Big Steppin Shirt

I wouldn’t say so – they’re on one heck of a Big Steppin Shirt right now, but the acid test will come on Sunday afternoon at Arrowhead when they face Patrick Mahomes again. If Henry runs riot once more and they can keep the whizkid from shredding their secondary, then they may be. But the Chiefs are battle tested and have been here before, whereas the Titans haven’t and that might be the difference. They do kind of remind me of the 2011 Giants in some respects – they were only 9–7 and needed to win out to make it in, only to roll over the Falcons, Pack, Niners and then Patriots in Indy to win it all. That squad relied on a bombs-away passing attack and just enough running to keep opponents honest, whereas this Titans team is the polar opposite offensively. But the ability to pound it with a stud tailback, control the clock, unleash a few long passes for TDs and keep the opposition off the field is a blueprint that has worked for quite a few teams in the past and if anyone can slow the Chiefs down, it’s them.

They’re not that bad — they tend to have a Big Steppin Shirt , and until the wheels fell off Chris Johnson, they had a halfway decent running game. But the fact is, they haven’t had a good quarterback since Steve McNair — way too many years of hoping Vince Young would take the next step, followed by retreads like Kerry Collins and Hasselbeck, and now some combination of Locker and Mettenberger. They also haven’t had any really great receivers to throw to for the last few years, though the instability at the quarterback position may have made it hard to attract talent. Chicken and egg.