Nashville, TN – The Patriots winning streak is at four games following a 31-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

Although the Patriots started slow, New England got things rolling in the second quarter, rattling off 21 unanswered points to coast to an 18-point victory against head coach Mike Vrabel's former team. Vrabel downplayed his return to Tennessee all week in the press, and according to players, he didn't discuss it in the lead-up to Sunday's game.

Many players expressed how much it meant that Vrabel kept it about Patriots football, rather than turning the game into his personal revenge party after being let go following a six-year stint as Titans head coach (2018-2023). Taking the lead from the head coach, we won't make this recap about Vrabel's return to Tennessee, either. Still, it must've felt good to hear a loud contingent of road fans in attendance chanting his name as the Patriots kneeled out the clock in the closing seconds on Sunday.

From a football standpoint, New England got off to a slow start, trailing 10-3 late in the first quarter. For a few minutes, it looked like the Titans were getting the interim head coach bump. However, for the second week in a row, the Patriots took control of the game in the "middle-eight" around halftime. The middle-eight is a football theory where, if you win the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half, you can seize momentum by executing a "double score" when you get two straight possessions.

After winning the opening coin toss, the Patriots deferred to the second half. Before halftime, QB Drake Maye led a three-play touchdown drive to put the Patriots up 17-13. Then, the Pats scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to take a commanding 11-point lead. Last week, in New Orleans, the Patriots scored 10 points during the "middle-eight" to take a 9-point lead over the Saints, back-to-back weeks winning the middle eight.

"Anytime you can do that and double them up, a lot of positives involved. So, hopefully that continues to be a trend," head coach Mike Vrabel said post-game. "Great job of taking a shot and having it be there. Great ball. Great catch by [Kayshon Boutte] to secure it. Defensively, it was good that we didn't give up anything cheap there with 45 seconds left [in the first half]."

Along with the positive middle-eight trend, the Patriots are also playing mistake-free football during their winning streak. Since turning the ball over five times in a Week 3 loss to the Steelers, the Patriots have only turned the ball over once during their four-game winning streak. They're making big plays offensively and not beating themselves, which is a good way to live.

New England has surpassed its 2023 and 2024 season win totals (four wins), has a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2021, and won three consecutive road games in a three-week span for the first time since the merger in 1970 (regular-season only). At this point, the excitement level for the program Vrabel is building in Foxboro is very high.

Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots improve to 5-2 on the season with a 31-13 victory over the Titans on Sunday.

1. Play of the Game: Drake Maye Connects with WR Kayshon Boutte on 39-Yard TD

The Patriots scored before halftime for the second consecutive week, and the deep passing game was rolling again on Sunday.

This week, Maye was 2-for-2 for 61 yards and a touchdown on passes over 20 air yards. Last week, Maye connected on four deep balls, bringing his two-week total to 6-of-7 on deep passes. In Tennessee, the Patriots took the lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Boutte, a pretty ball on the backside of a Patriots staple passing concept.

The Patriots run double digs to Maye's right, which is the frontside of the concept. The Titans match it in quarters with the split-safeties staying in the middle of the field to cover the dig routes, presenting a 1-on-1 matchup against an out-leveraged L'Jaruis Sneed. Boutte runs by Sneed on the vertical route, and Maye doesn't miss, putting the ball on the third-year wideout for an explosive touchdown to give New England the lead (17-13).

"Great throw, great catch to take advantage of the cornerback and safety play," Boutte said.

New England's ability to push the ball downfield offensively is turning this into an explosive passing offense. Maye is putting up insane numbers on throws over 20-plus air yards through seven weeks: 11-of-14, 351 yards, 4 TDs.

2. QB Drake Maye Continues to Play at a High Level in Win Over Titans

The dominant stretch of play for Patriots QB Drake Maye continued on Sunday, with Maye finishing Sunday's contest with 284 total yards, two touchdowns, and only two incompletions in the win.

Although the Patriots started a bit slow, Maye ended up with another stellar passing performance: 21-of-23, 222 yards, two touchdowns, and a +0.37 expected points added per drop-back. Maye got rolling on the team's third possession with three 'plus' plays to lead the Patriots to their first touchdown, with several downfield dimes. Maye wasn't quite as efficient on late downs, with his torrid six-week pace being nearly unsustainable on third and fourth down. Still, the Pats second-year quarterback continues to play at an elite level.

For example, the passing offense woke up on the Patriots third possession: an 11-play, 93-yard TD drive (longest of the season). The big play on the drive is becoming a staple for Maye, a 22-yard hole shot to WR Mack Hollins. Hollins widens off the line on a fade route into the cover-two hole along the sideline, and Maye perfectly places the ball between the short zone defender (S Amani Hooker) and the half-field player (CB Jalyn Armour-Davis) to hit Hollins down the sideline. Maye's perfect ball placement on hole shots has been consistent throughout the season.

From this perspective, the small nitpicks of Maye were some uncharacteristic third-down misses and a little too much scrambling (8 attempts, 62 yards). It's not that Maye can't scramble effectively, because he can, but he missed three plays in the third quarter to be evaluated for a concussion (cleared to come back in the game). Ultimately, it's about keeping the Pats terrific young quarterback healthy for 17-plus games – we know he can run.

Overall, this level of performance has become the norm for Maye, and we no longer need to discuss year-two leaps. He's leading this team to wins and playing like a top-10 quarterback every week.

3. Pats Pass Defense Starts Slow, Finishes Strong vs. Titans

Although the defense settled down after the Titans first four drives, the conversation this week will be about the slower starts and the overall performance by the Patriots pass defense.

