The biggest observations from the New England Patriots 20-17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in Nashville. What went wrong, and what can the team build on?
Another Sunday, and another game where the New England Patriots seemed to take one step forwards and two steps back. Despite some promising moments, New England fell 20-17 in overtime on Sunday to the Tennessee Titans, falling to 2-7 on the season.
The Patriots’ issues in this game weren’t new. They struggled at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, missed chances on routine plays, and racked up eight accepted penalties.
“We have to be better. I have to be better. Coaches have to be better,” head coach Jerod Mayo said after the game. “We go back to the drawing board.”
Where do the Patriots need to get better the most? What, if any, was promising from Sunday? Let’s get into it with this week’s takeaways, starting with what was probably the most concerning outcome from this game…
Losing the turnover battle
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: Amani Hooker #37 of the Tennessee Titans intercepts a pass to win the game against the New England Patriots during overtime at Nissan Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
Coming into this game, the Titans ranked dead last in the NFL this season in giveaways (16), takeaways (3), and turnover margin (-13). In our ‘5 Things’ game preview this week we highlighted the turnover margin as somewhere the Patriots should have been able to have an advantage.
Instead, the Titans won the turnover battle three to one. Drake Maye threw two interceptions, including one right to safety Amani Hooker on a missed read early in the second quarter. He also got strip-sacked trying to extend a play (with running back JaMycal Hasty failing to fall on the ball in front of him), and of course had the late game heave that turned into a center field play for Hooker’s second pick of the game.
Meanwhile, the defense only managed one turnover against an offense that had been giving the ball away like Halloween candy. Jahlani Tavai was able to come down with a tip-drill interception on the goal line on an errant throw from Mason Rudolph, but that was it. The Titans fumbled twice – including a botched snap in overtime – but the Patriots didn’t recover either one.
After two games with no turnovers on either side, this seemed like a chance for the Patriots to jump-start that element of their game. Instead, they’ve now lost the turnover battle for the fourth time in nine games this season.
What to make of Drake Maye?
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: Drake Maye #10 of the New England Patriots looks to pass against the Tennessee Titans during the fourth quarter at Nissan Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
Rookie quarterbacks are usually pretty volatile. Drake Maye plays an especially volatile brand of football. That was all on display on Sunday.
Maye made some spectacular plays, especially with his legs. He was the Patriots’ leading rusher once again (more on that in a bit), but also was throwing on the run and putting the ball into tight windows for completions. Of course, there’s also the final play where Maye extended things for over 10 seconds to find Rhamondre Stevenson and tie the game up.
With that came some plays that served as reminders of how far Maye still has to go. Maye turned the ball over three times. His strip-sack came when he was trying to extend the play, and his final pick came in a spot where he may have been doing too much – taking a deep shot to a covered receiver with plenty of time left to move the ball down the field.
“First down and I see the safety – I think we were throwing into the wind, I’ve got to put some more on it,” Maye said of the throw after the game. “Just a dumb decision. Something you’d like to have back. Especially in that situation, we can at least go tie it up…Sometimes the best play is to throw it away. Just a bad decision on my part.”
Right now, it looks like Maye is trying to do a lot on his own. Given the Patriots’ issues this year with pass protection and drops it’s easy to understand why that might be his approach. However, the roster isn’t going to change much for the rest of this season, so it’ll be up to Maye (and the coaching staff) to try to find a way to continue to put the offense on his back while settling down and not putting the ball in harm’s way as often.
Going against offensive line continuity
Nov 3, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day (69) and linebacker Jack Gibbens (50) sack New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) during the second half at Nissan Stadium. Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images
Last week the Patriots were able to start an offensive line of (left-to-right) Vederian Lowe, Michael Jordan, Ben Brown, Mike Onwenu, and Demontrey Jacobs. It was the first time all season the Patriots started the same line in multiple games, after the group started Week 6 (Lowe missed Week 7 with an injury).
This week the Patriots had a chance to continue to build on the continuity of a group that had looked like it was starting to build momentum. Instead they elected to make a change putting rookie Layden Robinson in at right guard and moving Onwenu back out to tackle.
Robinson hadn’t played much in the last month. After starting the first four weeks and struggling in pass protection his role decreased. In the month of October he played just 19 offensive snaps, all coming against Jacksonville in a game he started before getting hurt. He was inactive last week.
Robinson had his issues in this game, getting called for a holding penalty and surrendering a third-down pressure on the first drive. The change also seemed to shake up the rest of the interior, with Jordan and Brown having some of their worst games of the season as well.
In all, Robinson lasted just 21 snaps before he was pulled in favor of Jacobs, who returned to right tackle allowing Onwenu to move back inside. While things were still shaky from there on out, it’s worth noting that didn’t seem to be the line the Patriots planned to have in this game.
Asked about the in-game change postgame, Mayo noted “we felt like we needed to match up with one of their best players [defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons]. When you watch the film you’re going to see the interior of the pocket, at times, was soft. And we thought putting our best player [Onwenu] in there was the best thing to do for the team.”
Mayo isn’t wrong there, but the matchup with Simmons is something the Patriots knew about to start the week (Simmons was the first player Mayo mentioned by name during his Wednesday press conference, calling him a “huge disruptor”). With another good defensive line in the Bears’ coming up next week, it’ll be worth watching to see if the team makes another change.
Still lacking in the run game
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: Rhamondre Stevenson #38 of the New England Patriots carries the ball against the Tennessee Titans during the first quarter of the game at Nissan Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
One reason the Patriots may have made that offensive line change was to jumpstart the run game. As mentioned above Robinson had struggled in pass protection but was a plus run blocker to start the year.
