Why Andy Reid-coached teams (Chiefs and Eagles) have rarely beaten the Tennessee Titans

Before the AFC Championship Game for the 2019 season, Chiefs coach Andy Reid was asked why his teams have had trouble beating the Tennessee Titans, even when Reid’s teams were favored.

At that point, Reid’s regular-season record as coach of the Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles was 1-7.

“Heck of a record, isn’t it?” Reid quipped.

Even more so now. It’s 1-8 after last year’s Chiefs loss in Nashville, 27-3. The outcome marked the fewest points scored in the Reid era.

Counting playoff games, Reid’s record vs. the Titans stands at 2-9, his worst against any opponent. Reid even has more career victories over the Chiefs (3-0).

Reid and the Chiefs get another shot at the Titans on Sunday Night Football at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs beat the Titans in the AFC title game, their most recent meeting at Arrowhead. But the regular reason has been a painful story.

Mahomes’ 0-2 record against Tennessee matches his worst against any opponent. He’s also 0-2 as a starter against the Indianapolis Colts, and it makes you wonder what’s the deal with AFC South opponents ...

But back to the Titans. Against Tennessee in the last decade, the Chiefs have been favored every time they’ve played, regular season and playoffs. Their only victory besides the AFC title game came in Reid’s first season, 2013.

The most crushing defeat came in the 2017 Wild Card Game, when the Chiefs, an 8 1/2-point favorite, fell 22-21. That was the game in which then-Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota threw a deflected touchdown pass to himself.

What is it about Tennessee that has bumfuzzled Reid, Mahomes and the Chiefs during some of the best years in franchise history? It starts with Henry, who has averaged 111.4 yards and had scored six rushing touchdowns in five games.

But it’s more than that, too.

“People don’t talk about their D-line, but it’s one of the best D-lines in football,” Mahomes said. “And they have the mentality that they’re going to come in here and win.”

The Chiefs opened as double-digit betting favorites for Sunday’s game, so oddsmakers seem to think Tennessee’s historical dominance over Mahomes, Reid and Co. is just that — history.

But let’s take a look at the Reid-coached Chiefs teams’ regular-season games against Tennessee, in reverse-chronological order:

2021: Titans 27-3

The Titans opened this Week 7 game with three touchdowns and two field goals, rolling to a 27-0 lead at Nashville. Derrick Henry threw a touchdown pass to open the scoring. Ryan Tannehill completed 21 of 27 for 220 yards. Mahomes’ 62.3 passer rating was the second worst of his career.

2019: Titans 35-32

One of those how-the-heck-did-that-happen games. The Chiefs led in total yards 530-371 and possession time 38 minutes to 22. But a late botched field-goal attempt, and Henry’s 188 rushing yards, gave this one to the Titans in Week 10. This was the Chiefs’ last loss of the year, as their Super Bowl run included a victory over Tennessee for the AFC title.

2016: Titans 19-17

In one of the coldest games at Arrowhead — 1 degree Fahrenheit at kickoff — the Chiefs led 17-16 when Titans kicker, former Chief Ryan Succop, was short on a 53-yarder on the final snap. But before Succop’s attempt, Reid had called a timeout to — ahem — freeze the kicker. With that reprieve, Succop’s next kick attempt slid over the crossbar and through the uprights.

2014: Titans 26-10

This season opener was a nightmare for the Chiefs. Linebacker Derrick Johnson and defensive end Mike DeVito each suffered season-ended Achilles injuries in a span of eight plays. The Titans went on to finish 2-14 that season.

2013: Chiefs 26-17

The Chiefs scored 13 points in the final 6 1/2 minutes to defeat Tennessee in a game that did not set a tone for future meetings.