Pats Pulpit
Ahead of this year’s training camp, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel explained that he was looking at his team’s performances in three categories. There is the good, the bad, and, as he called it, the s—t that gets you beat.
On Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, Vrabel’s team again showed more good than bad en route to a convincing 31-13 victory. That said, if the coach wants to look at the Patriots through the three categories he established, who are we to disagree? So, let’s break down the Week 7 game in exactly that manner.
There are several areas deserving of a mention here. Drake Maye breaking a Tom Brady franchise record, his backup Joshua Dobbs briefly stepping in and getting the job done, the defense registering two takeaways — all worthy inclusions on a list of good things from Sunday’s game.
However, the resurgent run game is our choice.
The Patriots entered Week 7 as one of the least efficient rushing attacks in the NFL, ranking near the bottom of the league in most basic and advanced statistical categories. Versus Tennessee, however, they managed to show some signs of life for the first time all year.
Led by Rhamondre Stevenson, the unit ended the game with a combined 177 yards on 34 rushing attempts — an average of 5.2 yards per attempt. Stevenson had his best game of the year, finishing with 18 carries, 88 yards and a touchdown; meanwhile, Drake Maye added 62 yards himself, with even practice squad elevation Terrell Jennings chipping in 18 as a “five-minute back” late in the game.
“There were some running lanes and when there weren’t, we were able to take it downhill and be able to push some piles,” said head coach Mike Vrabel after the game. “We had some double-digit runs. We had some dirty runs. It was great to see us finish there at the end. So I think it’s always a combination. We took care of the football, and that’s really the formula. They made a mistake there that we were able to capitalize on.”
Not all was perfect about the Patriots’ ground game on Sunday — they had two more negative runs while rookie TreVeyon Henderson continues to be a limited factor (2 carries, 5 yards) — but overall it was a step in the right direction.
While the run blocking was solid all day, pass protection was a different story. The stat sheet doesn’t quite show it with Drake Maye still managing to complete 91.3% of his passes, but he was sacked four times and pressured on several other dropbacks resulting in a season-high eight scramble attempts.
Most of the problems occurred on the left side of the line, manned by rookie tackle Will Campbell and rookie guard Jared Wilson. While the former surrendered a sack and six total pressures, via NFL Next Gen Stats, the latter gave up two sacks and...
