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What Titans said after beating Chiefs 27-3 in Week 7

Not only did the Tennessee Titans prove themselves to be contenders with a great Week 7 win over the Kansas City Chiefs, they might have also staked their claim as the best team in the AFC, and one of the best in the league overall.

In back-to-back weeks, the Titans toppled the Buffalo Bills, who crushed the Chiefs the week prior, and Kansas City, which is crazy to think about considering Tennessee had previously lost to the New York Jets.

Whatever the case may be, the Titans are now tied for the best record in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals (not a typo). Cincy walloped Baltimore on Sunday, 41-17.

Despite the impressive nature of their last two wins, the Titans aren’t ready to get ahead of themselves. They’re no doubt happy with the win, but understand there is a long way to go.

Here’s a look at everything head coach Mike Vrabel and select players said after the game on Sunday (all quotes courtesy of Titans Online).

Mike Vrabel

Syndication: The Tennessean

Q. How much did that set the tone?

MIKE VRABEL: Where you’re at in the game, forcing them to run the football and even early on, just figured that we would probably be willing to rush the passer, and then have them hit a few handoffs there early in the game. But I think the score dictated a lot of that.

Q. Do you feel like this is the most complete performance so far this year?

MIKE VRABEL: Yeah, the way we started, got some stops, got turnovers, took advantage, there’s going to be things in the second half that we probably are going to want to do better, but you know, we’ll take a look at the tape and then we’ll move on.

Q. Coming into this game did you start seeing in practice some signs from (Bud) Dupree that maybe a game like this was coming?

MIKE VRABEL: He didn’t practice Friday. So was limited throughout the week. Didn’t see much in practice. Just hoped that he was going to be available for the game.

Q. The deep ball — ruled incomplete, injury timeout that you challenged, did it take a while —

MIKE VRABEL: No, we knew right away. Just was asking if they were going to have their helpers upstairs look at it, and they said something with the amount of time that had elapsed that now it was out of their hands. So we challenged it.

Q. Todd (Downing) mentioned on Thursday, in the offense he wanted to do more to play off of Derrick and take advantage of what he does. What did you think of the balance today?

MIKE VRABEL: I think it was good. I think we have to get going a little bit more. Give them credit. They defended the run well but we were able to hit some plays down the field. We talked about beating match coverage, and guys did that. A lot of guys stepped up, and took care of the quarterback for the most part.

Q. What do you think it was, because they were playing a lot of close, single-high looks, what happened to take advantage of those?

MIKE VRABEL: When you play match coverage, somebody has to win. You have to play with physicality or route craft, and the ball has to come out and you have to be able to be firm in the middle of the pocket, which when we complete those passes, we are, and I thought it was great timing to A.J. (Brown) in those situations down the field.

Q. How was it to see your team shake off the big win Monday night, put it behind them and get back out six days later?

MIKE VRABEL: That’s what this league’s about, win or lose, you’ve got to come back and be ready to go. Next challenge. You sleep on anybody in this league, it’s going to come back and it’s going to haunt you.

Q. The attackers up front, with (Bud) Dupree, (Jeffery) Simmons and (Harold) Landry, what is it about that that makes it so effective for you?

MIKE VRABEL: Four good players. You know, not coaching, and we try to give them a plan. Try to give them something to go with. Sometimes they win in straight rush and sometimes we pressure. Sometimes they work gains. And I think those guys are all building some confidence and rolling some guys through in there. Ola (Adeniyi) looked like he factored a little bit. Unfortunately we just — I don’t know if we got offsides and Dane (Cruikshank) caught the interception, whatever. But I felt like Ola was trying to factor in as well, too.

Q. Three takeaways today, seemed like they were coming in bunches, is that a matter of doing the same things and now the ball is following?