On Sunday, Titans QB Cam Ward had his best half of the season in the opening two quarters: 11-of-16, 148 yards, TD, and +0.39 EPA per play (86th percentile). Ward was efficient against all coverages in the first half, but, in particular, he went 4-of-5 for 85 yards and a season-long 38-yard TD vs. man coverage. New England's pass defense was built on the foundation that they'd be able to man-up with their CB trio of Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, and captain Marcus Jones. All three corners gave up big plays in the first half this week.

The Titans first-half success against the Patriots man coverages started with a 20-yard completion from Ward to WR Elic Ayomanor against Davis. Then, Jones gave up the 38-yard touchdown as the primary defender, followed by Gonzalez allowing a 15-yard completion to Van Jefferson on a third-and-3. Eventually, things settled down, but the Pats currently rank 22nd in EPA per drop-back at the conclusion of the 1 p.m. window.

On Sunday, Ward's longest completion of the season came in the first quarter. Tennessee mimics a bootleg play but has Ward stop the keeper down on a half-boot. Technically, this is man coverage by the Patriots, but CB Marcus Jones is playing with outside leverage, expecting post-safety help from rookie Craig Woodson. The flow of the play challenges the single-high safety to stay on the post, and with a nod to the corner, Titans WR Chimere Dike separates over the top for a 38-yard TD. For reference, this was the same play design as Pats WR DeMario Douglas's long TD in New Orleans in Week 6.

New England went away from their man coverages in the second half, with an 84.6% zone coverage rate in the final two quarters. Some of that was soft zones protecting the lead. Still, whether it was taking them lightly or the Titans wideouts being better than advertised, you don't expect the Pats cornerback trio to get beaten by Dike and Van Jefferson.

Over the last two weeks, the saving grace for the Patriots defense is forcing field goals, which has kept the opponent's scoring down. However, as the competition stiffens down the road, New England needs better from its pass defense, especially to start games.

4. Patriots Run Game Finds a Groove in First Half vs. the Titans

One area of the Patriots offense that needed to improve was the run game, which came into the week ranked last in expected points added per rush and 27th in rushing yards per game. On Sunday, New England had its best statistical performance on the ground with a season-high 161 rushing yards (62 yards, eight attempts for Maye). Lead-back Rhamondre Stevenson broke out of a slump with 88 rushing yards on 18 carries for a 4.9 average. In all, the Pats generated a season-high +0.07 expected points per rush vs. the Titans.

As for the run plan, downhill runs and outside zone cutbacks got Stevenson rolling. The Titans have had a tough time stopping inside runs, and an in-game injury to stud DT Jeffery Simmons (hamstring) didn't help matters. The Pats got down the field on their opening drive almost exclusively on the ground, with Stevenson as the ball carrier.

The only nitpick for the Pats rushing attack was that the run game fizzled out in the second half. After rushing for 118 yards in the first half, the Pats only had 24 rushing yards on 11 RB attempts in the second half (2.2 avg.). You would've liked to see the ground game remain productive into the second half to protect a big lead, but instead, Maye had to drop back 18 times in the final two quarters. With an 18-point lead for most of the half, that's not ideal. Still, given where the rushing attack was in the first six weeks, the first half is something to build on for Stevenson and the Patriots rush offense.

5. Patriots Wideouts Continue to Shine in Nashville

It's safe to say that the Patriots wide receiver room is having a bounce-back season. After ranking last in receiving yards by wideouts in 2024, New England is surging toward the top-10 in receiver production this season. Obviously, some of that is Maye's brilliance. But the pass-catchers deserve credit for adding another 199 receiving yards on Sunday.

This week, it was a good mix. Boutte made a brilliant finger-tip catch on his long touchdown, while DeMario Douglas (one-handed catch on fourth down) and Mack Hollins (two explosives) also contributed. As for Diggs, the clinical connections between him and Maye are fantastic to watch. The 18-yard completion to Diggs above in the second half was just surgical. From a clear weakness on the roster to a strength: the Patriots wide receivers are contributing on a weekly basis for this offense.

6. Pass Protection Inconsistencies an Area of Improvement for the Patriots Offense

Although the passing offense performed well, the pass protection was shakier than usual this week. Maye was under pressure on 37.1% of his drop-backs while being sacked four times, including twice on third down. There were also eight "quick" pressures on Maye, a pressure in under 2.5 seconds. The Patriots can live with the longer-developing pressures, but they need to avoid the quick disruptions that blow up plays.

For example, the Titans got a third-down stack by running a three-man stunt over the left side. Tennessee has a good design here. They put a rusher over both the left tackle and left guard, then add another rusher from the linebacker level. The Pats rookie left side can't pass off the stunt, and DT Dre'Mont Jones comes through for the sack. Although it's never on one player, rookie LG Jared Wilson was responsible for three sacks on initial viewing. We'll see if left guard is a spot the Patriots evaluate during the week.

7. LB Harold Landry Logs Sack, Run Stuff and Draws a Hold in Return to Tennessee

Along with Vrabel, Landry also had an emotional return to Nissan Stadium after spending his first seven seasons with the Titans. The veteran edge rusher had a sack, run stuff, drew a hold to negate a positive run and tallied another hurry. Despite being questionable due to an ankle injury, you had to figure Landry wouldn't miss this game, and his impact was felt on two different sacks, including a stunt where he had the initial pressure and Chaisson cleaned up.

8. Patriots Deliver Mostly Clean Performance on Special Teams

Lastly, the Patriots special teams units were mostly clean with a penalty being the lone blemish. The Titans did have a 15-yard punt return, but K Andy Borregales made all five of his kicks (4 PATs, FG), and P Bryce Baringer had one I-20. Like the entire team, New England continued to play clean football in the kicking game, which speaks to the discipline of the whole program.

DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer