“Give credit to everybody involved,” McCoy said.
“It’s just not me. It’s the entire organization buying in, supporting one another through some tough times. It wasn’t easy early on, obviously ... but the entire organization jumped on board and rallied with each other, and we’ve stuck together through the tough times.”
McCoy said none of the players pointed the blame at each other, but several veterans on the team spoke some hard truths that the locker room needed to hear.
“When you do that and when you have the type of players we have, with the work ethic and what it means to play this game, you get results like we had yesterday,” he said.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Titans scored first when defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons burst through the Chiefs’ offensive line and wrapped up running back Kareem Hunt for a safety.
The offense went on a long touchdown drive to take a 9–3 lead in the second quarter. On their first possession in the third quarter, the offense hit two big pass plays before capping it off with a touchdown to expand their lead to 16–6.
They scored again at the beginning of the fourth quarter, then kicked a field goal with just under 4 minutes to play to make it 26–9.
Tennessee dominated in all facets of the game. Quarterback Cam Ward was 21 of 28 passing for 228 yards and two touchdowns. The rushing attack gained 164 yards on the ground. And the defense picked on quarterbacks Gardner Minshew and Chris Oladokun, racking up four sacks and adding seven tackles for loss.
“It’s very rewarding when you have a game like yesterday,” McCoy said, “because this is what the players, the organization deserve is to go out and play the way we did against a really good football team, Kansas City—who’s been one of the best, they’ve been in seven straight championship games—and just the way our team has played in all three phases.”
“I’m just so happy for the players because they deserve to win. They bust their tails week in and week out. They’ve worked extremely hard. They’ve stayed positive. Same thing with the coaches, the plans they’ve put together. It’s been a lot of fun seeing the guys execute the way they did yesterday. And it’s not surprising at all the way they’ve worked,” he added.
McCoy praised Ward for taking control of the offense. He pointed out that Ward called an audible that turned into a big play for the offense, and ran for a key first down.
He said that Ward’s preparation and game management have improved throughout the year. And while he has gone through his ups and downs, he has the desire to be great, puts a lot of work into studying film, learning how defenses attack him, and has learned a lot in his first year.
McCoy also credited quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree and the offensive coaching staff for building an effective game plan and communicating effectively on the sideline.
McCoy is now splitting time between the offensive and defensive rooms, and Hardegree called the offense on Sunday. He said the coaches take the blame when a play goes awry to help keep Ward on track.
The Titans did not win a game until Week 5 and fired head coach Brian Callahan in Week 6. But the team has consistently improved since then and has now won two of its last three games.
McCoy said now that they have learned to win, the team has to learn to stack wins together and will have a great opportunity to do so against the New Orleans Saints this week.
“It’s not easy to win in the NFL, and I think the way you’ve seen this team grow and the way you’ve seen them play week in and week out, they just keep fighting, and that’s what it takes,” he said.
“You’ve got to teach these guys how to win, and it’s just going to carry over. ... But this organization’s got a very bright future with all these players playing, and the way they’re playing. But we’ve got to worry about this week right now.”
