Two AFC contenders coming off of wins face off this Sunday, in what may be the game of the week. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs take their talents to the Music City, and will take on Derrick Henry and the Tennessee Titans. The Chiefs took down Washington last week, 31-13, while the Titans scored a huge upset victory over the Buffalo Bills, 34-31, on "Monday Night Football."
While Kansas City scored a double-digit victory last week, it wasn't the "get right" spot many were anticipating. The Chiefs were down at halftime and Mahomes threw two interceptions. He has now thrown a pick in five straight games, matching the longest streak of his career. Mahomes has eight interceptions this season, which is more than he had last year (six) or the year before (five). The Chiefs are back to .500, and could establish some momentum for themselves with a win this week.
Before we get into breaking down this matchup, here's how you can watch on Sunday.
All NFL odds are via Caesars Sportsbook.
How to watch
Date: Sunday, Oct. 24 | Time: 1 p.m. ET
Location: Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)
TV: CBS | Stream: Paramount+ (click here)
Follow: CBS Sports App
Odds: Chiefs -5.5, O/U 57.5
Key matchups to watch
Derrick Henry vs. Chiefs run defense
The Chiefs allow an average of 133.2 rushing yards per game, which ranks sixth-worst in the league. The Chiefs had their best defensive performance of the season last week, but they still are one of the worst units in the NFL. Henry has been absolutely on fire. He's the league leader in both rushing yards (783) and rushing touchdowns (10), and is on pace for 2,218 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. The current record for most rushing yards in a single season is 2,105 yards recorded by Eric Dickerson in 1984. Henry is always going to be the first player defensive coordinators talk about when game-planning for the Titans, and the same is true this week. Limiting him is the key to victory for the Chiefs.
Patrick Mahomes vs. Titans secondary
Despite the Chiefs being 3-3, they still have the No. 2 offense in the league. Despite Mahomes' interception count, he's still No. 1 in the NFL in passing touchdowns (18) and No. 3 in the league in passing yards (1,887). Everyone knows he's still one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, and this week he's going to have a chance to feast on a secondary that is super banged up. The Titans' best cornerback, Kristian Fulton, was placed on IR this past week, first-round pick Caleb Farley tore his ACL on Monday and cornerback Chris Jackson hurt his ankle and missed practice on Wednesday. The veteran Janoris Jenkins has been very disappointing this season, and then the remaining crew is made up of Breon Borders, rookie Elijah Molden and the recently signed Greg Mabin. We saw how resilient this group was against the Bills on Monday night, but it remains to be seen if they can hold their own against the likes of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce for a full 60 minutes.
Prediction
I expect this will be a very close affair, which is why I'm going to take the points with the Titans. Tennessee taking down Mahomes in Nashville after being down by double digits a couple of years ago is still fresh in my mind. The special teams had to block a last-second field goal to secure that win. Maybe this time that Harrison Butker kick goes through the uprights, but I think Tennessee can cover 5.5 points.
Pick: Chiefs 30-27 over Titans