MIKE VRABEL: Yeah, I think so. I think we are just trying to chart and track attempts. And again, everybody’s screaming for Kevin (Byard) to hammer it, and it was only a matter of time before he got over there and did that. But just have to keep going after the attempts. You have to keep staying on your feet when you rush and the quarterback pumps it, but that’s the guy we’ve got to take it away from. That’s got to be the No. 1 target every week.

Q. On the offensive line, guys step in, some that haven’t been here very long —

MIKE VRABEL: We held the Chiefs to three points too, so everybody — it was a great win for everybody. Great job. The guys stepped up. Everybody did their job. Some guys can’t go, next guy goes in.

Q. How much of a challenge is it for a guy to come in — I know he’s got some background but a guy coming in fresh and jumping in, start today?

MIKE VRABEL: Everybody is expected — they are in that team meeting on Wednesday, they should expect to play in the game, and that’s what we do. Give Greg (Mabin) credit; give Chris Jones credit, Dane (Cruikshank), being able to jump in there to safety. That’s how this thing goes.

Q. When you have to punt two times —

MIKE VRABEL: Off the corner. Did a nice job. So certainly going to have to use that as a weapon to be able to go down there and punt the ball out of bounds or be able to get it to stop. You know, we’re going to get some stops and give our offense great field position most of the time if we can force them to start inside the five-yard line.

Q. You go one week at a time, but two wins against two teams towards the top of the AFC; how important is that?

MIKE VRABEL: We are seven games in, 5-2. So long way to go. Thanks, guys.

A.J. Brown

Syndication: USA TODAY

(on how big it was for the passing game to lead the offense in the first half today instead of leaning on the run game)

For me, personally, I was just trying to make a play each and every time the ball came to me. You know, we try to just keep going and wear guys down at the end of the game. We got out to an early lead so, unfortunately, Derrick (Henry) can’t break a long run like we would normally see, but he definitely has carried the team and he’s going to continue to do that.

(on what today’s performance means after a tough start to the season)

It means nothing. I tell myself I haven’t done anything. I’ve got to keep getting better, got to keep working. I’m on to the next.

(on if Friday was the turning point for him after battling food poisoning)

Yeah, it was like on Friday that it got a lot better for me.

(on if he’s been able to eat a lot of food over the last few days)

Not a lot, not a lot. A lot of fluids, though.

(on the confidence level to see what the team is capable of)

For the team, huge wins against two great opponents. You know, it’s definitely going to give us momentum going into the game next week.

(on if this was one of the most complete team performances he’s seen in a while)

I think we did well in all three phases today. Defense stepped up big time. They stopped them a lot. They’ve got some really good players over there. To hold them to three, that tells you everything you need to know. They had a really good day today on defense.

(on what was clicking for quarterback Ryan Tannehill and his passes today)

I don’t know. The first ball, Ryan (Tannehill) literally dropped it in the bucket. You know, you’d have to talk to him. That was a great throw for him. He always does a good job of giving me the ball, on target. Like I said, he couldn’t put it in a better place the first one.

(on playing 60 percent of the snaps today and retaining his energy and fluids)

I was fine. I was fine. You know, some plays you get fatigued, but for the majority, I was fine. Definitely moving in the right direction.

(on momentum and flow in the passing game from Monday through today)

We definitely used the momentum. It’s just the approach, a mentality we brought into this game. We started out pretty good and kept going and defense backed us up.

(on if he lobbied for the call to be looked at that was initially ruled incomplete)

Oh, for sure. I looked directly at him (Mike Vrabel). He told me to relax so he knew I wanted him to challenge it.

(on if the team put Monday night behind them and was ready for today’s game)

I can’t – to be honest, I don’t know. I came (to practice) on Friday so that was my first time seeing the guys on Friday. But on Friday, I definitely feel we had the right mindset going into the game.

(on how much weight he lost and if he got it back)

I lost a couple of pounds. I’m still trying to get it back. It definitely was tough. You know, not practicing on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday. Just trying to get my wind up, prepare for the game. It definitely was tough but I’m headed in the right direction.

