How the Titans overcame an 18-point deficit to beat the Chiefs, 22-21, in the Wild Card Round The Tennessee Titans looked

awful in the first half but came to life in the third quarter to dig their way out of a 21-3 halftime hole and defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 22-21, on Saturday.It was the first postseason victory for the Titans in 14 years, and they became the first road team since 1957 to overcome an 18-point, second-half deficit to win.The Titans will have to wait until Sunday to find out where they’re headed next week after advancing. If the Jacksonville Jaguars win, Tennessee will travel to face the New England Patriots. But if the Buffalo Bills come away with a victory, it’ll be a road game for the Titans against the Pittsburgh Steelers.If Tennessee plays the way it did in the second half and avoids the pitfalls that led to a slow start, the Titans may be able to do some damage next weekend. Here’s how they fell behind and then managed to pull off the come-from-behind victory Saturday:Alex Smith was efficient and mistake-free in the 1st halfThe Chiefs’ quarterback gets knocked for struggling to make the big plays sometimes https://www.kcrgear.com/andrew-benintendi-jersey, but one things he rarely does is lose a game for his team. He has just one multi-interception game in the last two seasons, and he avoided throwing any to the Titans on Saturday.His most impressive moment came at the end of the first half when he led the Chiefs down the field on a nine-play, 79-yard drive that was capped with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Robinson with three seconds left in the half. By halftime, the Chiefs had a 21-3 lead, and Smith had one of the most impressive starts to a game in his entire career.Alex Smith: 19-of-23 (82.6 pct) in 1st half, with 2 dropsOnly 1 player in last 25 seasons had 20+ throws and a higher comp pct in the 1st half of a playoff game: Aaron Rodgers (2010 at ATL)'s 231 passing yards are his 5th-most in a half of any game, including playoffs— NFL Research January 6, 2018Most of the big plays for the Chiefs’ offense were short passes from Smith that turned into something more, but even in those cases, the quarterback did what he could to contribute. On one play, he even blocked linebacker Wesley Woodyard to help spring Tyreek Hill for a first down. But all those good tidings came to a screeching halt at halftime. In the first 24 minutes of the second half, he had just 11 yards passing and couldn’t lead the Chiefs to first downs, let alone points. Even when Adoree’ Jackson muffed a punt to set Kansas City up with great field position https://www.kcrgear.com/carlos-beltran-jersey, the Chiefs did nothing with it.Smith finished the game with 264 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. That’s a strong stat line, but not when you consider that he already had 231 yards and two touchdowns at halftime.His contract runs through the 2018 season, but the Chiefs can save $17 million by releasing him. With Kansas City not doing anything with four trips to the playoffs in the last five years, it looks like it’s time for Patrick Mahomes, who was drafted with the No. 10 pick in the 2017 draft.Marcus Mariota did enough in the second halfThis wa