Succop's 53-yard field goal gives Titans 19-17 win over KC

Dec 18, 2017, 06:56 pm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Ryan Succop kicked a 53-yard field goal into the wind as time expired Sunday to give the Tennessee Titans a 19-17 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on a frigid afternoon at Arrowhead Stadium.

Succop, who spent the first part of his career with Kansas City, came up short on his first try at the winner, but Chiefs coach Andy Reid had called a timeout just before the snap. Given a second chance, Succop knocked it through with a couple feet to spare as the Titans poured off the bench to celebrate.

The Titans' rallied from a 17-7 hole, and Derrick Henry's second touchdown got Tennessee (8-6) within 17-16 with just over three minutes left. But Titans coach Mike Mularkey went for the 2-point conversion and the lead. Marcus Mariota was pressured immediately and his pass never reached the end zone.

But the Chiefs (10-4), trying to clinch a playoff spot, were unable to pick up enough first downs to run out the clock and Tennessee got the ball back with a minute left. With no timeouts, Mariota calmly found Rishard Matthews for 19 yards and Delanie Walker twice to set up Succop's field-goal attempt.

The dramatic late-game turn came after Tennessee squandered plenty of chances early in the game.

Matthews fumbled within sight of the goal line in the first half, ending the Titans' streak of four straight games without a turnover. And Mariota, a Hawaii native, had plenty of trouble dealing with the cold weather, fumbling the ball away and throwing an interception to Ron Parker .

It was 1 degree at kickoff at Arrowhead Stadium, with a wind chill of minus-19, making it the coldest game in Kansas City since the franchise began keeping records in 1994.

Still, the Chiefs got off to a hot start in the cold weather when Tyreek Hill faked like he was running an option play and took an inside handoff instead, running untouched 68 yards for a first-quarter touchdown.

It was the sixth touchdown for the dynamic rookie in the last four weeks.

Smith added his touchdown later in the half, and Cairo Santos knocked through a field goal, but the Chiefs blew a couple of opportunities. They were repelled twice at the 1-yard line and came away without any points, and Smith threw an interception in the end zone early in the second half.

Succop hit from 39 yards early in the fourth quarter make it a one-possession game, and the Titans promptly got the ball back and marched the other way, twice converting on third down and once on fourth to set up Henry's 1-yard TD plunge. The 2-point conversion attempt was a disaster, but it wound up being moot.

The Titans' defense and Succop's strong right leg made sure of it.

WEATHER WOES

The record for coldest game at Arrowhead Stadium had been 9 degrees before Sunday. It was so cold that the fuses in the west scoreboard freeze, blanking out a large section of it for much of the game.

INJURY UPDATE

The Titans lost safety Da'Norris Searcy to a concussion and cornerback Jason McCourty to a chest injury in the first half. Defensive tackle Karl Klug left with an ankle injury in the second half.

UP NEXT

Chiefs play Denver on Christmas night.

Titans visit Jacksonville on Saturday.

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