(on the team being close to a ‘pick your poison’ offense)

I don’t like to – I don’t want to say. I definitely think we are moving in the right direction. This is one game. We didn’t win the Super Bowl today. We’re not going to get a big head about one win.

(on if the back-to-back wins have put the league on notice about the Titans)

The league is going to do its thing. They are going to say, ‘Look out for the Titans. They beat the Chiefs. They beat the Bills.’ But, I mean, for us, it’s week to week. It’s a week-to-week league and it’s tough. We’ve got to come in and we’ve got to go work every week. No matter what the gameplan is, like nobody knows who is going to win when you go out there. You can have the perfect gameplan and it can all go wrong. Like I said, it’s a week-to-week league and we’re going to try to stay focused and worry about next week against the Colts.

(on being impressed by the Titans defense)

Most definitely because those guys, they’ve got some really good guys over there. You know, to hold them to three, flying around, making tackles, doing whatever, picks, fumbles. Of course, I’m very impressed.

(on being up 7-0 early with the screen to running back Jeremy McNichols and how big of a moment that was)

Seems like Jeremy (McNichols) always comes up with some screens, comes up on third down with a screen. You know, he does a really good job and help converting. That gave us some momentum, you know, to not get a safety and get up out of there.

(on running back Derrick Henry being a stronger MVP candidate after today’s touchdown)

I’m always going to say Derrick (Henry) for MVP. He got a throwing touchdown under his belt, a passing touchdown. Yeah, for sure, for sure. You’ve got to account for that.

(on keeping his bland menu)

I’m going to try not to. You know, I got to eat. You know I like to eat so we’ll see.

(on it being impressive the team has so many injuries and still earns wins)

Injuries are part of the game. It’s a next man up mentality in this league and for us. We’ve got guys who are stepping in and stepping up big time for us, plugging in, and we’re just going to try to keep going.

 

Ryan Tannehill

Syndication: The Tennessean

on the team’s quick start today)

We came out and we executed. We played well early and that’s something we obviously wanted to improve upon from last week. Took us a while to get going last week. We knew coming out that high-powered offense on the other side, we wanted to get going early and score points early. We were able to do that and hopefully we can keep it going.

(on being super accurate today and being dialed in)

I felt good. I felt good a lot of games, you know. I can’t say I felt any different. I felt confident throwing the ball and guys were making play.

(on taking advantage of the Chiefs being concerned about running back Derrick Henry)

Yeah, they were mixing it up. They were giving us safeties down low. They’d roll one back, they’re going back to Tampa. They were really rolling the coverages on us and gave us a bunch of different looks. We were able to take advantage of the middle safety a few times there. Got one-on-one matchups there when that happened, and our guys made plays. If teams are going to try to take away Derrick (Henry) by stacking in the box then you have to be able to win on the outside.

(on the team hitting its stride and gaining confidence)

We’re heading in the right direction. We’ve done some good things. I felt like we built on what we started in the second quarter last week and we were able to get going and finish that game, win the game against a good opponent and build on that today coming out today and getting a fast start and scoring a lot of points early. Hopefully, we can just keep the course, keep working and keep getting better.

(on if more attention being paid to Derrick Henry allows play action to be effective)

I don’t think so. I think every week teams know that Derrick (Henry) is going to get his carries. I think its been that way since 2019. Teams know how we want to play and the threat that Derrick is. I don’t think a whole lot is different from the past couple weeks than even going back to 2019.

(on the connection between him and wide receiver A.J. Brown these past few weeks)

I think we’re improving. We’re growing as an offense, so we just want to stay the course and keep getting better.

(on if he’s seen a team go five quarters between punts before)

I don’t – I try to punt the least amount as possible. I don’t keep track of it though. If we can keep Brett (Kern) off the field – although when he did come on the field, he dropped a few little wedges inside the five-yard line so that was pretty impressive as well. Coming off COVID and IR and the whole thing and being able to drop it inside the five-yard line is pretty impressive. Yeah, we want to keep him off the field and just use him as few as times as possible.

