 If there's no game, one away from the championship, it don't get no better than this. No underdogs. Hey, everybody come out on top, though. Jackson fires down the middle ball, tipped the intercepted fire. Hey, he's got to be a racer and not panicking. That's how you play, baby, good job. Blake, Tenio throws the fade, left side ball up, and caught, is it inbounds? Yes! Touchdown, Titans! Jadu Smith tips it to himself! What a plonk! Titans Blitz presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans. I am Lance Smith, and for Eddie George's, Mark Mariani, and this is AMC Championship! I just said those words, AMC Championship round. Mark, man, man, good to see you again. Always a pleasure, man. This is overtime football, man. We're in the post-season AMC Championship. I'm gonna do my best to contain my excitement and get through the show, but I am ready to run through a wall right now. Good luck to you, because I feel the same way. Woo, let's go, man. Yes! Kansas City, here we come. This is what I'm here for. This man has great energy. I love this. You gotta just kind of contain it. Let's breathe a little bit and talk about this game. Let's kick off the show and do a little four downs with Mark. So let's break down this game in Baltimore where we whooped some Raven's butt. First down, first down, same, the second verse, same as the first, tractor pull, Derek Henry. Listen, we're out of superlatives. What more is there to say? This guy's on a historic pace. He's doing things no one has ever done. He's 250 pounds of all beast. I mean, he's deceptively fast. His vision is unbelievable. There's not a human being on this planet that could tackle him one-on-one, especially when our offensive line and those tight ends are just mauling people like that. I mean, look at Earl Thomas getting thrown the other way. This is an all-brocker. He used as a brocker. This is an all-pro. So I'm out. I'm out. We've been trying to talk about this guy for weeks and I'm out. I don't know what else to say about it. What else to say? He's already a legend. No one has ever played this game that's run for 180 yards in three games in a row. No one's ever done that except for Derek Henry. He set a rushing record for an eight-game stretch. No one in the playoffs has ever done this. And it's something to say, we're going to run it and then do it. That's what I wanted to say. And don't forget, these are stacked boxes, eight men in the box. We know where you're going and what's happening and they still can't stop it. And kudos to Derek Henry, but also that offensive line has a new mentality in this playoff, man. They are nasty. They are nasty. They've come together and carried us down the stretch. It's fun to watch. The whole team really has sort of come together just the right time, which is what you want in the playoffs. But yeah, you're right. That O-line, they're opening up some huge doors. I mean, he's running up the middle and then bouncing it outside. That's right. It's impressive to watch. Let's move on to second down. I'm sure he enjoyed this, Mr. Gene Pease. Pease schools his former team there in Baltimore. What a, so you're going up against, you know, Lamar Jackson in the Ravens offense. And Dean Pease had a game plan to shut him down. Unbelievable offense. They're explosive. They set every record in the books. They're the rushing champs this year as a team. And we go in there and just put a hurting on them. And I'll tell you what, from start to finish, we executed this game plan. It was a bend, but don't break type mentality. They were one and four in the red zone, 0-4 on fourth down. And I'll tell you what, man, it takes every single player on that field to do something like that to a player like Lamar Jackson. Role players, starters, everybody was out there balling. It was amazing. Jerell Casey's had a great postseason. He had a great season, great postseason of getting the sat, getting the fumble. Bayard, Vicaro with the picks. But that, those fourth down stops. I mean, how deflating is that when you are this tough offense that can do anything with the ball and on fourth down, just getting shut down. Again, our D-line just comes to play. Big Jeff, Dayquan Jones, Jerell Casey is playing like an absolute man possessed. I mean, I'm telling you, that's another down where you know what they're gonna do. You know they're gonna run it. We know what's happening. And we stuff them 0-4 on fourth and short. I mean, unbelievable turning point in the game one after the other, tons of kudos to this defense. That was the number one ranked offense in the league. Yeah, and shut the crowd down too. That crowd was so loud to start the game and then just didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to make of what they were witnessing. That's right. And they were witnessing Tennessee Titans willpower just overtaking their team. And Dean Pease, every week seems to put together a new game plan. We're gonna need a ton more of that because don't get it twisted. This is our toughest matchup thus far against the Chiefs. But true story, true story. Yeah, very similar matchup, which we'll talk about. Let's move on to a third down talking about Dean Pease being dialed in. Arthur Smith is super dialed in this postseason, especially this game. He's very excited on the sidelines, as you can see, but called just such an impressive game. You know, I used to watch Titans games and you kind of know, well, here's a run left or here's a run right, or you kind of knew what was going to have game flow, but Arthur is pulling it out of thin air. Again, perfectly executed game plan. And he's got a weapon like Derek Henry, but I'm telling you, we've been watching this, our run game march down the field, but our passing game can be just as deadly if we needed it. He's going, hey, you got to stop us. If you're going to stop us, we're going to go back to the well until you do stop us. And he is dialing it up here. We take a shot play with Tana Hill. Khalif Raymond's making big plays all over the field. That play right there after the fourth downstop to go deep to Khalif Raymond right away. I mean, I'm