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What You Need To Know Before Kansas City Chiefs Play In The AFC Championship Game

Chris Madrigal
Kansas City Chiefs fans celebrate as the team clinched its spot Sunday in the AFC championship game.

As you prepare for Sunday's AFC championship game, here are a few tidbits to help.

Who are the Chiefs playing?

Kansas City will line up against the Tennessee Titans, who finished the season 9-7. The Titans got to the AFC championship by upsetting New England in the wild-card game 20-13 and then beating Baltimore 28-12. Both of those playoff games were on a Saturday. Just saying.

When is the game?

Sunday at 2:05 p.m. at Arrowhead Stadium. On StubHub on Monday, tickets were going for anywhere from $263 to $1,717. If you can't afford any of those, the game is on CBS.

Tell me more about those Titans.

The offense starts with running back Derrick Henry. Henry has rushed for 377 yards in two playoff games. He averaged five yards a carry in the regular season with 16 touchdowns. Nate Davis fromUSA Todaysuggested in a column Monday that Henry might be the league's MVP. Also, keep an eye on quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who took over in week 16 in a loss to Denver. In the playoffs, he has thrown for 160 yards and three touchdowns.

What does Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid have to say about Tennessee?

"That running back (Derrick Henry) is a pretty nice player. He brings it."

How did the Chiefs do against Tennessee this season?

Not well at all. The Titans beat Kansas City 35-32 in Nashville. The Chiefs lost when kicker Harrison Butker's field goal attempt was blocked as time ran out. Derrick Henry, by the way, ran for 188 yards and a pair of TDs.

What does Reid have to say about that game?

"They beat us. They beat us in three different phases. They're a good football team." Reid, by the way, is 1-8 all-time against the Titans.

What's at stake?

If the Chiefs win they'll play the winner of the NFC Championship game between Green Bay and San Fransisco in the Superbowl.  If they lose, we wait until next season.

What's Vegas say?

As of Monday, most of the Vegas lines had the Chiefs minus 7.5 points with an over/under of 51.5.

Wait, what does that mean?

That means the Chiefs are favored by seven-and-a-half points and oddsmakers think right now both teams will score a combined 51 points.

Sam Zeffis KCUR's metro reporter. You can follow Sam on Twitter @samzeff.

You deserve to know what your taxpayer dollars are paying for and what public officials are doing on your behalf – I’ll work to report on irresponsible government spending in the Kansas City area and shed light on controversies that slow government down. And when you hear my voice in the morning, you know you’re getting everything you need to start your day. Email me at sam@kcur.org, find me on Twitter @samzeff or call me at 816-235-5004.
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