(on Head Coach Mike Vrabel tempering the team to prevent getting overly confident)

Yeah, there’s nothing to get carried away about. We are seven games into a 17-game regular season. We have a lot of football in front of us. We just have to stay the course, enjoy the wins, keep building, grow as a team and be able to put a good team effort out each and every week.

(on seeing the defense play well today as a member of the offense)

It was huge, man. It was a lot of fun. I was loving watching those guys play. You know, they’re flying around. Seeing Harold (Landry III) bend on the edge, Bud’s (Dupree) on the other side. They’re meeting at the QB. David’s (Long Jr.) flying around, making tackles all over place. Secondary’s covering. They have a lot of fire power on the other side and we covered them and made it hard on them today. As an offensive guy, when you’re seeing your own defense play like that, it’s a lot of fun. They’re getting turnovers, giving us the ball back. It was huge the way they played today.

(on being in a groove after 10 straight completions on Monday and starting with 11 today)

Definitely, yeah. It feels good whenever you’re completing balls because you’re moving the chains, you’re sustaining drives and you get into a rhythm. So, it definitely feels good whenever the offense is moving and stringing drives together, no doubt.

(on the offensive flow of the last two weeks compared to previous games)

It feels great. You know, like you said, there’s been other stretches where we’ve been in a groove, and we did some good things today. Like I said, we just need to stay the course, keep building on what we did. There’s still a lot of things we’ve got to clean up today. We didn’t come out and execute well in the second half. They knew we were going to try to run it and wear down the clock and burn Derrick (Henry) and get him as many carries as we can. We didn’t execute well enough to run out the clock and sustain first downs there in the second half. We still have a lot of growth to get from this, but we did some good things and can build on it moving forward, no doubt.

(on if the ‘not getting carried away with anything’ attitude is new or something they’ve always done)

I think it’s always the same thing, right? It’s a week-to-week league. You can’t bank on what you did last week or two weeks ago. It doesn’t matter, frankly. If you don’t show up each and every week, you’re going to get beat. As a team, we enjoy the win. We hopefully build on it and get that confidence and build on that confidence, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to reset and come out and play each week and play good football.

(on if something specific clicked today for the team that hadn’t clicked before)

Yeah, I think we made plays. We were able to sustain drives, our guys were making plays outside. We had some one-on-one coverage, tight coverage. A.J. (Brown) made a couple huge plays down the field. The touchdown was a great catch. You know, I just basically gave him a chance, saw a one-on-one, and said, ‘Hey, I’m going to trust my guy and let him go get it.’ It was good to see those plays down the field being made and hopefully, we can build on that.

Kevin Byard

Syndication: The Tennessean

(on making plays to force Kansas City to turn the ball over and his forced fumble)

Trying to make plays, triggering on the quarterback on the scramble. All the time I was running over there, you know I was seeing bad, poor ball security. So I was thinking I could get close enough to try and hammer it out. And honestly it is something I work on weekly, working on weekly, and finally an opportunity to hammer the ball out, make a play for the team. It is just a great win.

(on what it says about the defense and how proud he is of holding Kansas City to a field goal)

It feels great, honestly it feels great. Probably since I have been here, the most complete win we have had from start to finish. Offense, defense, special teams just clicking on all cylinders. Just one of those things, many. It doesn’t matter what you do previous weeks and stuff like that. Every single week you got to come out here and bring it, you got to prove it every single week so obviously we know how explosive that offense is, so to hold them to only three points you have to give a lot of credit to the defensive line. I mean, those guys were flying around, making plays, affecting the quarterback, forcing them into some mistakes and stuff like that. So, just hats off to my defense.

