After Week 13, the were 8-4 and tied with the atop the AFC South. Three straight lo ses later, the Titans had dropped to 8-7 and their playoff hopes would come down to the regular-season finale against -- you gue sed it, the Jags -- and along with it, coach Mike Mularkey's job. Rumors swirled that if Tenne see mi sed the postseason, Mularkey would be out of work.But on Sunday, the Titans came to play. It wasn't pretty -- and it rarely has been this season -- but the defense limited to 69 yards and shut down , who finished 15 of 34 for 158 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Tenne see led 15-3 early in the fourth quarter and if not for a miscue between quarterback and running back, the score might have stayed that way. Instead, the Jags -- as they've done on a weekly basis -- leaned on their defense to keep them in the game. In the end, it wasn't enough. So for the first time in a month, the Titans got a win and for the first time since 2008, they're headed to the playoffs. And for at least Corey Perry Women Jersey another week, Mularkey gets to keep his job. But if he's hoping to hang around beyond that, Tenne see has a lot of work to do in the coming days. How to Watch Who: vs. Where:Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Mi souri When:Saturday, Jan. 6, 4:35 p.m. ET TV:ESPN/ABC It starts with Mariota was the second overall pick in 2015 behind and we're still waiting for him to play with the consistency of a franchise quarterback. Instead, he completed 62 percent of his pa ses this season (right in line with his career average) but set a career low in average yards per completion (7.1, down from 7.6 his first two seasons). He also set a career lows in touchdowns (13) Tyler Seguin Jersey and pa ser rating (79.3) and a career high in interceptions (15). He did rush for 312 yards and five touchdowns but his 5.2 yards per carry were also a career low. His best game of the season probably came in a Week 15 lo s to the 49ers; Mariota finished 23 of 33 for 241 yards with two touchdowns, no turnovers and a pa ser rating of 110.8. But again, the i sue is consistency; the week before, he barely completed half his pa ses and had a pa ser rating of 39.6 in a lo s to the . The week after the 49ers game, Mariota completed 56.4 percent of his throws and had a pa ser rating of 67.8 in a lo s to the . On the season, Mariota ranks 19th in total value among all quarterbacks and is 20th in value per play, according to . By comparison, he ranked 13th and 10th in those categories in 2016. Which leads us to this: Mariota . This isn't an excuse but it would go a long way in explaining his struggles. In mid-December, longtime Tenne see beat writer Paul Kuharsky reported that Mariota's balky hamstring and surgically repaired lower right leg were still i sues to the point that he could require offseason clean-up surgery on the lower leg that was fractured Dec. 24, 2016. Unfortunately for the Titans, Mariota isn't the only problem; of the 12 playoff teams only two -- the and Titans -- have allowed more points than they've scored, which means they're pretty lucky to have gone 9-7. This is confirmed by Football Outsiders' pythagorean wins formula, which is based solely on points scored and points allowed. Tenne see's expected wins using the formula: 7.4. By comparison, the , who also finished 9-7 but mi sed the playoffs after a late-game implosion against against the in Week 17, have an expected-wins total of 10.5 because they outscored opponents by 92 points. The Titans' offense is replacement-level -- they rank 18th overall -- though the running game ranks eighth. Mariota is as responsible for that as he is for the 20th-ranked pa sing game. and are 21st and 27th in value per play among all running backs. It's unclear if Murray will play Sunday while he recovers from a knee injury. Anton Khudobin Women Jersey When Mariota does throw, he's usually looking for tight end , who was targeted 111 times this season, 24 more than the nearest receiver. Walker caught 74 pa ses for 807 yards and three scores, followed by wideouts (54/563/1) and (53/795/4). If the past four months have been a guide, the Titans will likely lean on their run game. It's what they do best and -- bonus -- it's what the ' defense doesn't do well at all. In fact, Kansas City's run D and is slightly better against the pa s (No. 23). When Tenne see does throw it, Matthews should have opportunities; Kansas City ranks 31st against opponents' No. 1 receivers. The Chiefs appear to be back on track Sometimes stats can be misleading. Like some of the ones we cited above, particularly about the Chiefs' 30th-ranked defense. Joe Pavelski Men Jersey Because five weeks into the season, Kansas City was 5-0 and was the 's best team -- . Then the wheels fell off; over the next two months, the Chiefs went 1-6 and somehow lost to the and . By that point, (No. 6 in offense, No. 27 in defense). Kansas City reeled off four straight wins to end the regular season, and in the proce s win the division and hold off the surging . And as they prepare to host the Titans, there are reasons for optimism. In that four-game winning streak Kansas City allowed 15, 13 and 13 points before giving up 24 against the on Sunday in a game in which most of the starters didn't play. They also generated 12 turnovers in that span after generating 14 turnovers in the previous 12 games. Then there's , whose struggles coincided with the team-wide i sues -- the nadir came in lo ses to the Giants and Bills. In his four starts since, he is 3-1 with seven touchdowns, one interception and a pa ser rating north of 100. And unlike Mariota, Smith has shown that he can bring it on a weekly basis; he began the season with five straight games with a pa ser rating over 100 and it wasn't until Week 9 that he threw his first interception (he entered that game with 16 touchdowns). And unlike the Titans' offense, the Chiefs have the luxury of diversity. It starts with Smith, who has quietly become one of the league's best quarterbacks, and it continues with rookie , who not only led the league in rushing with 1,327 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and eight touchdowns, but also hauled in 53 pa ses for 455 yards and three more scores. For an idea of just how good Hunt has been, consider this: in value per play, ahead of , and . And Hunt is Smith's third-favorite pa Tyler Pitlick Women Jersey sing target after tight end and speed merchant . Kelce, with 83 receptions for 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns, is the league's second-best tight end behind some guy name . And Hill, who had 75 catches for 1,183 yards and seven scores, is the NFL's No. 8 wide receiver, just behind . So yeah, this is where things get difficult for the Titans. The good news is that they rank seventh overall in run defense. The bad news is that they're 24th against the pa s and 21st overall. More bad news: they're 24th against opponents' tight ends and dead last against opponents' running backs. And