telling you, you have a sudden change, a turnover, and then you go for the knockout punch right off the bat. Arthur Smith, you know, big, you know what? I mean, I'm just been so impressed. He's got everybody, big playability is what I was going to say. He's got everybody off balance, including us. I mean, I'm telling you what, it's a beautiful thing to watch and he deserves a ton of credit. Speaking of beautiful things, can we talk about Derek Henry's jump pass? I mean, that, what? I don't know, guys. You're thinking, all right, sure, he's going to run it in. And this, he pulls this out of thin air from Uly, Florida. To Corey Davis, perfectly thrown ball, but I got to be honest guys, this may be the only thing he did wrong. Marcus Mariota is wide open. That was a terrible read. I mean, what's he looking at? No, I just can't. Right, stick to your day job. I mean, look at it. I'm sure you didn't run the ball. No, exactly, but it was brilliant. It was brilliant. Brilliant. So well executed, but you're right. Marcus in on that play, wide open, out on the edge. But hey, Marcus again, game after game is in on these special plays. Don't look for, don't be surprised to see that happen. There's more to come. For sure, no doubt. Down the stretch for this next game. All right, finally, a fourth down, moving on. As a unit, we've been doing so much, but really it's all about these individual players stepping up, game in and game out and doing their jobs and just flat out beating, you know, man coverage. It's amazing to watch what we're doing individually. Yeah, Coach Vrabel's whole adage is do your job, good to grade all that stuff, but it takes 53 guys each and every week, especially when you're the sixth seed to go start knocking these guys off one by one. It takes every single person making plays, doing your job, these tight ends, blocking on the edge, receivers downfield for Derek Henry. No bigger play. Corey Davis blocking. Corey Davis is making huge blocks in the run game. No bigger play than the Johnny Smith, 12 yard touchdown pass to get us going in the first quarter. I mean, all these guys contributing and performing when their numbers called is just unbelievable. Here's the Johnny Smith. I mean, this play, you know, this is on third down and to hold us to a field goal here after an interception would have been a win for them. And we go get this touchdown to catch. I mean, just completely deflating for them. All the momentum in our favor. And then we took off from there. And guys like Johnny who have been stepping up, you know, we don't have anybody on our team that's going to get 12, 13 targets a game like other teams. But to see this receiving core in these tight ends, make the plays when their numbers called has made a huge difference. And I'm talking about Pruitt. I'm talking about Firkser. I'm talking about Tajeshart, my boy. All these guys, when their numbers called, they make that play. Very, very well coached team. Totally. All right. Well, you know, 15 minutes can save you 15% or more on your car insurance. With that, we'll go to our first race with our Gacko basketball. Titan man here. We have invaded Baltimore and we're taking over the 10 route. Titans Blitz presented by Farm Bureau Health Plans now half time here on the show. You saw fans there in Baltimore taking over the town properly. I love that. That's right. What a game. What a game this was. Yeah. But to be in it, I love this day and age that we have all the technology when you mic in these players up. It's my favorite thing. So, you know, you watch the game and I know you loved it, but here's a little inside soundtrack from a man who had quite a game, Mr. Kenny Vicarro. And here is Kenny Vicarro, mic'd up. Got to take this win. Coming into the bank. Hostile territory. You know what time it is. Don't talk to coffee. I need your best, bro. Big, I need your best. I love these top of games, boy. Yo, we swarming. Yo, Mark. We coming. Better hit that hold up. No. He's got so much more. I know. Catch it. What are y'all gonna make a big play? Probably gonna be me, though. Hey, I'm on a roll right now. Hey, we can get a pick right here. Great eyes, KB. Hey, we can get a pick right here. Blitz coming. Jackson firing. Interceptive. Bring that thing. Bring that thing. Let's go. Ah, let's go. Hey, you want some? Here. Hey, you want some? Here. I knew it. What a clutch, clutch catch. A nice break. Really a clutch catch. He tracked that thing all the way. Made a nice hands catch. That's beautiful. That mic's on, right? Hey, Tom, we do all that hard work. All that hard work. We're gonna be on that heel. On that heel, dawg. On that heel. Those fans there, we're rocking it there. On the road, that's what I love. I like our fans that travel, man. This whole city's on fire, man. Titan Nation shows up loud and proud, just like the studio right here, man. This is crazy. It's a good time. All right, well, that was a road rally there in Baltimore. We're gonna do it again in Kansas City. So if you were watching and you were going to Kansas City, make sure you head to Johnny's Tavern. That's a seven to 10 that's on Saturday. So, you know, show up before, don't show up after you play the game. That's when they're doing a party. And here in town, though, we've got a Titans watch party, the George Jones and the Nashville Underground. That's Sunday. That is game day, one PM. That's George Jones, Nashville Underground here downtown. Downtown's gonna be wild. It's gonna be a good time. All right, well, now back to this show and the two minute warning. And let's talk about this game at hand, this AFC Championship game. And it really kind of snuck up on us. It's crazy. All right, so first key to victory here. You know, we were mentioning it, contain my homes. I mean, he is, he's a one man wrecking crew. I mean, we, you know, Lamar Jackson had this sort of allure about him, but my homes has done it and proven. He's got a skill set that maybe we've ever seen in the NFL and contain is the right word because you can't stop this guy, but we have to make the his day very difficult. We have to make them earn every yard, make them