(on what it meant for the team to force turnovers)

It’s incredible. I mean, when I am back there playing deep, I am watching those games, watching Nico (Denico Autry), Harold (Landry), and Jeff (Jeffery Simmons) and all those boys make plays. It’s a great feeling. It’s the type of stuff you love to watch. I mean, obviously, you know, kind of the lack of pass rush we had last year, to see those guys go hunting, just hunting, obviously it’s a great feeling.

(on what was working well for the pass rush)

It was just understood that we had to come into the game and everything and we had to find a way to affect the quarterback, make some disguise coverages. Like you say, getting pressure on him, forcing him to make some mistakes and not give up the big play. I mean, obviously they got a couple of screens, got a couple of gadget trick plays, but we didn’t give up anyhing big over the top of our heads and that was one of the biggest keys, just being physical. I think that is one thing that is not really talked about when we win games, you know people try to find all type of reasons why we are not going to win the next game or all that type of stuff, but they never talk about how physical we are as a team. Our offense, obviously with Derrick (Henry), they are going to be physical and it may not be pretty. I think I saw a stat last week that we have the most come-from-behind wins in the fourth quarter. That’s because of the physicality and the way we play the game. It may not be pretty at first but toward the end of the game, that stuff wears on teams. So, like I said, it’s great to have a win today.

(on if the team’s confidence is higher after wins against two of the AFC’s top teams)

Honestly our confidence is always high. There is not a team in this league that we don’t feel we can’t beat on any given Sunday. Power rankings, all that stuff doesn’t really matter. If you come out here and you don’t perform on Sunday, you are going to get your behinds whooped. But obviously, we know they are an explosive team and how great Kansas City is, but at the end of the day we felt like we can go out here and get a win and that’s the bottom line. We don’t really look at who’s the best team here and there. They are not handing out Lombardi trophies in the middle of the season. So, we are not going to get caught up too much in this win, either. We are going to enjoy it tonight and get ready for a division match with the Colts on the road.

(on if was important for the defense to prevent a late Kansas City score)

Absolutely it was. I was on the sideline the whole time like, ‘Don’t let them score.’ I was talking about that late in the third quarter. When we were on the field, I was saying we can’t give up any more points. It’s just not about just – it is about getting a W, don’t get me wrong. But as a defense, no matter what the score is, they get three points, we are not letting them score again. We want to dominate people. That’s the kind of mentality, the standard we need to have and now we put it on tape and we have to prove it every Sunday.

(on the team’s performance despite the loss of several players to injury)

Yeah, I am talking about the resiliency of this team, and just – we talk about it even in the locker room. If you are up and you’ve got a jersey on, got shoulder pads on, you are going to be treated like a starter. So, you got a guy like (Greg) Mabin, who just got signed this week, played meaningful snaps. Nobody panics on the sideline. When they make a play, ‘Hey, we are going to regroup, calm down, keep our composure and keep playing ball.’ So, hats off to those guys, hats off to the defense, and hats off to the entire team because this is truly a team win

(on the role of being an underdog)

You see week in and week out, I don’t think there is a game that we’re not usually an underdog against, especially when we are talking about top teams. Since I have been here, I haven’t a losing season since I have been in this league. So, we are a winning football team and things may not be pretty, might be 9-7 and all stuff like that, but we feel we can beat any team in this league and we are not trying to prove – no disrespect to the media, the world, or anybody around, that we are the best team. We are not trying to prove anybody wrong. We are trying to prove ourselves right because we know who we are in this building. We know we have the resiliency, just the confidence we play every single with and that’s what I told the guys at the end of the game. We are just going to keep handling our business. We are not going to get caught up with this win, beating two great teams and now thinking of swelling ourselves a little bit. We are not even caught up in that. We are going to keep handling our business.

(on seeing the growth of the offense)

I think as the year goes on you play against different teams, gameplans are different, matchups and stuff like that. But I will say, it was great to see those guys start super fast. I know that is something they talked about early in the week that we had to start fast early in games. Honestly, just being on the sidelines watching those guys keep running the clock. I mean, I think before that last drive, time of possession really favored our way. So being on the sidelines, just chilling, keeping 15 (Patrick Mahomes) off the field is a great feeling for the defense.

