NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans (11-7) travel to Kansas City this week to play the Chiefs (13-4) in the AFC championship game. Kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium (capacity 76,416) is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CST on Sunday, Jan. 19.
The winner will represent the AFC in Super Bowl LIV, which is scheduled for Feb. 2 in Miami Gardens, Fla. The AFC champion will face the winner of Sunday's NFC championship matchup in San Francisco between the 49ers and the Green Bay Packers (5:40 p.m. CST).
This week marks the second playoff game between the Titans and Chiefs in a three-year span. The Titans defeated the Chiefs 22-21 in a wild card game at Kansas City following the 2017 campaign. However, in three all-time playoff meetings between the two charter American Football League clubs, the Chiefs own a 2-1 advantage.
Tennessee hosted Kansas City earlier in 2019 at Nissan Stadium (Nov. 10) and achieved a thrilling 35-32 victory. Wide receiver Adam Humphries scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 23-yard pass from Ryan Tannehill with 23 seconds on the clock, and defensive back Joshua Kalu preserved the win by blocking a potential game-tying 52-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
The Titans will play in the franchise's fifth all-time AFC championship game and the first since Jan. 19, 2003 at Oakland. The team won the AFC title game at Jacksonville on Jan. 30, 2000 to advance to the only Super Bowl appearance in team annals (Super Bowl XXXIV).
THE BROADCAST
This week's game will be nationally televised on CBS, including Nashville affiliate WTVF NewsChannel 5. The broadcast team includes play-by-play announcer Jim Nantz, analyst Tony Romo and sideline reporters Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely.
Fans can livestream the game on their mobile devices from the Titans app (iOS only), the NFL app and the Yahoo! Sports app. Restrictions apply. For more information visit TitansOnline.com.
The Titans Radio Network, including Nashville flagship 104.5 The Zone, will carry the game across the Mid-South with the "Voice of the Titans" Mike Keith, analyst Dave McGinnis, sideline reporter Amie Wells and gameday hosts Rhett Bryan and Jonathan Hutton.
Additionally, Westwood One Sports will broadcast the game to a national radio audience. Play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan, analyst Tony Boselli and field reporter Laura Okmin will have the call.
TITANS DEFEAT TOP-SEEDED RAVENS TO ADVANCE
The Titans earned the right to play another week with a 28-12 divisional-round victory in Baltimore over the No. 1 seed Ravens. They never trailed in the contest against a Ravens team that had not lost since Sept. 29 and had not scored fewer than 20 points all season.
In the last two playoff games, the Titans have faced and defeated NFL's top-ranked scoring defense in the New England Patriots (14.1 points allowed per game in 2019) and the league's top ranked scoring offense in the Ravens (33.2 points per game).
The Titans defense recorded three takeaways—two interceptions and one fumble recovery—and added four sacks at Baltimore. They also denied the Ravens on four fourth-down attempts, including a pair of fourth-and-one stops.
Running back Derrick Henry rushed for 195 yards against the Ravens and added a touchdown pass to wide receiver Corey Davis. Henry became the first player in the Super Bowl era (1966–present) to rush for 180 or more yards in three consecutive regular season and/or postseason games. Additionally, his 561 career playoff rushing yards set a record for the largest total in the Super Bowl era in a player's first four postseason games.
Ryan Tannehill picked up his second postseason win, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another score. Tannehill, the NFL's leading passer in 2019 (117.5 passer rating), has led the Titans to a 9-3 record since taking over as the team's starting quarterback in Week 7 of the regular season.
*THE CHIEFS *
As the AFC's second seed in the playoffs, the Chiefs had a bye in the wild card round. They hosted the Houston Texans in the divisional round and won 51-31 after trailing 24-0 in the first half. It was the biggest comeback in Chiefs history, and it tied for fourth-largest comeback by any NFL team in postseason history.
Under Andy Reid, who is in his seventh season as Kansas City's head coach, the Chiefs have clinched six postseason berths, including the last four AFC West titles (2016-19). They hosted the conference championship game last season as well, falling in overtime to the eventual Super Bowl champion New England Patriots.
In his third NFL season, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes appeared in 14 games and passed for 4,031 yards and 26 touchdowns with only five interceptions (105.3 passer rating). The reigning NFL MVP leads the league over the past two seasons with 75 touchdown passes.
