Titans defeat Patriots in Overtime

The Tennessee Titans (2-6) beat the New England Patriots (2-7) 20-17 in Overtime.

Mason Rudolph started for the third week in a row after Will Levis was ruled out due to his shoulder injury.

The Titans began the game with a touchdown on their first drive of the game, with tight end Nick Vannett scoring a nine-yard touchdown off a play-action pass from Mason Rudolph to take the early lead. 

The Titan’s offense came to a halt after the early touchdown, as they gave up a field goal to the Patriots in the second quarter and were unable to score again before the half, but they took a 7-3 lead into halftime.

The Patriots came out of halftime and scored a one-yard touchdown by running back Rhamondre Stevenson to take the lead 10-7.

The Titans responded with a 21-yard field goal by Nick Folk and then later extended their lead with a catch by Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a touchdown with only four minutes left in the fourth quarter to make the score 17-10.

Then with only a minute left in the game after a great punt return by the Patriots, Drake Maye had the ball at the fifty-yard line, and he took the Patriots down the field to score a touchdown on a scramble drill play as time expired to force overtime.

The Titans received the kickoff to begin overtime, and they had a seven-and-a-half-minute drive to kick a field goal for the lead, and then the Titans secured the 20-17 win after Drake Maye threw his second Interception of the day.

Good and Bad

Good:

The Titans defense had a good game with three forced turnovers, two interceptions, and one forced fumble, as they also had four sacks.

Mason Rudolph had a good game with 20 completions for 240 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. His lone interception was picked off in the endzone after what should have been a touchdown deflected off tight end Chigozeim Okonkwo’s hands.

Tony Pollard had a great day on the ground with 28 carries for 128 yards with an average of 4.6 yards per carry. Pollard’s large volume continued as Tyjae Spears missed another game and Julius Chestnut was the only other runningback for the Titans with five carries.

Bad:

The Titans defense held the Patriots running backs to a combined 15 rushing yards but allowed 85 rushing yards to quarterback Drake Maye. They also gave up a last-second touchdown to the Patriots, which forced overtime.

Both sides of the Special Teams has continued to be an issue for the Titans. They allowed 70 yards on two punt returns with an average of 34.5 with one of those returns setting up the Patriots at the fifty-yard line on their game-tying drive to force overtime. The Titans had two kick returns, and their returner fumbled the ball on both of his returns.

The Titans will travel to Los Angeles for their week 10 matchup to face the Chargers on Nov 10.

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