Bud Dupree

Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports

on the defense’s performance against the Chiefs)

We put a good performance together as a unit and as a whole. We had a gameplan coming into the game where we didn’t want to allow many escape lanes. He was still able to get outside of the pocket, at the end of the day he is a great quarterback, so he is going to make plays. We just try to contain it as best as we can.

(on forcing turnovers)

We emphasize that in practice and it is something we harp on. We have to make sure we go out there and do that and do our job.

(on taking pride in being the first defense to not allow a Kansas City touchdown since Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the starter)

We take pride in that. We knew the challenge we were getting ourselves into the whole week. These guys, that is a great teamm and at the end of the day you can’t count those guys out. (Patrick) Mahomes is always making plays, Tyreek (Hill) is always that type of guy and (Travis) Kelce, so you can never count those guys out. For us to contain those type of big plays when they have that capability it is always great.

(on the secondary and how well they did today)

Rushing and coverage work together. When we do a good job, they do a good job. When they do a good job, we do a good job. We have to make sure we continue that and continue to get better and better each week.

(on different guys getting sacks and getting into the mix)

It is great when guys are flying around and making plays. Everybody is taking pride in it and we all want one thing and that is to win. As the season continues, we will start to find our cohesiveness better together. We will start to understand guys, how they like to play, how they like to rush, the inside guys start making moves off of us because we are being cohesive, and they know exactly what we are doing in the moment. That is how you build that chemistry.

(on forcing turnovers and how much it shifts momentum)

It is a great momentum shift. Derrick (Henry) and (Ryan) Tannehill played great. A.J. (Brown) and Julio (Jones), and let’s not forget the O-line. The O-line is banged up, but they are still going out there moving guys, getting a good push and controlling the time of possession. We have to tip our hats to those guys and continue giving the ball to those guys as much as we can.

(on the energy of the defense)

The energy is always good when you come into a big-time game, or you are able to step on to the football field, it is a blessing. We just have to continue to find the energy within ourselves, give the fans involved, making big plays so we can celebrate, and it will be a great time.

(on if they felt like they were frustrating Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes)

Definitely. That was the whole gameplan. Don’t let (Patrick) Mahomes be (Patrick) Mahomes. He is a stud of a player, the best in the league at what he does. You have to control him as much as you can.

(on what was working for the defensive line)

We were just pinpointing what we were going to do and where we were going to be at. That is what makes it special. (Denico Autry) is one of a kind, he can rush inside or outside. (Jeffery Simmons) is a bruiser, he is going to dominate any chance he gets. Harold (Landry III) is going to come with speed, and me and Harold (Landry III), it is just all about timing.

(on if there is communication amongst the defensive line when twists and combinations are going to be used)

We talk about it beforehand and know it going into a game. We try and see exactly what we can do with those guys, especially with a front like that and a quarterback like (Patrick) Mahomes. When he escapes, it turns into big-play capability. We have been playing those kinds of guys since the start of the season starting with Arizona, Seahawks, Josh Allen, even (Zach Wilson). They escape and make plays down the field, so we have to be able to contain them and keep them in the pocket.

(on if this was the most explosive he has felt in a game this season)

Each week I feel like I am getting better and better. I just have to continue to get better in my strengthening each week. Trust the process, trust what the trainers are doing with me, don’t get too frustrated, and just know it is a marathon and not a sprint.

(on the improvement of the defense over the last few weeks)

It starts in practice. (Coach Mike) Vrabel challenges us every day. We have to go into practice and make sure we continue to work.

(on if the defense was targeting the ball security of the Chiefs)

Any time guys who get outside of the pocket and try to make big plays like he does, they are always going to have ball security problems just because they are always looking for a big play. We just had to take advantage of the opportunity.

