PATRIOTS: Remember the Titans? Not really

Sunday
Jan 7, 2018 at 8:15 PM Jan 7, 2018 at 8:19 PM

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

FOXBORO – Here are the cold, hard facts: Because of their geographical locations – one in the AFC East, the other in the AFC South – the Patriots and the Tennessee Titans haven’t met a whole lot over the years, but they did get together in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs once before on a memorable Saturday night at Gillette Stadium back in 2004.

With Adam Vinatieri booting a 46-yard field goal with 4:06 to play, the Patriots defeated the Titans, 17-14, in what went down as the coldest game in the history of both franchises (a temperature of 4 degrees at kickoff, wind chill 10 below).

With the long-range forecast calling for the temperature for the 8:15 kickoff this Saturday night to be a rather balmy (by comparison) 30-something degrees, the two teams will do it again – same place, same stakes – 14 years later.

Seeded fifth in the AFC, the Titans advanced to the divisional round by scoring 19 unanswered points in the second half to stun the fourth-seeded Kansas City Chiefs, 22-21, in Saturday’s wild-card game at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the franchise’s first playoff since they advanced to that frigid divisional-round matchup with the Patriots with a 20-17 wild-card win at Baltimore on Jan. 3, 2004. The Titans’ ticket to New England was punched when third-seeded Jacksonville defeated sixth-seeded Buffalo, 10-3, at EverBank Field on Sunday afternoon.

The Patriots advanced to the divisional round by sitting at home. The Pats earned the top seed in the AFC and a bye on wild-card weekend by winning 13 games during the regular season, including a 27-24 decision at Pittsburgh on Dec. 17 that gave them the tiebreaker advantage over the Steelers, who also finished 13-3.

The Patriots could have faced a known commodity in the divisional round: the Chiefs, who defeated them, 42-27, in their 2017 regular-season opener; or Buffalo, whom the Patriots defeated, 23-3 and 37-16, in December. In the Titans, they will face a team they haven’t seen since they hung a 33-16 defeat on them at Gillette on Dec. 20, 2015.

In that game – the Patriots’ sixth consecutive win over the Titans dating back to Oct. 5, 2003 – Tom Brady threw touchdown passes of 5 and 30 yards to tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back James White, Stephen Gostkowski kicked four field goals and Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota was knocked out of the game with a knee injury in the second quarter.

So what are the Patriots getting in this Titans team?

They’re getting a mix of the good (four straight wins from Oct. 16 to Nov. 12 and six wins in seven games through Dec. 3), the bad (three straight losses in December that nearly cost them their first playoff berth since 2008) and the downright ugly (a humiliating 57-14 loss at Houston on Oct. 1).

In his third season since they made him the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Mariota regressed. His interceptions (15, third-most in the league) outnumbered his touchdown passes (13) during the regular season.

But Mariota, who threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s win at KC (including one to himself when cornerback Darrelle Revis batted a pass back into his hands), has the ability to make plays with his legs. Witness his 312 yards and five touchdowns rushing and 5.2 yards-per-carry average despite a hamstring injury during the regular season. Mariota exhibited his mobility by gaining 46 yards on eight carries against the Chiefs and by throwing the lead block on linebacker Frank Zombo that sprang Derrick Henry for the 22-yard gain late in the game that sealed the win.

As for Henry, the 6-foot-3, 247-pounder’s physical style of play is an integral part of the Titans’ offense. With fellow running back DeMarco Murray out with a knee injury, Henry carried the load against the Chiefs, gaining 156 yards (with one TD) on 23 carries, putting him in the company of Earl Campbell and Eddie George as the only backs in Houston Oilers/Titans history to rush for 100 yards in a postseason game.

While he gets lost in a tight-end world roamed by Gronkowski and the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (the concussion that knocked him out of Saturday’s game made life a whole lot easier for the Titans’ defense), Delanie Walker sure is productive, his 74 receptions for 807 yards and three TDs tops on the team during the regular season. Walker made six catches for 74 yards in the win over the Chiefs.

Defensively, the Titans totaled 43 sacks during the regular season, tying them for fifth in the league. They got to Alex Smith four times Saturday.

Stout against the run, the Titans ranked fourth in the league, allowing just 88.8 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry during the regular season. They (and the Chiefs’ peculiar game plan) limited Hunt to 42 yards on 11 carries (a 3.8-yard average) in Saturday’s win.

The Titans’ secondary includes old friend Logan Ryan on the corner. Ryan, who headed out of Foxboro (a three-year, $30 million contract) as Stephon Gilmore was heading in (a five-year, $65 million deal) during the offseason, didn’t intercept a pass during the regular season, but he registered 62 tackles, broke up 11 passes and forced a fumble. He was credited with three tackles in the Titans’ wild-card win at KC.

Former Patriot Josh Kline starts at right guard for Tennessee, while Matt Cassel is the backup quarterback.