convert third downs. We have to hit him when we have the chance. We have to make him extremely uncomfortable. He's obviously the key to their engine. And you can't stop him, but listen, get to the red zone, bend but don't break just like last week, make him kick field goals. And I hate to say this, but we're going to have to outscore these guys. And it probably is going to be a shootout because these guys are so explosive, but we can do it and just make it hard, make his day miserable. And two, you know, the last time we saw him here, we beat the chiefs, but he was coming off of an injury. He's so good when plays break down. He's so good on unscheduled plays. So our secondary is really going to have to run a lot. No doubt. All the weapons, stay on your man, get it done. Speaking of weapons, they have one giant weapon and one Travis Kelsey tight end. Kelsey is a nightmare on the field. He had 10 catches in a million yards this last game. How do you stop a guy like that? He's a nightmare. He's a mismatch nightmare. If you put a linebacker on him, he's faster. If you put a safety on him, he's bigger. So I think DMPs is going to have to specifically get a game plan put together that throws a combination of things at him. Keep them guessing, like I said, but make no mistake about it. This is the safety valve for Patrick Mahomes. This is his guy. And I know he's got weapons spread all over the field, but Travis Kelsey is the main guy. When Patrick Mahomes, when things break down, he looks for Kelsey. We have a guy by the name of Kevin Byard, by the way, who's an all pro, who will see this guy a lot. I like that matchup for us. It's going to be a hard day, but I'll tell you what, man, strength for strength there. And again, you can't stop him. Just contain him, tackle him, no yards after catch. Yeah, they're going to move the ball. They're going to do what they do, but right, but stick to him like glue. And third, look, Derek Henry, I want to give him, I want him to run it 60 times if he can get it done. But AJ Brown, we have lots of weapons, but AJ Brown has an incredible season and I would love to see what he can do with the ball in his hands. You know, whether it's an end around or a jet sweep kind of deal, we've got to get AJ Brown involved. Get your playmakers the ball, get them in space. This guy is a freak after the catch. I don't care if it's a one yard throw, whatever it is, get him the ball, get it in his hands and let's see what he can do. He's been doing it all year. Obviously he's been a little bit more quiet in the playoffs, but that's what I'm saying. They're going to try to take away Derek Henry. They're going to try to take away that run game. We have to step up. AJ Brown has been our guy. I think he can get it done. I see him having a lot more opportunities this week. Whether they hand it to him, run in the ball, throw it to him downfield, take a shot with them. He's going to have to come up big because like I said, we're going to have to outscore these guys. Yeah, he had the most big plays in the league. I would love to see some big plays from AJ Brown, this game for sure. All right, well, the stage is set. It's the AFC Championship game. There's so much going into this. There's so much emotion riding at this point in the season. So on the other side here, I want to talk to you about what these players are feeling and get your perspective from a player's point of view on what these guys are going through. AFC Championship, can you believe those? Take it, take it, AFC Championship. We have more Titan Prince on the inside. Stick around and we'll be right back. Like that, welcome back to the Titans Blitz presented by Farm Bureau Health Lands. Lance and Mark back with you. It is now over time here on the show and time for our Wendy's hot take of the week. Here we are, four teams left of the 32. We're one of them. It has been a, yeah, it's something just to say that. What a season it has been. I want to know from you, Mark Mariani, what these players are feeling right now. How do they contain the excitement and just do their jobs? This is our fourth road game in a row in January. It's gonna be cold. How do they deal with this? What I think and what I've seen is that we've been playing playoff football down the stretch of the season, couldn't lose a game. And then obviously get the sixth seed on the road at Gillette Stadium in Baltimore against the number one seed. Listen, we are not gonna have one ounce of let down. These guys have all the confidence, all the swag and all the momentum. They're taking after our coach, Mike Frable, who's got all the confidence in the world and his guys and the preparation that he puts them through each week. And I just believe that we've already passed the test of having to shake off these road woes. I mean, we are warriors at this point. Like I said, underdog mentality, come out scrapping. These guys are not afraid of anything at this moment, man. And I would say different, but I've seen it. And these guys are playing with all the confidence in the world. They really are. Yeah, it's so fun to watch. They've executed their game plan, start to finish. And we're not just winning last second field goals. We are beating the defending champs and the number one team in the league in back to back weeks. And now we have another road test in Kansas City this week. I don't care where we play, man. We could play Kansas City. We could play in Miami. We could play wherever you want. Wherever you want. With DPs and that defense and that ground and pound running game, we'll go play anywhere. And I'll tell you what, the colder and nastier it gets, the better because that's how we play. We are nasty. Yeah. Yes, Marbury, and he knows. Hey, remember if you're here in town, check out the watch parties. Make sure you go to George Jones and the Nashville Underground. It's gonna be a great time. Downtown Nashville is gonna be rocking. I'm gonna be running around, waving that Titan up towel. It's gonna be awesome. It's our third AFC championship game ever as Titans. That's right. Third time, haven't been here in 18 years. Super Bowl, baby.