(on if he sees the same qualities in the pass rushing game as he saw when he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers)

Definitely. It is a team effort. Inside and outside. Denico (Autry), (Jeffery Simmons), me, Harold (Landry III), and Ola (Adeniyi) rotating guys and coming in and trying to be hot.

Denico Autry

Syndication: USA TODAY

(on the defense getting pressure on Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes)

That was the number one key this week, put pressure on the quarterback. That’s what we went out this week and practiced. Getting to the quarterback.

(on the defense getting turnovers today against the Kansas City offense)

It was great for the guys to get those turnovers that we hadn’t been getting. That’s what we’re here for. That’s what the defense is here for, to get the ball and give it back to the offense so they can execute, score with it. So, it was great.

(on the defense covering receivers and rushing the passer today against the Chiefs)

It was major. I really can’t see behind me, but I noticed it was happening, because he (Patrick Mahomes) was just standing there, looking for someone to open. It’s major, showing that everybody can rush, from all four spots.

(on if the last two weeks were what he envisioned when signing with Tennessee)

I just knew it was a great team and I just wanted to come be a part of that.

(on if it helps knowing he has the confidence of the coaching staff)

It helps a lot, but at the end of the day, I just come to do my job and be a pass rusher.

(on if facing two good quarterbacks in consecutive weeks caused him to elevate his game)

Somewhat. I just knew we had to put pressure on both of the two quarterbacks we faced the last two games, so it was major.

Derrick Henry

Syndication: The Tennessean

Dane Cruikshank

Syndication: The Tennessean

(on holding the Chiefs to zero touchdowns for the first time since Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the starter)

This is our house. We feel like we have to protect our house, you know what I’m saying? We came in with a great gameplan. Everybody was aware and alert. I’m sure there are things we are going to watch on film that we could have corrected. Everybody played as one unit. When you play like that, this is the outcome.

(on how much easier the secondary’s job was with the Titans front seven applying pressure)

Most definitely, I tip my hat to those guys. Week in and week out those guys continue to show up and play their butts off. We try to back them up and make plays on the ball as much as we can, but obviously it works hand-in-hand. They do their job up front and it makes our job easier in the back.

(on the Titans winning back-to-back emotional games at home against two good teams)

Since I’ve been on this team, we’ve always had a chip on our shoulder. I feel like we have not always been respected in this league, and we’re trying to earn that respect, game by game. But like I said, we all believe in this unit, in this team, and in this organization. We just continue to go out there every Sunday or Monday or whatever it is, and just try to prove to everyone that we’re here, and we’re here to stay.

(on the defense being successful after facing two of the league’s premier quarterbacks in consecutive weeks)

We come into every game and we don’t care who the quarterback is. Obviously, I tip my hat to those guys who are great players. But it doesn’t matter who we are facing. We are going to have a great gameplan. We’re going to try to execute. We’re going to go out and play hard, and play as a unit, and that’s what we did today.

Ben Jones

Syndication: The Tennessean

(on adjustments along the offensive line during the game due to injuries)

You have to go in there, no matter who is in there, you have to execute. You have to go out there and play at a high level and that’s what we did. We won the game. Our defense played lights out. Those kinds of games you want to win at home. It was a big time game and we answered.

(on the offense staying on the field with sustained drives and scoring points)

We’ve been looking for a complete game on offense, defense, special teams, and today was one of those days. Brett (Kern) punted lights out. Defense, I can’t talk enough about them, the way they got after them. They played every snap no matter what, and we scored in the first half. We need to better in the second half, but we went out and took care of business today.

(on if today’s game was the best overall team performance of the season)

We played our best ball. That first half was what Titans football is all about. We played well on defense, well on offense, and in the second half, the defense wouldn’t let them get in the end zone. We grinded it out and took up a lot of clock in the second half, and we won the way we wanted to.

