29/03/2024

The Latest: Titans rally for 22-21 lead in 4th quarter

Sábado 06 de Enero del 2018

The Latest: Titans rally for 22-21 lead in 4th quarter

The Titans have pulled ahead of the Chiefs 22-21 on Marcus Mariota's touchdown pass to Eric Decker

The Titans have pulled ahead of the Chiefs 22-21 on Marcus Mariota's touchdown pass to Eric Decker

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The Latest on the NFL playoffs on wild-card weekend (all times EST):

7:25 p.m. ET

The Titans have pulled ahead of the Chiefs 22-21 on Marcus Mariota's touchdown pass to Eric Decker, and the ensuing 2-point conversion could become a point of controversy.

Tennessee went for two in an attempt to make it a field-goal advantage, and Mariota was wrapped up for a sack by Daniel Sorenson.

The ball came loose and Frank Zombo picked it up, and the linebacker began returning it for two points that would have swung the lead back to Kansas City.

But the officials had blown their whistles, ruling that Mariota's progress had been stopped.

So, the Titans lead 22-21 with 6:06 left in the game.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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7:05 p.m.

The Titans have pulled within 21-16 of the Chiefs after Derrick Henry ran nearly untouched 35 yards for a touchdown with 14:08 left in their playoff game.

The Chiefs have led the whole way, but their offense has grown stagnant since tight end Travis Kelce was knocked out with a concussion. And the Titans, for all their mistakes, have managed to keep plugging away behind Henry's hard running.

The former Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama has 17 carries for 106 yards and his score.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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7 p.m.

The Chiefs are one quarter away from their first home playoff win in nearly a quarter century.

They lead the Titans 21-10 after three quarters at Arrowhead Stadium, though they just missed a chance to add to the lead. They recovered a fumbled punt deep in Tennessee territory but couldn't pick up a first down, and Harrison Butker missed a 48-yard field goal off the left upright.

Now, the Titans are driving in hopes of making it a one-score game.

Kansas City has not won a playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium since January 1994, when Joe Montana was the quarterback. The Chiefs beat the Steelers that day.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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6:55 p.m.

There is a sizeable fire blazing in a wooded area across the street from Arrowhead Stadium, where the Chiefs are leading the Titans 21-10 late in the third quarter.

It's unknown what set the blaze about a half-mile southwest of the stadium, and a short walk from the Chiefs' practice facility. Fans inside the stadium are unaware of it, but it is clearly evident out the south-facing windows of the press box.

Several fire trucks are already on the scene, trying to put it out before the end of the game.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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6:40 p.m.

Marcus Mariota threw a touchdown pass to himself in the Titans' playoff game against Kansas City.

The Tennessee quarterback took the snap with third-and-goal at the 6, and he was under pressure as he scrambled to his left.

His pass to the end zone was deflected by Darrelle Revis right back to Mariota, who not only caught it but dived into the end zone for the score.

Mariota's touchdown pass — and reception, for that matter — capped a 15-play, 91-yard drive that took 8:29 and ultimately trimmed the Titans' deficit to 21-10.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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6:25 p.m.

All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce is out for the rest of the Chiefs' playoff game against the Titans after sustaining a concussion late in the first half.

The injury also puts his status in question for next week should the Chiefs advance.

Kelce was being tackled when the Titans' Johnathan Cyprien delivered a blow with his shoulder. Their helmets also collided and Kelce appeared to be dazed when he got to his feet.

The Chiefs lead 21-3 early in the third quarter.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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6:10 p.m.

The Chiefs are taking a 21-3 lead into halftime of their wild-card playoff game against Tennessee after driving 79 yards in 1:52 and scoring on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson.

Kansas City converted on third-and-6 early in the drive, when the Titans called timeout in hopes of getting the ball back, then moved effortlessly downfield the rest of the way.

Robinson crossed the goal line with 3 seconds left in the first half.

Alex Smith was 19 of 23 for 231 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in the half.

His counterpart, Marcus Mariota, was 7 of 13 for 82 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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6 p.m.

Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is being evaluated for a concussion after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit from the Titans' Johnathan Cyprien late in the first half of their playoff game.