Whether that was the motivation or not, the Patriots again struggled to run the ball conventionally. Taking out Drake Maye’s scrambles they ran 12 times for 15 yards, with Rhamondre Stevenson doing most of the work with 16 yards on 10 carries and a goal line touchdown.
Once again, that issue started up front. The Patriots didn’t get much of an initial push in this game. That was especially true running up the middle at Jeffery Simmons and rookie T’Vondre Sweat, two of the better defensive tackles in the league.
Right now, Maye is the Patriots’ running game. He scrambled eight times for 95 yards. His 11.9 yards per carry were the third most by a Patriots quarterback in a single game (min. 5 attempts).
This goes back to the Patriots’ asking Maye to carry the entire offense. His ability to run the ball is obviously a major asset, but the more he does it the greater he’s at risk of injury. Plus, teams will key in on his running more over time, and if the Patriots can’t develop a counter that skill won’t mean much.
Supplementing Maye’s running ability with a sustained traditional ground game is a must for the Patriots. Over the first month of the season the Patriots ranked ninth in the NFL averaging 4.9 yards per carry, so they have shown an ability to do so. It’s just a matter of executing it at this point.
Run defense struggles again as well
Tennessee Titans running back Tony Pollard (20) gets a first down past New England Patriots defensive tackle Daniel Ekuale (95) during overtime at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
As much as the Patriots struggled to run the ball on offense, they struggled to stop the run again as well.
Between their two running backs, the Titans averaged 4.5 yards per carry on 33 carries. Mason Rudolph was also able to get loose on a couple of scrambles, and had four carries for 19 yards.
Where the Patriots’ run game really hurt them though was in overtime. Much like the Jaguars did to the Patriots in London, the Titans just kept delivering body blow after body blow without much resistance. The 13-play drive saw the Titans run it eight times for 41 yards, or 5.1 yards per carry. All but three of those runs went for at least five yards.
Situational defense
Tennessee Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph (11) calls out the play during overtime against the New England Patriots at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. (Andrew Nelles/The Tennessean/USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
Situationally, the Patriots’ defense did not have a great game. Repeatedly, the unit failed to get off the field in key situations.
Third downs were particularly tough. Tennessee converted on seven of its 16 third-down attempts. Within that, one ‘stop’ came with Mason Rudolph throwing the ball away with three seconds left in the first half, and another came on the fumbled snap in overtime.
Tennessee was one of the first third down teams in the NFL coming into this game, ranking 31st converting just 30.6 percent of the time. The Patriots allowed them to convert at a near-50 percent clip on Sunday.
Another botched two-minute drill
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: Head coach Jerod Mayo of the New England Patriots reacts during the first half of the game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)
We’ll wrap up looking at two key coaching moments in this game. Let’s start in the first half.
No matter how many shots the Patriots get at two-minute drills at the end of the first half, they still can’t seem to figure them out. Entering Sunday the Patriots had five such situations this year, punting three times, scoring once, and running out the clock once.
They found themselves in the same situation again this week. A Titans punt gave the Patriots the ball at their own 15, with 1:48 to go and both teams having all three timeouts.
This week’s attempt started in an encouraging way. Drake Maye completed back-to-back passes to Kendrick Bourne along the sideline, picking up 14 yards and then nine. That set up a 2nd & 1 from the New England 38.
Instead of taking advantage of having multiple downs to pick up minimal yardage and taking a shot, the Patriots ran up the middle – into the strength of the Titans’ defense – on back-to-back plays. Neither play gained the needed yard (even with Sidy Sow on the field as a fullback for third down), and the Patriots had to punt the ball back to Tennessee.
The Titans botched their own situation, meaning the inability to gain that yard and continue the drive didn’t cost the Patriots’ on the scoreboard (aside from the points they potentially could have scored). But this continued issue is one that the team just can’t seem to get right.
Should the Patriots have gone for two?
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – NOVEMBER 03: Joey Slye #13 of the New England Patriots kicks a field goal against the Tennessee Titans during the second quarter at Nissan Stadium on November 03, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Even before the Patriots ended up losing in overtime, there were questions about whether or not they should have gone for two after the final touchdown in regulation to avoid overtime altogether.
Going for two in that situation is more of a college strategy than an NFL one, but it does happen. According to Pro Football Reference, there have been six game-tying touchdowns in the final 10 seconds of regular season NFL games since the PAT was moved back in 2015. Of those six, two teams tried the two point conversion. One worked and one didn’t. Of the four teams that kicked the PAT and went to overtime, only one won the game.
That’s just historical context. Of course though every situation is different. The decision to go or not go is only as good as the play that’s called. That may be why the Patriots decided to kick.
So far this year the Patriots have run three plays from the two-yard line – one regular snap and two two-point conversions. They’re 1-for-2 on the two-point conversions, and the other play was a fumbled snap by Jacoby Brissett against the Jets last week.
Were the Patriots nervous about the short-yardage situation after struggling on the ground most of the game? Just before the touchdown, it took them three plays and Drake Maye’s heroics to get in from the five.
There’s also the fact that the last play lasted as long as it did. Mayo was asked after the game whether or not that played a factor in not sending the offense back out there. “I don’t want to get into that,” Jerod Mayo said after the game. “It’s a good question. I just don’t want to get into it now.”
Whether Mayo discusses the decision later down the road or not, the decision was made. It’ll be a key evaluation point of this first-year coaching staff as the season goes on.
