Dominate the Super Bowl-Chapter 1146 - 1145 The blunt sword has no edge

In the 2017 season wildcard game, the Kansas City Chiefs narrowly reversed and defeated the Tennessee Titans.

This match is seldom mentioned later, because the Kansas City Chiefs subsequently delivered multiple stunning reversals; but if you calm down and think about it, this particular match awakened the "Playoff Chiefs" and became the starting point for Kansas City Chiefs to write a multitude of glories—

Everything began with "Li Wei VS Henry".

However, the 2018 and 2019 seasons were not easy for the Tennessee Titans.

Last season, after careful consideration, the Tennessee Titans decided to replace the head coach, appointing Houston Texans Defensive Coordinator Mike Vrabel to take over the team, attempting to transform the team comprehensively starting from the defensive group.

Unfortunately, Vrabel lacked the wisdom and courage for sweeping reforms in offense, and the starting quarterback Marcus Mariota was struggling.

The 2015 season’s first overall pick started thirteen games, managing only eleven touchdowns but eight interceptions, his sluggish and dull performance costing him the starting position.

With loss comes gain, precisely because of the quarterback’s low performance, the Tennessee Titans’ ground offense saw a breakthrough and Derrick Henry exploded.

In his third year in the league, Henry finally received enough carrying opportunities and finally showcased his ability, achieving a series of league and team records, ending the season with a thousand-yard season.

In adversity and struggle, the Tennessee Titans closed the season with nine wins and seven losses, performing well but regrettably missing the playoff spot.

Notably, at that time, the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans was Matt LaFleur, who is now the head coach for the Green Bay Packers.

With the Tennessee Titans, LaFleur couldn’t implement Shanahan’s tactical system effectively due to Mariota’s poor defensive reading and passing abilities; even though the ground offense had already created opportunities for passing offense, Mariota’s terrible performance repeatedly squandered chances.

However, LaFleur’s tactical system focused on the role of running back, allowing Henry to shine brightly, finally revitalizing the Crimson Tide Storm after Li Wei.

This season, after LaFleur moved to the Green Bay Packers, Vrabel did not undertake sweeping reforms of the team’s offensive tactical system but continued LaFleur’s tactical system, focusing on Henry’s ground-breaking ability, allowing Tennessee Titans to showcase a fascinating retro style in offense.

In crucial moments, Derrick Henry frequently stood up to save Tennessee Titans from troubles, consistently scoring touchdowns in every match over the first five weeks of the regular season, winning unprecedented support for the "Emperor Henry" title in Nashville, reaching a new peak.

However, football isn’t that simple, relying solely on Henry’s strong presence is not enough to carry the entire Tennessee Titans across the victory line.

Over the first five weeks of the season, the Tennessee Titans only achieved a record of two wins and three losses.

In the sixth week of the regular season, when Tennessee Titans visited Denver Broncos, Mariota’s abysmal performance dragged the team into a nightmare; in the third quarter, facing a score of "0:16", Vrabel finally couldn’t endure any longer and directly benched Mariota.

Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, transferred in the offseason from Miami Dolphins, took over the team, trying to find a solution.

Although Tannehill’s seven seasons at Miami Dolphins were also filled with more losses than wins, never achieving over 50% win rate; but this quarterback has solid fundamentals, seizing the opportunity when called up in emergency to showcase his ability as a quarterback—

Passing.

With 13 completions out of 16 attempts, an 81.25% passing success rate was eye-catching.

Regrettably, the Tennessee Titans still lost with a score of "0:16" in this match, but Vrabel saw hope in Tannehill.

Perhaps, the combination of Tannehill and Henry could exploit LaFleur’s offensive tactical system’s advantages, injecting vitality into Tennessee Titans.

Vrabel’s judgment was correct—

Tannehill didn’t betray the trust of the head coach, leading the team to narrowly defeat the Los Angeles Chargers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers consecutively and then convincingly beat the Carolina Panthers, stabilizing the team with three consecutive victories, putting Tennessee Titans back into the playoff competition.

Indeed, Tannehill is not a top quarterback, and Vrabel is not adept at offense, but Tannehill’s stability and Henry’s heavy hammer complement each other, making Tennessee Titans’ offense not explosive yet possessing powerful attack abilities; heavy and solid, consistently advancing despite lacking bursts.

At the same time, Vrabel is skilled in defense; Tennessee Titans do not have superstar players like Watt or Donald, yet rely on blue-collar players to form team forces, currently ranked tenth in the league’s defense group, seemingly only moderate, but Vrabel’s ability to tangle matches should not be underestimated.

Whether defense or offense, Tennessee Titans seem to lack explosiveness, appearing unremarkable; but in fact, they are like sticky candy, difficult to deal with, capable of tangling and dragging a match at both ends of offense and defense. As long as the opponent has not been able to pull away distance decisively, they may be drawn into their rhythm—

Stuck in the mire.

Among the four losses so far this season, only against Denver Broncos did they lose without resistance, this being the fundamental reason Vrabel changed out Mariota; the other three matches were all lost within a single ball possession, showcasing Vrabel’s trait of excelling in field battles.

You could understand it this way; Tennessee Titans are like a heavy axe, cumbersome, slow, steady, yet full of strength; they are good at confronting agile and nimble teams, using strength and center of gravity to stabilize the situation; as long as Tennessee Titans’ heavy blow lands accurately on the opponent, it’s lethal enough.

Does this description sound a bit familiar?

Kansas City Chiefs are just that kind of team, excelling in speed, explosiveness, and rhythm, with an eye-catching offensive layout focusing on rhythm control.

It is precisely because of this that Tennessee Titans are not at all afraid of Kansas City Chiefs, and to some extent, they are a team specifically meant to counter Kansas City Chiefs.

Plus, with Li Wei and Henry’s second career encounter, the topic of "Red Tide Storm 2.0" far exceeded expectations, becoming the focus of attention.

For the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks are hard bones, if slightly negligent, their undefeated golden body could end.

For Kansas City Chiefs, it’s the same; Tennessee Titans are a tough opponent—

Mahomes still absent, and this time without home-field advantage, Kansas City Chiefs must battle in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.

They need to stay focused; they need to give it their all, leaving no room for laxity.

Right in front of them is not just a remote competition with the San Francisco 49ers, nor merely the continuation of their undefeated golden body aura but a contest of momentum.

The entire league craves defeating Kansas City Chiefs, the entire league desires to break Kansas City Chiefs’ winning streak; once a crack appears, the whole momentum and status start to waver, other teams will gather like sharks smelling blood, tearing them to pieces.

Every match is a contest of momentum.

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