Pats Pulpit
The New England Patriots stayed in the win column on Sunday, celebrating a fourth straight W to improve to 5-2 on the year. Mike Vrabel’s return to Tennessee ended with a 31-13 victory over the Titans.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.
QB Drake Maye: Another week, another near perfect effort for the sophomore quarterback. Maye set a single-game franchise record completing 91.3 percent of his passes (21-of-23) en route to throwing for 222 yards and two touchdowns while generating +0.37 expected points per drop-back. He continued his elite success throwing downfield with a long touchdown to Kayshon Boutte and had perfect ball placement on sideline throws to Mack Hollins (honey hole) and Stefon Diggs.
Maye also added 62 yards on eight scrambles but the quarterback did admit to potentially being quick to take off at times — while the eight attempts led to a handful of hits and a trip to the medical tent. New England needs their quarterback to stay healthy as Maye is playing at an elite, MVP-type level.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson: After struggling to run the football of late New England had their best statistical rushing performance of the season against the Titans. That was led by Rhamondre Stevenson who dominated the backfield snaps and posted 88 yards on 18 carries (4.9 YPA) while finding the end zone. Stevenson totaled a season-high 56 rushing yards after contact.
Kayshon Boutte and the WRs: Maye continued to spread the ball around on Sunday which led to several receivers making key contributions. The biggest came from Kayshon Boutte finding the end zone again by beating L’Jarius Snead one-on-one for a 39-yard touchdown.
Beyond Boutte, Stefon Diggs led the group with seven catches for 69 yards, Mack Hollins had a pair of explosives, and DeMario Douglas converted a third and fourth down on a touchdown drive — needing just one hand to convert the latter. Even Efton Chism III saw his first non-kneel down offensive snaps of the season and threw a big block to help spring a 14-yard run.
LBs K’Lavon Chaisson and Harold Landry: New England’s top two edge rushers took advantage of Tennessee’s struggling tackle duo. Chiasson found himself in the backfield often and got home for a pair of sacks on Cam Ward. He then capped his day off with a scoop-and-score touchdown on a fumble recovery.
On the opposite side, Harold Landry made an impact in his return to Tennessee with a sack, run stuff, and a drawn hold. He also had the initial pressure on one of Chaisson’s takedowns.
OG Jared Wilson and the pass protection: While Drake Maye found plenty of success through the air, the quarterback was under pressure on 37 percent of his drop backs and was sacked four times even as the Titans were without star defensive lineman Jeffrey Simmons (hamstring) for most of the afternoon. That pressure percentage also included eight quick pressures — getting to Maye in...
