Those offense struggles continued throughout much of the second half for the Chiefs, but despite yielding a pair of long scoring drives during the second quarter, the defense buckled down in a big way as the game continued. In fact, Tennessee recorded a grand total of one first down on its final nine possessions in the game. That defensive effort included a strong performance against Titans’ All-Pro tailback Derrick Henry, who – despite racking up a pair of big runs early in the game – recorded just 23 rushing yards on eight carries in the second half.
“[It was all about] perseverance. [We did] whatever it took to give our team the opportunity to close it out and win,” said defensive end Carlos Dunlap. “That’s what we focused on. It didn’t matter whatever scenario or whatever field position they had, [our mentality was to] get off the field. That’s what we were thinking.”
That stifling defensive performance kept the deficit at just eight points throughout the entirety of the second half, and while the Chiefs’ offense couldn’t get much going for much of that time, they didn’t waste their final opportunity late.
That last chance, which began on the Chiefs’ 7-yard line with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation, resulted in a 13-play, 93-yard scoring drive that ultimately tied the game at 17 points apiece. The Chiefs racked up seven first downs on that series alone, one of which occurred following a pivotal, 20-yard scramble by quarterback Patrick Mahomes that moved the chains on third-and-17. Mahomes later scrambled for a 14-yard touchdown on that drive to pull within two points before using his legs once again to successfully convert the two-point conversion attempt. In total, Mahomes accounted for every offensive yard on the game-tying series while displaying his trademark, “refuse to lose” competitive nature.
“You have to be able to win games like that, where everything just isn’t perfect and your emotions are up and down and you have to fight through…
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