NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Drake Maye threw for 222 yards and two touchdowns and the New England Patriots beat the Tennessee Titans 31-13 Sunday in coach Mike Vrabel’s first game against the franchise that fired him in January 2024.
The Patriots (5-2) won their fourth straight game to keep them atop the AFC East and spoil Mike McCoy’s debut as Tennessee’s interim head coach.
Fans chanted “Vrabel, Vrabel” as the clock ticked down.
With a passer rating of 135.9, Maye became only the third player under the age of 24 with at least 200 passing yards and a passer rating of 100 or higher in six consecutive games in NFL history. He joined Patrick Mahomes (seven in a row in 2018) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (six in 1984).
Linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson had two of the Patriots’ five sacks and returned a fumble 4 yards for a touchdown. Harold Landry III suffered the final sack against the team that released him in March, and Marcus Jones was intercepted in the final minutes.
The Titans (1-6) are off to their best start this season with Cam Ward looking like the No. 1 overall pick.
They scored their fourth touchdown this season and led 10-3 after the first quarter. That was more points than they had in six games combined as they were outscored 47-9.
It also marked Tennessee’s largest lead since Week 16 of last season, when the Titans led the Colts by seven.
Ward also completed 10 of his first 11 passes for 144 yards for more yards at halftime than he has in two games this season. He finished with 255 yards.
Maye gave the Patriots a 17-13 halftime lead, throwing a 39-yard strike to Kayshon Boutte for his second touchdown with 49 seconds left. He found Austin Hooper for a 3-yard touchdown earlier in the second quarter.
New England broke the game open in the third.
Maye missed three plays on the first drive of the third. He went to the side after his head bounced on the turf at the end of a 6-yard run and shook his head once he sat down. The Patriots quarterback helped finish the 88-yard drive with a 4-yard touchdown run by Rhamondre Stevenson.
Just 11 seconds later, Chaisson recovered a fumbled ball by Ward on a sack against the Titans 4 and took it into the end zone for a 31-13 lead.
Jeffery Simmons, the Titans’ three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, suffered an early hamstring injury and did not return. CB L’Jarius Sneed injured his quad in the third quarter and did not return.
The Patriots begin a two-game homestand, hosting Cleveland on October 26.
The Titans visit Indianapolis on October 26.
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