Remember this Titan on Sunday afternoon when the AFC championship game kicks off. He's the only first-team all-pro on Tennessee's roster and could well be the sixth-seeded club's primary weapon in its bid to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs and reach Super Bowl LIV.
Oh, you're thinking Titans running back Derrick Henry is the key to this game? He is, after all, having a historically good playoff run, averaging 188.5 rushing yards the past two weeks.
But Henry is merely a second-team all-pro.
Brett Kern, who garnered 68% of the all-pro votes from the Associated Press' 50-person postseason awards panel, could be the man to keep an eye on – after all, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick deemed him "probably the best punter in the league" days before the Titans knocked off the defending champions in the wild-card round.
And Kern was huge against the Pats. The man who led the NFL this season with 37 punts downed inside the opponents' 20-yard line pinned New England inside its 15 on four occasions.
So what's the secret to that level of consistency?
"I don't have the strongest leg in the league. I'm not a guy that's gonna go out there and crush balls down the middle and have awesome hang time and kinda wow the crowd," Kern told USA TODAY Sports.
"I'm more precision, trying to hit my spots and help our coverage team out."
He had less success on that front in the divisional-round shocker of the Ravens, his four touchbacks on a windy night (one due to an illegal touch by a teammate) amazingly doubling his regular-season tally of two.
But Kern knows he'll likely need his A game against Kansas City, which features Pro Bowl returner Mecole Hardman and could deploy Tyreek Hill in the role at any time.
"They're just great returners, rarely let the ball hit the ground," Kern said of Hill and Hardman, who had just one inconsequential 5-yard return when the Titans beat the Chiefs in Week 10.
"Both have great speed and agility to make guys miss. ... Obviously, the better I do in helping our coverage teams out, then I think it will go well for us."
An important aspect of Tennessee's success in the playoffs has been making the opposition forge extended drives before stiffening in the red zone, where the Titans have prevented touchdowns on five of seven penetrations in their two upsets.
Limiting returns would force Patrick Mahomes and Co., who reeled off seven consecutive touchdown drives in their divisional round rout of the Texans, to work even harder Sunday.
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Titans special teams coach Craig Aukerman said one of Kern's great strengths is making guys like Hardman track punts laterally, which consequently prevents them from building a head of steam downfield.
"He's an excellent directional punter," Aukerman told USA TODAY Sports, while touting Kern's consistency in all aspects of his game. "We try to get the ball outside the numbers to pin the returner down, and he just does such a great job doing that.
"He doesn't have the leg like (Rams punter) Johnny Hekker does where Johnny can hit it 60 yards," Aukerman added before noting that Kern's accuracy gives the coverage unit an edge when trying to quash runbacks.
"It allows us to flip the field a bunch."
The Chiefs didn't do much fielding punts in their playoff opener against Houston. But Hardman's 58-yard kickoff return was the spark that began Kansas City's comeback from a 24-0 deficit, underscoring the kind of threat he is.
"Maybe the goal this week will be to put those I-20s out of bounds and not give them a chance," said Kern.
Sounds like a good way to improve the underdog Titans' chances of remaining on track for their first Super Bowl victory.
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Follow USA TODAY Sports' Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis
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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LnVzYXRvZGF5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9zcG9ydHMvbmZsL3RpdGFucy8yMDIwLzAxLzE4L3RpdGFucy1icmV0dC1rZXJuLXB1bnRlci1jaGllZnMtYWZjLWNoYW1waW9uc2hpcC1nYW1lLzQ0OTk5NzAwMDIv0gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAudXNhdG9kYXkuY29tL2FtcC80NDk5OTcwMDAy?oc=5
2020-01-18 11:32:37Z
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