When the initial NFL playoff schedule was released a few weeks ago, just after the Titans had snuck into the postseason as the AFC’s No. 6 seed, nobody could have guessed fans in Tennessee would be looking for their own team’s game when they scanned their TV channels for the AFC championship game Sunday. Yet here are are.
Today’s Chiefs vs. Titans game in Kansas City, scheduled to kick off at 3:05 p.m. ET, will be shown on CBS. The winner will advance to Super Bowl 54 and face the 49ers or Packers.
Tennessee reached the AFC title game despite the odds being heavily against it, and Sunday’s Kansas City matchup is no different with the Chiefs being 7.5-point home favorites. But these Titans, who look eerily similar to the team that advanced to the Super Bowl 34 years ago, have perfectly leveraged an underdog mentality.
CHIEFS vs. TITANS PICKS:
Against the spread | Straight-up predictions
With one more upset win, the Titans would join the 2010 Packers and the 2005 Steelers as the only No. 6 seeds to appear in the Super Bowl since 1990, when the NFL instituted its 12-team playoff format. Both Green Bay and Pittsburgh went on to win the title in those seasons. Tennessee also would join those teams as the only ones to beat each of the top three seeds in their conference to reach the Super Bowl.
The engine of the Titans’ charge, running back Derrick Henry, has already become the first player with at least 180 rushing yards in consecutive playoff games in NFL history. With at least 123 more in the AFC championship game, he would Terrell Davis and John Riggins as the only players with at least 500 rushing yards in a single postseason in NFL history.
Even though the Chiefs are the No. 2 seed, they reached this round in an improbable manner, as well. Kansas City, which found itself down 24-0 early in the divisional round against Houston, became the first team to win a game by at least 20 points after trailing by at least 20 points in the same game in NFL history. This is why it helps to employ the reigning NFL MVP.
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Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Chiefs’ comeback with 321 passing yards and five touchdowns without an interception for a 134.6 passer rating, adding 53 yards on the ground. He became the first player with at least 300 passing yards, five touchdown passes and 50 rushing yards in a single postseason game in NFL history.
Now Mahomes, who has eight touchdown passes in three career postseason games, needs at least three more against the Titans to tie Kurt Warner for the most through a player’s first four playoff games in NFL history. With one more than that, he would become the first player in NFL history with at least four touchdown passes in consecutive playoff games.
With that as the background, below is all the info you need to watch Chiefs vs. Titans in the AFC championship game on Sunday, including the TV channel and kickoff time.
MORE: Full betting preview for Chiefs vs. Titans
What channel is Chiefs vs. Titans on today?
TV channel (national): CBS
TV channel (Kansas City): KCTV
TV channel (Nashville): WTVF
Live stream: Yahoo! | DAZN (in CA)
Sunday’s Chiefs vs. Titans game on CBS will be called by the network’s No. 1 crew. That means Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will call the game from the booth, and Tracy Wolfson and Jay Feely will report from the sidelines. Gene Steratore is the network’s NFL rules analyst.
For those who can’t watch Chiefs vs. Titans on TV and wish to find the game on the radio, the Tennessee call can be heard on Sirius channel 82 and XM channel 226, and the Kansas City call can be heard on Sirius channel 83 and XM channel 225.
MORE: Watch every NFL game and RedZone on DAZN (Canada only)
What time does the Chiefs vs. Titans game start?
Date: Sunday, Jan. 19
Start time: 3:05 p.m. ET
In both our picks against the spread and our straight-up predictions for the conference championship round of the NFL playoffs, Sporting News projected a Chiefs win over the Titans. Below are the explanations.
Against the spread: The Titans rallied in the fourth quarter to beat the Chiefs 35-32 in the teams’ wild Week 10 game in Nashville, the last time Kansas City has lost a game. Derrick Henry dominated as usual in the November meeting, with his rushing performance alllowing Tennessee to have every answer for Patrick Mahomes’ big passing day in his first game back from his knee injury.
The Chiefs get the rematch at home, and they know it won’t be easy after the Titans fearlessly knocked off the Patriots in New England and the Ravens in Baltimore. The Chiefs also have the No. 26-ranked run defense from the regular season, allowing on average 4.9 yards per carry. They know what’s coming and can’t expect to stop it, because no one can.
Rather, the Chiefs should focus on the Titans having the No. 24 pass defense. Mahomes is fully healthy and red-hot, operating at a high level in a more explosive and well-rounded passing game than what was around Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson. So there are no breaks for the Titans in that aspect of the game, and their matchups are bad against both tight end Travis Kelce and wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
Coach Mike Vrabel will push for the Titans to keep it close, and his counterpart, Andy Reid, will oblige by playing it conservative at times. But Kansas City will be able to go into overdrive in the second half to keep the game just out of reach for Henry and Ryan Tannehill.
With a second straight shot at winning the AFC championsip in Arrowhead stadium, the Chiefs will aim, fire and not miss with Mahomes.
Pick: Chiefs win 34-27 but fail to cover the spread
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Straight up: On one hand, the No. 2-seeded Chiefs should feel fortunate to draw the No. 6-seeded Titans in the AFC title game rather than, say, the Ravens or Patriots, the two teams Tennessee upset on its way to Kansas City. On the other hand, this is a tough matchup for the Chiefs.
Rising star running back Derrick Henry was a nightmare for Baltimore and New England, the teams that finished the regular season with the No. 5- and No. 6-ranked rush defenses, respectively. So what should we expect the 6-3, 240-pounder to do against the defense that ranked 26th in rushing yards allowed this season with 128.2 given up per game? Henry’s rushing totals thus far in the playoffs: 182 yards against the Patriots; 195 yards against the Ravens.
While the Chiefs’ overall defense improved dramatically through the second half of the season, they will have their hands full with the Titans’ running game. That was the case in Week 10, when Tennessee out-rushed visiting Kansas City 225-97 and upset the Chiefs with a last-minute Ryan Tannehill touchdown pass. The Chiefs’ best defense in the rematch, then, will be their best offensive player.
Tennessee’s defense is respectable, but it’s not a juggernaut. The Titans took advantage of a limping Patriots offense in the wild-card round, and they beat the Ravens thanks to perfect situational football — certainly not because they shut down Lamar Jackson and Co., who managed 530 total yards in the loss.
Patrick Mahomes presents Tennessee a different kind of challenge with his MVP arm and, based on what he did against the Texans, an apparent willingness to pick up key yardage with his legs. He and the Chiefs have been on a roll since that November loss to the Titans, a seven-game winning streak in total.
It will continue with vengeance against Tennessee and a trip to South Florida.
Pick: Chiefs 34, Titans 28
NFL playoff schedule: Conference championship games
Below is the full schedule for the rest of the NFL playoffs in 2020, from today’s conference championship games through Super Bowl 54, complete with TV channels and live stream links.
Sunday, Jan. 19
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| Chiefs vs. Titans | 3:05 p.m. ET | CBS | Yahoo/DAZN (CA) |
| 49ers vs. Packers | 6:40 p.m. ET | Fox | Yahoo/DAZN (CA) |
Super Bowl 54
Sunday, Feb. 2
| Matchup | Start time | TV channel | Live stream |
| AFC champion vs. NFC champion | 6:30 p.m. ET | Fox | Yahoo/DAZN (CA) |