Patriots On A Roll

The New England Patriots have won six straight games and moved to 8-4 on the season after defeating the Tennessee Titans 36-13. This game was tightly contested for the bulk of the afternoon, even as Tennessee was missing key figures on the offensive side of the ball. New England held a 16-13 lead heading into the halftime locker room, but the defense was able to shut the door over the final two quarters. 

As has been the case during this streak, the Patriots’ defense has proven to be extremely clutch. On a second-and-4 run in the third quarter, D’Onta Foreman ripped off a 30-yard run that was set to flip the field for Tennessee as they trailed by six. However, J.C. Jackson was able to punch the ball loose and Jalen Mills recovered to give the Patriots the ball back and eliminate a potential scoring opportunity. On the ensuing defensive possession, New England forced a three-and-out, which was then matched by a 56-yard touchdown drive by the offense. In all, the Patriots outscored the Titans 20-0 in the second half. 

Mac Jones finished with 310 yards and two touchdowns while completing 23 of his 32 passes. Both of those touchdowns were to Kendrick Bourne, who also caught five of his six targets for 61 yards. Meanwhile, Ryan Tannehill went 11 of 21 passing for 91 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Running back Dontrell Hilliard led the Titans with 131 yards rushing, most of that coming on a 68-yard touchdown run just prior to halftime. 

New England’s defense continues to be the story for the Patriots in the midst of this six-game winning streak. While Tennessee was able to linger around throughout the first half, they were able to slam the door shut over the final two quarters. For the fourth consecutive week, the Patriots held their opponent to zero second-half points and forced three turnovers over that stretch. Not only was it dominating, but it was clutch play by New England as they put together plays that directly took points off the board for Tennessee. The unit was able to force a fumble that negated a long run by D’Onta Foreman and later picked off Ryan Tannehill iin the end zone after the Titans moved the ball all the way to the Patriots 2-yard line. 

Offensively, Mac Jones was efficient enough to get the win and seems to be increasingly more comfortable with deep passes as he threw for 310 yards and two touchdowns (both going to Kendrick Bourne). That said, there were opportunities left on the table for New England as they were two for five in the red zone. It was a solid win all around, but the Patriots still have a higher ceiling they can reach, which is a scary proposition for the rest of the conference.