Nashville, Tenn. – The Patriots’ winning streak is at four games after a 31-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.
Although the Patriots started slowly, New England got things going in the second quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points to earn an 18-point victory over head coach Mike Vrabel’s former team. Vrabel has downplayed his return to Tennessee all week in the press and, according to players, he didn’t discuss it before Sunday’s game.
Many players expressed how much this meant Vrabel was keeping Patriots football, rather than turning the game into his personal revenge after being fired after six years as Titans head coach (2018-2023). Like the head coach, we also won’t be doing this recap of Vrabel’s return to Tennessee. Still, it must have felt good to hear a strong contingent of road fans in attendance chanting his name as the Patriots took a knee in the final seconds Sunday.
From a football standpoint, New England got off to a slow start, trailing 10-3 at the end of the first quarter. For a few minutes, it looked like the Titans were getting the interim head coaching job. However, for the second week in a row, the Patriots took control of the game in the “middle of eight” around halftime. The middle eight is a football theory that says if you win the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half, you can gain momentum by running a “double score” when you get two possessions in a row.
After winning the opening coin toss, the Patriots moved on to the second half. Before halftime, quarterback Drake Maye led a three-play touchdown drive to give the Patriots a 17-13 lead. Then the Pats scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to take an 11-point lead. Last week in New Orleans, the Patriots scored 10 points in the “middle eight” to take a 9-point lead over the Saints, two straight weeks winning the middle eight.
“Any time you can do that and double them, it comes with a lot of positives. So, I hope that continues to be a trend,” head coach Mike Vrabel said after the game. “Great job shooting and making it. Great ball. Great catch by (Kayshon Boutte) to make it safe. Defensively, it was good to not give anything up cheaply with 45 seconds left (in the first half).”
Along with the positive mid-eight trend, the Patriots are also playing error-free football during their winning streak. Since turning the ball over five times in a Week 3 loss to the Steelers, the Patriots have only turned the ball over once during their four-game winning streak. They make big plays offensively and don’t fight, which is a good way to live.
New England surpassed its win total from the 2023 and 2024 seasons (four wins), has a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2021 and has won three straight road games in three weeks for the first time since the merger in 1970 (regular season only). At this point, the level of enthusiasm for the program Vrabel is building at Foxboro is very high.
Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots improve to 5-2 on the season with a 31-13 win over the Titans on Sunday.
1. Play of the game: Drake Maye connects with WR Kayshon Boutte on a 39-yard touchdown
The Patriots scored before halftime for the second straight week, and the deep passing game resumed Sunday.
This week, Maye was 2-for-2 for 61 yards and a touchdown on passes of 20-plus yards. Last week, Maye connected on four deep balls, bringing his two-week total to 6 of 7 on deep passes. At Tennessee, the Patriots took the lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Boutte, a nice ball off the back of a Patriots basic pass concept.
