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Stunned Titans look to rebound against Chiefs

Dec 16, 2007 - 1:04 PM Tennessee (7-6) at Kansas City (4-9) 1:00 pm EST

KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Ticker) - A fourth-quarter collapse may have put the Tennessee Titans' playoff hopes on life support.

The Titans look to bounce back from a crushing defeat when they visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Last week, Tennessee squandered a 14-point lead in the final nine minutes of the fourth quarter and suffered a 23-17 overtime loss to the San Diego Chargers.

The defeat knocked the Titans out of a playoff spot and dropped them one game behind the Cleveland Browns for the AFC's second wild card spot.

With Jacksonville (9-4) in control of the AFC's first wild card slot, Tennessee may need to run the table to make the playoffs. The Browns host the Buffalo Bills this week.

"I don't know how it happened," defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch said of last week's collapse in which the Titans surrendered 20 straight points. "We had the game in hand and that's the NFL. A lot can happen, especially in the fourth quarter."

However, Tennessee may be facing the right team after a tough loss as the Chiefs have lost six straight.

The Titans are making their first visit to Arrowhead Stadium since the franchise relocated from Houston in 1998.

The rivalry between the two teams dates to the early days of the American Football League. Kansas City and Houston were the first two cities to be awarded franchises in the AFL.

Sunday's clash comes exactly 17 years to the day since Tennessee's last victory in Kansas City.

On December 16, 1990, Warren Moon led the-then Houston Oilers to a 27-10 win over the Chiefs. Moon passed for 527 yards, the second-highest single-game total in NFL history.

Seventeen years later, such fireworks seem highly unlikely - if not impossible. The Chiefs rank 31st in total offense - and last in rushing - while the Titans are 21st.

In last week's 41-7 loss at Denver, Kansas City was outgained by more than a three-to-one margin and rushed for only 16 yards.