KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes connected with wide receiver Demarcus Robinson on a 28-yard touchdown pass as the Chiefs cruised to a 30-6 win over the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium in the preseason finale for both teams.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes passed for 183 yards in the first half of the team’s 30-6 win over the Tennessee Titans at Arrowhead Stadium on Aug. 31, 2017. (Photo courtesy Chiefs PR, Chiefs.com)
Head coach Andy Reid liked what he saw from Mahomes in a dress rehearsal as the team’s starting quarterback.
“I thought he handled the last few days the right way,” Reid said. “He’s also going to have to carry that same thing over as a backup. Knowing you’re just one play away from being the guy. Again, this was a very important thing for him.”
Mahomes finished 9-of-16 passing for 183 yards in the first half before exiting the game. Rookie running back Devine Redding added 59 yards on 21 carries in leading the Chiefs in rushing.
Tennessee’s third-string quarterback Alex Tanney led the Titans offense most of the game, finishing 9-of-21 passing for 101 yards and an interception. David Fluellen led the team on the ground with 74 yards on 19 carries. Tight end Jerome Cunningham added two catches for 39 yards.
But Tennessee struggled to move the ball consistently against the Chiefs. Eight of the team’s 12 possessions failed to advance past 20 yards. Most of the starters for both teams sat out the game.
The Mahomes-Robinson connection turned in three highlight-reel plays for the Chiefs. Mahomes first teamed with Robinson on a 53-yard pass deep down the middle to the Tennessee 22-yard line late in the first quarter. But a Redding fumble turned the ball over to the Titans, ending the scoring threat.
Midway through the second quarter Mahomes and Robinson hooked up again. This time a scrambling Mahomes danced outside to his right in avoiding pressure, firing an on-the-run pass to Robinson along the right sideline for a 46-yard gain to the Titans 36-yard line.
Mahomes said the Titans covered all his reads, and then he started scrambling to his right.
“The line had protected me for a day and a half,” Mahomes said. “I was kind of scrambling out to the right and saw D-Rob out there and spit it out there.”
Robinson said he saw Mahomes scrambling and tried to find an opening down field.
“I knew who I had at quarterback and I was like, he can make good down the field plays,” Robinson said. “I was just trying to get open when I see him scrambling.”
A penalty knocked the Chiefs from field-goal range, however, and Tennessee forced a punt.
The final Mahomes and Robinson connection completed a five-play, 64-yard drive taking a mere 70 seconds off the clock inside the 2-minute warning of the first half. The touchdown pass to Robinson put Kansas City up 13-3 at the break.
The only Tennessee scoring came from kicker Ryan Succop. He connected on kicks from 40 and 48 yards for the Titans.
Chiefs’ rookie wide receiver Jehu Chesson added a 76-yard punt return in the first half.
“We talked about it all week how we could try to be explosive and make plays out there on the edge,” Chesson said. “I fielded a left ball, got it off the left shoulder, then made one move and up the field. You see it, you got to hit it.”
Tight end Gavin Escobar completed a juggling 2-yard catch in the corner of the end zone from Tyler Bray in the third quarter. Kansas City’s fourth-string quarterback Joel Stave completed the scoring with a 68-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Tevin Jones.
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Matt Derrick is the lead beat writer for ChiefsDigest.com. Use the contact page to reach him or find him on Twitter: @MattDerrick.
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