(on how big it was to convert the early third down when the offense was leading 7-0 but pinned deep in their own territory)

Third-and-long, you want to get out of being backed up. Because if you’re not, you’re turning the ball over, giving the ball back, and it’s usually points with a short field. We were able to execute, get it down and move the ball, go down there and score. Flipping the field and scoring on that, being backed up, that was a huge drive for us.

(on the offense showing they can win in multiple ways today without running back Derrick Henry needing to rack up over 100 yards)

We have to go out there and execute no matter what. As an offensive line we want to run the ball, but 17 (Ryan Tannehill) played well. We had receivers making plays. When you’ve got everybody in the box other guys get open, and those guys made plays today and made us look good on offense.

(on if the offense was fired up after receiving the playcall for Derrick Henry to throw a touchdown)

Always. Anytime ‘Two Two’ (Derrick Henry) is getting the ball, no matter how he’s getting it, we’re always fired up as offensive linemen. He takes care of us and we want to take care of him.

(on if Derrick Henry throwing touchdowns could help him win the league’s MVP award)

He’s always MVP in our book. We love Derrick (Henry) to death. He’s the heart and soul of our offense and everybody knows that in this league. So we want him to get the ball as many times as possible.

(on the Titans facing two good teams in seven days and getting two wins)

We are battle tested. You’ve got two division winners we were playing back-to-back and we had our fans show up two weeks in a row. That’s what it is. That’s playoff football we were playing right here in October. We’ve been in those games two years ago, and we answered today. You can be humbled any week, so we have to bring it every week in this league.

Harold Landry

Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images

(on being able to apply pressure to Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes)

It is awesome. We just know what we are capable of on the defensive side of the ball. We just have so much belief and confidence that we are capable of what we put out there. Just have to keep doing what we are doing. That performance out there could be more consistent.

(on being able to force turnovers)

It was big. It has definitely been a point of emphasis for us throughout the year. Every week we are working on that aspect, and I think guys are focused on it and we were able to do it. It is big especially when you are going up against a dynamic and explosive offense like the Chiefs.

(on taking pride in being the first defense to not allow a touchdown since Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes became the starter)

It is definitely an awesome accomplishment. With guys like Jeffery Simmons in the middle and (Denico Autry), it definitely makes things easier on the edge. It is a huge accomplishment. (Patrick) Mahomes is a great quarterback and they are a great team. We are definitely going to celebrate this one tonight and then move on.

(on how important it is for the front four on defense to get pressure and push the line)

I feel like we played defense today just together. I feel like the back end was covering awesome and I feel like we were rushing relentlessly. That was one of the keys of the game for us on defense was to rush relentless. Everyone just did their part and it worked out.

(on the character of this football team after picking up the win on a short week)

The biggest thing for us this week to was dial it in, like who we are. We had a big win against the Bills, and we wanted to come out and prove that it was not just a one-time thing. It was a great team win.

(on if it was emphasized this week to prove that Monday’s win was not a one-time thing)
Yeah. That was the message this week to prove that it was not just a one-off thing, and we are a team to be reckoned with every single week. If we go out there and play our brand of football, we have a great chance to win.

(on if he felt like his sack was building throughout the game)

It is just about being relentless, and I felt like today we were all just feeding off of one another. It is awesome to see guys and seeing us as a whole eat. It is just an awesome feeling. It is awesome being in the locker room with all those guys and just talking about it and chatting it up. It is awesome for all of us to be out there eating. That is what it is all about, we are supposed to feed off of one another.

(on the job the secondary did against the Chiefs)

They did an awesome job. There were multiple times where (Patrick) Mahomes held the ball and I can’t see what is going on behind me, so I assume it was because they were trapping. Hats off to them. Like I said, I thought it was great team win and we definitely played together.

(on the game next week against the Indianapolis Colts)

We have just to do what we have been doing. Celebrate the win but then get back to work. Focus on improving, because the teams that win late and in the middle of the season are the teams that keep improving. We just have to focus on that and prepare like we have been doing.

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