Riding into the Titans game on a six game win streak, the Patriots seemed to be back on their usual level, cruising through opponents. The same was expected of this game, but things turned out much, much more different. The bad play started on the very first play, when Titans returner Darius Jennings took the kickoff back 58 yards, giving the Titans excellent field position. After a Titans score, in which Patriots safety Patrick Chung was badly beaten by Jonnu Smith, the Pats offense had to answer immediately to stop the momentum gained by the Titans. While the Patriots did get a field goal, wideout Josh Gordon dropped an easy pass on what should have been a third down conversion. Following this, the Titans scored again, and Tom Brady failed to respond. The route was on, as Brady struggled to connect with anybody. Even Patriots dual-threat back James White, who entered the game tied for fourth in the league for receptions, had only 5 catches. One key problem to Brady's bad play was the constant pressure he was being put in. The Titans defensive line, led by Jurell Casey, put Brady under duress on seemingly every play. Due to this, Brady had to throw to the feet of receivers and out of bounds to avoid taking sacks. During the second quarter, the Pats defense started to play well, but each time they forced a punt, Brady would just go three and out in response. Even when the Pats were given the ball down two scores and a minute left in the half, they failed to even kick a field goal and defeated any chance of a two for one and the end of the half. Keep in mind that the Pats came into the game tied for most points scored with under two minutes left in the first half, with 41. The second half was much of the same story, with the Titans either punting or scoring, and the dysfunctional Pats offense punting back. The Titans even gave the Patriots a taste of their own medicine. After Julian Edelman threw a pass to Brady for six yards, the Titans ran the same play and got eleven yards to Marcus Mariota. At the end of the day, Bray was benched for Brian Hoyer, and the Pats lost 34-10, with their only touchdown coming on a fullback dive with James Develin.
Comments