The Tennessee Titans have finished the regular season with a 9-7 overall record for four seasons in a row, but this team is not the same as the previous three.
That showed as Tennessee brought down New England, 20-13 in the first round of the postseason on the road in a matchup that stayed close the whole way through.
Here are some quick observations we made throughout the contest.
– The Titans won the toss and chose to defer, allowing quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots offense to take the field first.
– It didn’t take the Patriots long to drive down the field, but the Titans defense was able to hold them to a 36-yard Nick Folk field goal.
– Mariota entered the game for a play on the first Titans drive, delivering a four-yard pass to tight end MyCole Pruitt.
– Largely off the rushing efforts of running back Derrick Henry, the Titans marched down the field and quarterback Ryan Tannehill found tight end Anthony Firkser for a 12-yard touchdown. The Patriots brought the pressure, but the signal-caller’s pass was flawlessly thrown
– The Patriots wasted no time answering back with a Julian Edelman touchdown run.
– The Titans were playing stout red-zone defense at the bottom of the second quarter, stopping the Patriots one yard short of the end-zone three times. New England was forced to settle for a 21-yard field goal, and had the 13-7 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the half.
– With less than a minute to go before halftime, Henry caught a screen pass from Tannehill for a big gain to bring the Titans to the 1. The former Alabama rusher finished the job with a touchdown run, giving the Titans a 14-13 lead at the half.
– Brady threw what would have been an interception returned for a touchdown practically right into the lap of Logan Ryan, but the cornerback failed to bring it in.
– The ground game was a major factor for the Titans in the first half, with Tannehill recording just nine pass attempts.
– The Titans opened the second half the same way they began the contest — feeding the ball to Henry. Tennessee made it to roughly midfield before they were left punting.
– The Patriots had an opportunity for a huge gain on a passing play on their first possession of the second half, but it was called back due to a penalty. Titans LB Derick Roberson tackle for loss on a 3rd & 15 screen forced the Patriots to punt.
– Tannehill has been solid for the Titans since taking over as the starter in Week 7, but threw a bad pass and paid for it with his seventh interception of the season at the top of the fourth quarter. The Patriots were unable to produce points on the following possession, and punted right back to Tennessee.
– Tannehill’s eyes were off the snap with roughly six minutes remaining in the game on a third-down play and fumbled the ball, but Henry fell on it. The mistake brought up 4th & 4 and the Titans took multiple penalties to take the game under the five-minute mark.
– Kern’s punt, downed at the 1 by safety Dane Cruikshank put the Patriots in an unlikely situation for a win with just seconds remaining in the game. He was intercepted by Ryan for a touchdown, and the Titans extended their lead to 20-13 after a failed two-point conversion attempt.