Sunday
Jan 7, 2018 at 8:15 PM Jan 7, 2018 at 8:19 PM

Glen Farley The Enterprise @GFarley_ent

FOXBORO – Here are the cold, hard facts: Because of their geographical locations – one in the AFC East, the other in the AFC South – the Patriots and the Tennessee Titans haven’t met a whole lot over the years, but they did get together in the AFC divisional round of the playoffs once before on a memorable Saturday night at Gillette Stadium back in 2004.

With Adam Vinatieri booting a 46-yard field goal with 4:06 to play, the Patriots defeated the Titans, 17-14, in what went down as the coldest game in the history of both franchises (a temperature of 4 degrees at kickoff, wind chill 10 below).

With the long-range forecast calling for the temperature for the 8:15 kickoff this Saturday night to be a rather balmy (by comparison) 30-something degrees, the two teams will do it again – same place, same stakes – 14 years later.

Seeded fifth in the AFC, the Titans advanced to the divisional round by scoring 19 unanswered points in the second half to stun the fourth-seeded Kansas City Chiefs, 22-21, in Saturday’s wild-card game at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the franchise’s first playoff since they advanced to that frigid divisional-round matchup with the Patriots with a 20-17 wild-card win at Baltimore on Jan. 3, 2004. The Titans’ ticket to New England was punched when third-seeded Jacksonville defeated sixth-seeded Buffalo, 10-3, at EverBank Field on Sunday afternoon.

The Patriots advanced to the divisional round by sitting at home. The Pats earned the top seed in the AFC and a bye on wild-card weekend by winning 13 games during the regular season, including a 27-24 decision at Pittsburgh on Dec. 17 that gave them the tiebreaker advantage over the Steelers, who also finished 13-3.

The Patriots could have faced a known commodity in the divisional round: the Chiefs, who defeated them, 42-27, in their 2017 regular-season opener; or Buffalo, whom the Patriots defeated, 23-3 and 37-16, in December. In the Titans, they will face a team they haven’t seen since they hung a 33-16 defeat on them at Gillette on Dec. 20, 2015.

In that game – the Patriots’ sixth consecutive win over the Titans dating back to Oct. 5, 2003 – Tom Brady threw touchdown passes of 5 and 30 yards to tight end Rob Gronkowski and running back James White, Stephen Gostkowski kicked four field goals and Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota was knocked out of the game with a knee injury in the second quarter.

So what are the Patriots getting in this Titans team?

They’re getting a mix of the good (four straight wins from Oct. 16 to Nov. 12 and six wins in seven games through Dec. 3), the bad (three straight losses in December that nearly cost them their first playoff berth since 2008) and the downright ugly (a humiliating 57-14 loss at Houston on Oct. 1).

In his third season since they made him the second overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, Mariota regressed. His interceptions (15, third-most in the league) outnumbered his touchdown passes (13) during the regular season.

But Mariota, who threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns in Saturday’s win at KC (including one to himself when cornerback Darrelle Revis batted a pass back into his hands), has the ability to make plays with his legs. Witness his 312 yards and five touchdowns rushing and 5.2 yards-per-carry average despite a hamstring injury during the regular season. Mariota exhibited his mobility by gaining 46 yards on eight carries against the Chiefs and by throwing the lead block on linebacker Frank Zombo that sprang Derrick Henry for the 22-yard gain late in the game that sealed the win.

As for Henry, the 6-foot-3, 247-pounder’s physical style of play is an integral part of the Titans’ offense. With fellow running back DeMarco Murray out with a knee injury, Henry carried the load against the Chiefs, gaining 156 yards (with one TD) on 23 carries, putting him in the company of Earl Campbell and Eddie George as the only backs in Houston Oilers/Titans history to rush for 100 yards in a postseason game.

While he gets lost in a tight-end world roamed by Gronkowski and the Chiefs’ Travis Kelce (the concussion that knocked him out of Saturday’s game made life a whole lot easier for the Titans’ defense), Delanie Walker sure is productive, his 74 receptions for 807 yards and three TDs tops on the team during the regular season. Walker made six catches for 74 yards in the win over the Chiefs.

Defensively, the Titans totaled 43 sacks during the regular season, tying them for fifth in the league. They got to Alex Smith four times Saturday.

Stout against the run, the Titans ranked fourth in the league, allowing just 88.8 yards per game and 3.6 yards per carry during the regular season. They (and the Chiefs’ peculiar game plan) limited Hunt to 42 yards on 11 carries (a 3.8-yard average) in Saturday’s win.

The Titans’ secondary includes old friend Logan Ryan on the corner. Ryan, who headed out of Foxboro (a three-year, $30 million contract) as Stephon Gilmore was heading in (a five-year, $65 million deal) during the offseason, didn’t intercept a pass during the regular season, but he registered 62 tackles, broke up 11 passes and forced a fumble. He was credited with three tackles in the Titans’ wild-card win at KC.

Former Patriot Josh Kline starts at right guard for Tennessee, while Matt Cassel is the backup quarterback.

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