued to bulldoze along and was up to 62 yards by halftime. Ryan Tannehill was over 120 yards as well, easily surpassing his entire game totals from both the Wild Card win at New England & Divisional win at Baltimore. Yet, despite the solid start & early success, Tennessee found themselves trailing by 4 at the break.
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After a scoreless 3rd quarter that featured more balance from Kansas City, as they began to focus more on the run game, the Chiefs made it an 11-point game just 10 second into the 4th quarter on a 3-yard Damien Williams run. Then, it was Sammy Watkins putting the finishing touches on the victory with a 60-yard firecracker of an explosive pass play as the Chiefs made it 35-17 with just 7:33 to go.
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By the time Tannehill hit Anthony Firsker for his 2nd TD pass of the game on a 22-yard score, it was too little too late for the Titans. Kansas City was able to milk away the 35-24 victory behind a solid second half performance from their run defense. Henry finished the game with just 69 yards on 19 attempts after going for 195 & 180, respectively, in the last two weeks. Tannehill was a respectable 21-31 for 209 yards and the 2 scores in the loss, and was sacked 3 times.
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For the Chiefs, it was Sammy Watkins leading the way, hauling in 7 catches for 114 yards and a TD, followed by Hill, who caught 5 passes for 67 yards and a pair of scores, and RB Damien Williams who caught 5 passes for 44 yards. He also added 17 carries for 45 yards and a score on the ground.
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In the end, the Chiefs' high-powered offense was just too much for Tennessee and Kansas City is off to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. After losing the very first Super Bowl to the Green Bay Packers, they went on to win Super Bowl IV over the Minnesota Vikings 50 years ago - and haven't been back until now. The brilliance of Mahomes was on full display as their is reason to celebrate the Chiefs' first ever AFC Title game win (the merger happened in 1970), and first trip to the Super Bowl in 5 decades.
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