The second-team All-Pro caught a pass over the middle and was going to the ground when Cyprien tried to lay a shoulder into him. Their helmets collided and Kelce lay on the turf stunned.

When he got up, he was wobbling toward the end zone and officials called for the training staff.

Kelce was taken immediately to the locker room.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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5:55 p.m.

The Titans are on the scoreboard after Ryan Succop's 49-yard field goal, and they got some help from the officiating crew just to trim their deficit to 14-3 late in the first half.

Marcus Mariota took a vicious hit from Chiefs linebacker Derrick Johnson on a delayed blitz, and he clearly dropped the ball before he hit the ground. But the play was blown dead by the officials, so even though Justin Houston picked up the fumble, the Titans got a chance to kick a field goal.

Chiefs coach Andy Reid spent an entire timeout arguing the call to no avail.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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5:20 p.m.

The Chiefs lead the Titans 14-0 at the end of the first quarter, which is precisely the same score after 15 minutes when these teams met in the regular season in 2016.

The Titans wound up rallying for a 19-17 victory.

In fact, the Chiefs carried a 17-7 lead into the fourth quarter of that game. But the Titans mounted a comeback, and former Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop hit a 52-yard field goal on the final play of the game — after a timeout by Andy Reid gave him another shot — to give Tennessee the win.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

___

5:15 p.m.

The Chiefs that won five straight to start the regular season and four straight to finish it have apparently showed up in the playoffs, racing to a 14-0 lead over the Titans.

Alex Smith connected with tight end Travis Kelce for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 2:15 left in the first quarter. It was the second straight TD drive for Kansas City, both covering 75-plus yards.

Smith is 8 of 11 for 154 yards and the score. Kareem Hunt has 25 yards rushing and the other TD.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

___

4:55 p.m.

The Chiefs are on the board first in their playoff game against Tennessee with Kareem Hunt, this season's NFL rushing champion, plunging in from 1 yard out for a touchdown.

The teams swapped scoreless drives before Kansas City went 81 yards in just under three minutes.

Two big plays set up the short TD run: Tyreek Hill caught a pass underneath the coverage and raced 45 yards, then tight end Travis Kelce caught a 27-yard pass to the 2-yard line.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

___

4:35 p.m.

Chiefs cornerback Marcus Peters hid out in the locker room during the national anthem before their playoff game against Tennessee, just as he has done all season.

Peters has never fully addressed the reason he protests during the anthem.

Fans unfurled a field-length flag during the rendition, and a B-2 bomber flew overhead, while the Titans and the rest of the Chiefs stood on their respective sidelines at attention.

Tennessee won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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4:30 p.m.

Jon Gruden may be getting an up-close look at his future rival.

Gruden is providing the color analysis for ESPN's broadcast of the Chiefs-Titans playoff game at Arrowhead Stadium.

The Associated Press and several other outlets have reported that Gruden will be introduced as the coach of their AFC West-rival Oakland Raiders on Tuesday.

Play-by-play man Sean McDonough congratulated Gruden on his transition back to coaching, and the former Raiders and Buccaneers head coach replied: "Nothing is official yet but these Chiefs fans have been on my case since I got here."

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

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4 p.m.

The Chiefs have only won two home playoff games in franchise history, the last in January 1994, so perhaps there was some trepidation among fans about investing in a ticket this season.

Chiefs president Mark Donovan vowed that their game against the Titans would sell out, but there were still plenty of seats available late in the week.

And with an hour left before kickoff, the usual snarl of traffic getting into the parking lots was relatively light.

Several ticket brokers listed seats Saturday for less than $30 apiece, including the fees.

— Dave Skretta reporting in Kansas City

___

The NFL playoffs get started Saturday with a doubleheader starting in Kansas City, where the Chiefs will try to beat Tennessee for their first home postseason win in nearly a quarter century.

The fourth-seeded Chiefs won four straight games to cap the regular season and capture their second straight AFC West title. The Titans needed a win in their regular-season finale and some help to earn a wild-card spot as the AFC's fifth seed.

The nightcap features the Falcons visiting the Rams at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.

The Bills visit the Jaguars and the Panthers visit the Saints on Sunday, and the outcome of those games will determine whom the winners on Saturday will face next week.

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For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL

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