NASHVILLE — A slog for most of the afternoon, the Patriots and Titans delivered a thrilling ending at Nissan Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Trailing 17-10 with 1:45 remaining, Drake Maye engineered game-tying drive that culminated in a touchdown with no time left off the clock. The Patriots couldn’t carry that momentum into overtime though, as the Titans responded with a long field goal drive and Maye ended things with a walk-off interception in a 20-17 loss.
Here are seven Patriots takeaways from a memorable afternoon in the Music City:
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1. Patriots have their QB
Maye was undoubtedly New England’s best player on offense and the game-tying touchdown was a ridiculous play. With zeros on the clock, Maye bought time for over 11 seconds as he dipped and dodged through the offensive backfield like Josh Allen. Finally, Rhamondre Stevenson shook open, Maye was hit as he threw, and still delivered a strike to the running back in the end zone.
“He’s resilient. He’s always shown that — but that was different. I don’t know how many people he made miss, but as a wideout on that play it was tough. That might’ve been the longest play I’ve ever been a part of,” Kendrick Bourne said. “Drake is just phenomenal.”
Maye was the only Patriots player who could get anything going on the ground. The rookie finished with 95 rushing yards — most for a Patriots quarterback since Steve Grogan in 1976 — and went 29-of-41 for 206 yards in the air. It wasn’t perfect (more on that in a moment), but the Patriots clearly have something here in Maye.
“Man, that looked like Josh Allen 2.0,” Davon Godchaux said. “He looked amazing – especially when he runs the ball. I didn’t even know the kid had burners like that. When he’s running the ball, he looks amazing. I’m excited to play with him and watch him the next couple of years.”
2. Rookie mistakes happen though
Maye turned the ball over three times, and the quarterback was culpable in all of them, though the offensive line didn’t help matters. The rookie forced an early interception off his back foot with Jeffery Simmons in his face, took a strip sack in the fourth quarter when he didn’t feel an edge rusher coming behind him, and threw a game-ending interception in overtime. Maye forced a deep ball to Kayshon Boutte in double coverage that didn’t get enough air under it.
“Just a dumb decision,” Maye said. “Something you’d like to have back, especially in that situation.”
There was far more good than bad from Maye on Sunday, but there are going to be growing pains moving forward.
3. Wanted: A running game
Once again, New England’s designed runs were abysmal.
Patriots running backs ran for 15 yards on 12 carries. They couldn’t get anything going on the ground, and Rhamondre Stevenson finished with just 16 rushing yards. It was his third straight game rushing for less than 50 yards, and the veteran was at a loss for answers.
“I don’t know. I think that’s above my pay grade in a way. Just let the coaching staff handle that,” Stevenson said. “It can get frustrating — especially when we’re losing. I mean, if we were winning I wouldn’t be that frustrated, but adding the two together it’s very frustrating.”
4. Jones makes an impact
Beyond Maye, Marcus Jones was New England’s most electric ball carrier.
Jones ripped off punt returns of 25 yards and 44 yards — aided by Tennessee’s shockingly bad special teams units — and his fourth quarter return set the offense up at midfield for their game-tying drive. Good things happen when the cornerback gets the ball in his hands.
5. Simmons exposes a weakness
Jeffery Simmons terrorized New England’s interior offensive line. The two-time Pro Bowler finished with eight pressures, per PFF, and forced Jerod Mayo to shuffle his offensive line. Because Simmons was such a nightmare, the Patriots moved Mike Onwenu from tackle to guard in the second quarter and pulled rookie Layden Robinson from the game.
“We felt like we needed to match up with one of their best players,” Mayo said. “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 in there was the best thing to do for the team.”
6. No bounce-back for Polk
In his first game back from a concussion, second-rounder Ja’Lynn Polk still couldn’t get anything going. The rookie wideout was held without a catch, picked up penalties for holding and an illegal shift, and his lone target was Maye’s first quarter interception. The Patriots need more from him in the passing game.
7. Defense wears down in the end
When overtime kicked off, the Patriots defense looked gassed. All told, they were on the field for 73 plays, and Tennessee’s 13-play, 72-yard field goal drive ate up most of the clock in overtime.
“It was very tough,” Mayo said. “We’ll watch the film and see what happened, but it was tough. Those long drives have hurt us at times this year.”
The Titans wound up with 400 yards of total offense, 167 on the ground, and ran the ball for 4.2 yards per carry. A lot of the same issues that’ve been plaguing the Patriots popped up again.
