A long line of former Tennessee Titans found themselves back at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.
But there’s things that are interesting and then there’s things that are important. After trailing early, a 31-13
win was important for head coach Mike Vrabel and the New England Patriots.
Here’s a glance back on the 1 p.m. ET kickoff as the AFC East visitors return home at 5-2 on the season.
Maye tosses two incompletions, two scores
Drake Maye’s rookie road trip to Nashville brought defeat. Not on Sunday. The Patriots sophomore completed 21-of-23 passes for 222 yards. Along the way arrived two touchdowns and no turnovers.
Breaking the huddle in “11” personnel, the offense’s opening drive spanned 10 plays before a sack in the red zone set up a field goal. A high throw on a curl intended for rookie wide receiver Kyle Williams followed next time out as the punt unit stepped on. Eight yards were logged through the air during the first quarter. But what started as a 10-3 deficit didn’t continue that way. An 11-play, 93-yard drive ended over cornerback L’Jarius Sneed and in the gloves of tight end Austin Hooper. “Mossed,” it’d be the former Titan’s first touchdown of the year.
Then there was a 39-yard deep shot in the two-minute drill for Maye’s second touchdown of the afternoon. By halftime, the score read 17-13 while the quarterback had averaged 10 yards per pass attempt with a single throw hitting the turf. He entered the blue medical tent after the back of his helmet his the turf in the third quarter, however, as backup Joshua Dobbs briefly stepped in to move the chains.
No. 10 returned to toss 16 consecutive completions. He added 62 yards with his legs against the Titans, scrambling for a long of 19.
Maye entered Sunday having recorded at least 200 passing yards and a 100-or-higher passer rating in five consecutive games. He became the third quarterback under age 24 to post a 100-or-higher passer rating in each of his first four road starts of a season in NFL history. He also became the third quarterback under age 24 to record at least 200 passing yards and a 100-or-higher passer rating in six consecutive games.
Boutte sets career high with fourth touchdown
Six wide receivers remained active. Kayshon Boutte once again set the tone.
A week removed from his homecoming, the Louisiana native caught two passes for 55 yards in Tennessee. After sitting down to pick up 16 yards on his initial look, a diving 39 came on a go route going into intermission. His fingertips gave the Patriots the lead. Boutte, who leads the wideouts in snaps played this season, now stands with a career-high four touchdowns to show for it.
The 2023 draft choice was joined in the starting lineup by the eldest statesmen on the depth chart. Stefon Diggs caught a team-high seven passes for 69 yards and Mack Hollins chipped in two grabs for 49 yards. The March signings accounted for longs of 22, 24 and 27, all while slot target DeMario Douglas hung on to a fourth-and-1 conversion with a single hand reaching back.
Stevenson off and running from the first snap
The Patriots were averaging 3.5 yards per rushing attempt on the campaign. And that rate had been buoyed by the quarterback’s 138 yards on the ground. The weight needed to shift on Sunday. It did.
Rhamondre Stevenson turned 18 carries into 88 yards against the Titans, beginning with 38 yards on back-to-back-to-back-to-back handoffs. That was more than his previous pair of outings had netted. The starting running back broke off longs of 14 and 16 yards in the first quarter alone. A concerted effort, he plunged into the end zone for his third touchdown of the campaign out of the break.
TreVeyon Henderson took a backseat to the hot hand. The rookie No. 38 overall pick out of Ohio State garnered a season-low two touches. Taking things home was Terrell Jennings, who again served as a standard elevation from the practice squad and lowered the shoulder for 18 yards on a handful of carries.
Up-and-down day for the starting five
The starting five kept its combination for the sixth time this fall.
No. 4 overall pick Will Campbell and No. 95 overall pick Jared Wilson occupied the left side of the offensive line. Next to the SEC products, there resided center Garrett Bradbury, right guard Mike Onwenu and right tackle Morgan Moses. Three true sacks followed for the Titans. Those got in the stat sheet courtesy of linebackers Jihad Ward and Dre’Mont Jones on third down and nose tackle T’Vondre Sweat on first down.
But hits would get there, too. Miscommunication led to a free rusher on a cornerback blitz.
Tennessee’s front finished Sunday without perennial Pro Bowler Jeffery Simmons due to a hamstring injury. By game’s end, the Patriots paved lanes in the ground game for a season-high 175 rushing yards, including kneels, but left room for improvement in pass protection. One false start was charged to the rookie bookending the blindside.
Ward’s clean slate subject to four sacks, two turnovers
With a 4-19 record, Brian Callahan’s tenure as Titans head coach came to an end less than a week before the Patriots came to town. Sunday would be a clean slate for the rookie under center. At least in the first half. The matinee got underway with a pair of field goals and a 38-yard, play-action scoring strike.
Quarterback Cam Ward finished 25-of-34 passing for 255 yards as interim head coach Mike McCoy looked on. The No. 1 overall pick via Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami found one touchdown and one interception. He was brought down four occasions and lost a fumble that went for six.
Milton Williams registered a third-and-1 sack while starting alongside Christian Barmore and Khyiris Tonga in heavy personnel. Harold Landry III disrupted, too, despite practicing just once before being listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Against the organization that drafted and released him, the Patriots captain drew a hold and swooped into the face of the pocket. He got to a team-best 5.5 sacks on the year in the process.
K’Lavon Chaisson checked in to corral third-and-9 and third-and-5 sacks off the edges, as well. The 2020 first-rounder collected his first career touchdown on a fumble for a 31-13 advantage.
Jones outlasts early test, collects second pick of October
The safety depth chart went without Jaylinn Hawkins for the second week in a row due to a hamstring injury. It would be Craig Woodson and Kyle Dugger starting in his absence.
New England took the field in the base defense. Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis III started at cornerback. Captain Marcus Jones stepped on in the nickel. He soon was left chasing in man coverage on a 38-yard touchdown by rookie speedster Chimere Dike, whose first half stretched 70 receiving yards in all.
Post-safety help got turned around and couldn’t recover in time. But Jones, the lone holdover the 2022 draft class, found himself in the right place at the right time for his second interception of the month. It arrived on a ricochet in the closing minutes on a ball intended for Tennessee tight end Chig Okonkwo.
