Kansas City Chiefs -

Titans vs. Chiefs

Sunday, October 19, 2008 12:00 PM

	1	2	3	4	Total
Titans	10	7	3	14	34
Chiefs	0	0	0	10	10
Final

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by Bob Gretz

It was another chapter of what’s become a continuing story line for the 2008 season. Unable to generate a consistent offensive attack, the Chiefs were beaten 34-10 by the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Chiefs were unable to mount any consistent scoring threat under three different quarterbacks. QB Brodie Croyle started, but left early in the second quarter with a sprained left knee. QB Damon Huard came in and played into the fourth quarter after suffering a right thumb injury at the end of the first half. He was replaced by QB Tyler Thigpen who finished out the game and led the team to a pair of scoring drives.

It was a different story for Tennessee, as the Titans produced 455 offensive yards and 332 rushing yards. There were three touchdown runs by RB LenDale White, including an 80-yard scoring run, and a 66–yard TD jaunt by rookie RB Chris Johnson.

The Titans got on the scoreboard first, taking possession at the Kansas City 20-yard line after the Chiefs offense went three plays and out. QB Kerry Collins drove Tennessee’s offense 49 yards on 10 plays, but had to settle for a 49-yard FG from K Rob Bironas to give the Titans an early 3-0 lead.

Tennessee added to its lead on a six-play, 53-yard drive with White scoring on a six-yard run to make it 10-0 for the Titans. When the Chiefs got the ball back, they were able to get their initial first down of the game, as Croyle and WR Dwayne Bowe combined on a four-yard completion just before the end of the period.

As the second quarter began, the Chiefs offense finally started moving the football and pushed it to the Titans 21-yard line on a 17-yard completion from Croyle to Bowe on third down. Unfortunately on the play, Croyle suffered a left knee injury and the post-game prognosis is that his season is over. K Nick Novak tried a 39-yard field goal that sailed over the left upright but was ruled no good by the game officials, a call that was not subject to replay review.

Tennessee went three-and-out on its next possession. Huard came in to run the offense and immediately the Chiefs got a nice 19-yard run by RB Kolby Smith on first down. They later converted a fourth-and-one play thanks to a Titans offsides penalty. Eventually, the Chiefs had to punt the ball away and the touchback gave Tennessee possession at its own 20-yard line.

From there Collins led the offense on a nine-play, 80-yard scoring drive, with all but 17 of those yards coming on the ground from Johnson and White. Johnson had the big play, a 24-yard run around the right side that set up first-and-goal at the Chiefs six-yard line. Two plays later, White punched in his second TD run of the day, this one from the Kansas City two-yard line to make the Titans advantage 17-0.

The Chiefs offense put together a drive near the end of the half, moving into Tennessee territory. The key play was a 28-yard completion from Huard to TE Tony Gonzalez. But Novak’s 50-yard FG attempt hit the right upright and at intermission, the Titans lead remained 17-0.

The third quarter proved to be a battle for the punters, as neither offense was able to get anything going offensively. The Chiefs managed just one first down in the period and that came on a Huard to Gonzalez 19-yard pass play that moved the sticks. Tennessee finally was able to pull together a third-quarter drive, after it took over at its own 41-yard line following a 57-yard punt by P Dustin Colquitt that came out of his own end zone. The Titans went 31 yards on eight plays, finishing up with a 46-yard FG by Bironas just before the end of the quarter, giving the Titans a 20-0 lead.

In the fourth quarter, White added his third scoring play, when he cracked through the right side of the Titans offensive line and huffed and puffed his way 80 yards into the end zone. The Chiefs finally got on the scoreboard right after that long White TD run, set up by a 59-yard kickoff return by RB Dantrell Savage. In the end, Novak kicked a 26-yard FG that made the scoreboard read 27-3.

On the next possession, Johnson broke loose through the left side of the Titans offensive line and ran 66 yards for a TD to make the count 34-3. Thigpen got the Chiefs first TD in the last eight quarters, when he ran in on a 14-yard scramble with two minutes, 37 seconds to play in the game. Novak’s PAT kick established the final 34-10 score.

Now 1-5, the Chiefs will be on the road next weekend, traveling to the Meadowlands in New Jersey to face the New York Jets on October 26. Kickoff is noon.