Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. (George Walker IV / Tennessean.com)
Updated AFC Playoff picture, AFC Wild Card standings after Chiefs beat Titans
Patrick Mahomes activated beast mode late to lead the Kansas City Chiefs to an overtime victory over the Tennessee Titans.
Sunday Night Football felt like Groundhog Day for the Chiefs at first as they struggled to get anything going on offense in a similar fashion to last year’s loss to the Titans.
Then, like Bill Murray in the classic comedy, Patrick Mahomes figured out how to end the nightmare and come out as the best version of himself.
Mahomes converted a third-and-17, scored a touchdown and punched in the game-tying two-point conversion all with his feet. After forcing overtime, he drove his team into field goal range and came away with a victory.
NFL Twitter was in awe of the performance from Mahomes and the second-half performance of the Chiefs defense.
Best memes and tweets after the Chiefs beat the Titans in overtime
The Kansas City Chiefs always seems to find a way to win. Having a Mahomes certainly helps.
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) November 7, 2022
As someone who was too young to appreciate Michael Jordan in his prime, I make sure to value every snap Patrick Mahomes plays.
What we’re presently witnessing will be iconic history one day.#SNF #ChiefsKingdom
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) November 7, 2022
Accomplishments are a different argument, GOAT is a different thing, but every time I watch Mahomes I think, “No one else has done it better.”
— Josh Eberley 🇨🇦 (@JoshEberley) November 7, 2022
https://twitter.com/statmuse/status/1589481108420587521
Patrick Mahomes has now won 5 straight games in which he trailed at halftime, the second such streak of his career.
Mahomes and Peyton Manning are the only players in the Super Bowl era to have two such streaks in their [email protected] #ChiefsKingdom
— NFL Research (@NFLResearch) November 7, 2022
Mahomes has now won 23 straight in November and December.
— Scott Hanson (@ScottHanson) November 7, 2022
Through the second half and overtime, the Titans ran 27 offensive plays. They gained 7 total yards.
— Matt Verderame (@MattVerderame) November 7, 2022
As frustrated as Titans fans may be after watching everything slip away, there were positives to take from the performance.
The Titans went toe-to-toe with the Chiefs despite one of the worst QB performances you’ll ever see.
Kudos to Mike Vrabel, man. What a game.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) November 7, 2022
Chiefs win a bully ball game. Gotta give it up for Mike Vrabel and Tennessee. They took a game to overtime without a single catch by a WR… amazing
— trey wingo (@wingoz) November 7, 2022
Know they lost, but what a gutsy performance from the Titans.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) November 7, 2022
The numbers will make the TItans’ D look bad giving up 499 yards. But holding the Chiefs to 20 points – in OT? Mighty impressive with 4 sacks and a turnover.
— Teresa Walker (@TeresaMWalker) November 7, 2022
Hard to not be incredibly proud of the Titans defense tonight.
— Jared Stillman (@JaredStillman) November 7, 2022
Mahomes and company grabbed a nine-point lead in the first half but even scraping out those early scores was a struggle. After Mecole Hardman’s seven-yard touchdown catch at the very start of the second quarter, the Chiefs couldn’t get anything going, to the frustration of Travis Kelce, while Derrick Henry and the Titans stormed back with two rushing touchdowns and a field goal to take a 17-9 lead.
It looked like Tennessee would hold on when they forced KC into a third-and-17. That’s when Mahomes went off and never looked back. It was the play that changed the game.
The Chiefs maintained their lead at the top of the AFC West while the Titans still don’t have much to worry about in the AFC South.
Next week, Kansas City will try to keep the good times going against the Jaguars. Tennessee will look to bounce back against the Broncos.