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 But Smith was not the money quarterback in Sunday's season
opener. On a picture-perfect late summer day at Arrowhead Stadium it
was Titans quarterback Jake Locker that was the star, throwing for
266 yards with a pair of touchdown passes and no interceptions to
lead a 26-10 victory over Kansas City.
Locker was making his first start since a foot injury ended his 2013
season after nine games. He was calm in the pocket, accurate with
his throws and kept plays alive with his legs. The Titans' 2011
first-round draft choice threw for 266 yards and two touchdowns
while completing 67 percent of his passes and adding 14 yards on six
carries scrambling away from pass-rush pressure. He gave up three
yards on two kneel-downs to end the game.
"It's a nice way to start the season, but there's a lot of work to
do," said Titans head coach Ken Whisenhunt. "We left a lot of things
on the field. It wasn't as good as we can play. It's just one game,
but the outcome was as good as we wanted."
The Chiefs lost much more than the opener. They also lost three-time
Pro Bowl inside linebacker Derrick Johnson, potentially for the
season. Late in the first half, Kansas City's leading tackler
crumbled to the turf without being touched and was taken off the
field on a motorized cart. The early diagnosis was an injury to
Johnson's right Achilles tendon.
Adding to the Chiefs' physical pain was another Achilles tendon
injury suffered in the third quarter by starting defensive end Mike
DeVito that also appears to be a season-ender.
"We are going to evaluate them overnight and see," said Chiefs head
coach Andy Reid of the injuries. "They ruptured their Achilles
tendon. Normally they are (season ending injuries) but we'll see
what happens."
The Tennessee defense intercepted Smith three times and never
allowed running back Jamaal Charles any room to run, holding him to
19 yards on seven carries and 15 yards on four receptions.
"We failed to get him the ball, absolutely," Smith said of Charles.
"Our biggest playmaker, we need to get him involved more."
It was a quiet scoreboard until Kansas City grabbed the game's first
lead early in the second quarter with a 35-yard field goal from
kicker Cairo Santos.
Locker got hot and led the Titans on an 11-play, 62-yard drive that
ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Delanie Walker. The
Tennessee quarterback was 6 of 7 passing on the possession,
including an earlier pass to Walker for 17 yards and a 16-yard
completion to wide receiver Nate Washington.
"We didn't get into the rhythm we wanted to as early as we wanted
to," said Locker. "We found it in the second quarter and we were
able to put some points on the board. I was really proud of how the
guys responded after the slow start. It gave us something to build
on."
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Back-to-back Kansas City mistakes gave the Titans a chance to add a
36-yard field goal from Ryan Succop just before the end of the first
half. On a Tennessee punt, Chiefs returner Frankie Hammond caught the
ball at the Kansas City 2-yard line and immediately went out of bounds.
In terrible field position, the Chiefs went to the air on first down and
Smith's long pass intended for wide receiver Donnie Avery was
intercepted by Titans cornerback Coty Sensabaugh.
With possession at the Kansas City 42-yard line, Locker moved his
offense 24 yards in four plays, setting up the Succop field goal and a
10-3 halftime lead.
Tennessee opened the second half with a long scoring drive, going 80
yards on nine plays before Locker and wide receiver Kendall Wright
connected on a 6-yard scoring pass. Succop's PAT gave the Titans a 17-3
lead. Before the game was over, Succop added field goals of 31, 46 and
47 yards.
The Chiefs tacked on a late touchdown on a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a
5-yard pass from Smith to tight end Anthony Fasano.
NOTES: The Chiefs were without starting CB Marcus Cooper, inactive due
to an ankle injury suffered in practice last week. He was the only
designated starter for either team not available for the opening
kickoff. DB Ron Parker opened at left corner. ... After being released a
week ago by the Chiefs, K Ryan Succop returned to Arrowhead as the
Titans kicker and was successful on all four of his field goal attempts.
The Chiefs went with undrafted rookie K Cairo Santos, cutting Succop
after five seasons. Santos made his first field goal, but hit the left
upright on his second attempt. Tennessee lost ILB Zach Brown in the
first quarter with a shoulder injury and he did not return. .. Chiefs RT
Jeff Allen left the game with just over three minutes to play in the
first half with a right biceps strain. Allen returned to start the
second half.
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