When a Defeat is Not a Total Loss

David Boclair, John Glennon and Denard Walker look at the Tennessee Titans' 20-17 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. First, a salute to the defense that was on the field for 91 plays and allowed 499 total yards but limited the Chiefs to just eight points until late in the fourth quarter, when Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes reminded everyone why he is one of the game's best. ... The Titans' wide receivers earned a dubious distinction when they came out of the game with no receptions. Nonetheless, rookie quarterback Malik Willis looked better than he did the previous week, and his modest passing statistics would have looked even better had a couple of his receivers made plays for him. ... Willis remains very much a work in progress. He gets sacked too often and looks frustrated at times, but he also gives defenses reasons to respect -- maybe even fear -- him at times and gives fans reasons to feel good about the future of the Titans' offense. ... With this week's game against the Denver Broncos, Tennessee enters a stretch of games that looked daunting when the schedule was released but seems to pose much less of a challenge now that it has arrived.