Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots (AFC Divisional Playoffs Matchup)

[Mike75]

                                                     Rankings & Statistics

 

 

Tennessee ranks 1st in the league with a 49.7 average and 45.9 net on punts with the longest going 75 yards.

 

New England ranks 16th in league with a 43.4 average and 41.6 net on punts with the longest going 60 yards.

 

On FG made New England ranks 4th with 37 of 40 made and Tennessee ranks 5th with 35 of 42 made

 

On kickoff return average New England ranks 12th with 22.2 avg and Tennessee ranks 13th with 22.1 avg.

 

On punt return average Tennessee ranks 16th with 8.5 avg and New England ranks 18th with 8.2 avg.

 

As for penalties Tennessee was 2nd best in NFL with only 85 and New England ranks 5th best with only 95 on year.

 

On Turnover takeways Tennessee was 16th in NFL with 21 and New England ranks 25th in NFL with 18

 

3rd downs New England converted on 40.6 percent and Tennessee converted 35.1 percent of the time.

 

4th downs New England was 5th converting 8 of 13 for 61.5 percent and Tennessee was 12th converting 5 of 10 for 50.0 percent

 

Offense:total yards per game New England ranks 1st with 394.2 avg yards and Tennessee ranks 23rd with 314.0 avg. yards

 

Offense:points per game New England ranks 2nd with 28.6 and Tennessee ranks 19th with 20.9

 

Offense:rushing yards per game New England ranks 10th with 118.1 avg and Tennessee ranks 15th with 114.6 avg.

 

Offense:passing yards per game New England ranks 2nd with 276 avg. and Tennessee ranks 23rd with 200 avg.

 

Defense:total yards allowed per game New England ranks 29th with 366.0 avg yards and Tennessee ranks 13th with 328.0 avg. yards

 

Defense:points allowed per game New England ranks 5th with 18.5 and Tennessee ranks 17th with 22.3

 

Defense:rushing yards allowed per game Tennessee ranks 4th with 88.8 avg. New England ranks 20th with 114.8 avg.

 

Defense:passing yards allowed per game Tennessee ranks 25th with 239 avg. New England ranks 30th with 251 avg.

 

Defense stopping teams on third down Tennessee ranks 8th allowing 36.4 pct time New England ranks 21st allowing 39.4 pct time

[Mike75]

On a brutally cold night in January 2004 with temperatures barely above zero at 4 degrees and wind chills well below zero, the Titans and Patriots faced off in a grinder with the Titans coming off a playoff win at Baltimore ready to play in the divisional round matchup. A 41-yard Tom Brady touchdown to Bethel Johnson was answered with a Titans drive ending in a 5-yard Chris Brown rushing score. Both Gary Anderson and Adam Vinatieri missed field goal tries in the bitter cold, but Vinatieri broke a 14-all tie with 4:06 to go with a 46-yard field goal.

 

Having used all their timeouts, and after a controversial intentional grounding call, the Titans were forced to go for a long throw on 4th and 12 at the Patriots 42 in the game's final two minutes; as a Patriots blitz stormed through McNair unloaded a desperation heave; Drew Bennett, who had just made two incredible sideline catches, was surrounded by Patriots as he jumped for the ball, but it bounced off his fingers for a game-deciding incompletion, a 17–14 Patriots win. It was the last playoff game for Steve McNair as the team's starting QB and the final game Eddie George would play in a Titans uniform.

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzLungnL_hY

[Mike75]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Mike75]

[Mike75]

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f-pyYwyDzw

[Mike75]

 

 

 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoVsPjTze4w

[Sam Losco]

throw new england with chelsea and tottenham in the morning. wont lose

[mikeman]

Looks like TN will win the punting battle, NE will counter that by not punting.

[Mike75]

You’re going to read a lot of articles this week about all the reasons why the Patriots are too good to lose to the Titans. You know what?  Instead, I’m going to tell you why the Titans will upset the Patriots Saturday night, and continue their run to the AFC Championship game.

 

First of all, Derrick Henry is finally getting his chance to shine. Last week, he took 25 touches and turned them into 191 all-purpose yards, adding a touchdown for good measure. Henry’s gargantuan presence in the backfield does a lot for this offense because it opens up Mariota’s play-action passing repertoire. Using the run to set up the pass is a basic precept of effective football… however, things are magnified when you look at Marcus Mariota specifically. Consider this, in 2017, Mariota was the #1 rated QB (127.3) in the NFL on play action passes.

 

Take into account the fact that the Patriots are 30th in DVOA against opposing rushing attacks. If the Titans line plays to their potential, and Henry is able to effectively rush the ball and break off a few big chunks, the Patriots may have to shift an extra player to the box, thus shifting the emphasis to Mariota’s ability to make throws… an ability that he proved last week in Kansas City, especially underplay action calls.

 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Titans’ ability to win the game will hinge on whether or not they can limit Tom Brady & the passing attack. To make Brady less effective, the Titans need to develop a pass rush early. If they flounder, all bets are off, and this game could get ugly. If they come out like they did in the first half against Kansas City, they’re in trouble.

 

However, they have high caliber players in all the right places. Gronk should see a lot of Kevin Byard, the Titans’ first-team All-Pro Safety. Brandin Cooks will likely match up with Adoree Jackson, one of the best rookie DBs in football this year, and one of the fastest men on turf. Logan Ryan will man the other side of the field against his former team. Are there holes? Certainly. But is there a chance? Absolutely. Not to mention, the Titans have one of the best run defenses in football (7th in DVOA vs opposing rushing attacks.) Jurrell Casey & Co. will undoubtedly jam up the middle and make things harder than usual for Dion Lewis.

 

If you’d like a comprehensive account of all the reasons why the Patriots are fantastic and unbeatable, a quick search on Twitter will give you all of the data you need. Best QB of all time? Check. Best coach of all time? Check. Best Tight End of all time? Check. Enjoy those articles. I’ll close with this. There’s a lot of “off-field” noise that the Patriots are dealing with right now. True or not, the ESPN article detailing Kraft, Belichick, and Brady’s relationship was certainly a distraction last week.

 

While a world-class organization like New England surely turned over every stone, I’m sure most of the team’s prep focused on a rematch with the Chiefs until last Saturday night. I question how many players and coaches were truly expecting Marcus & Co. to come to town. There are countless articles circulating right now about Matt Patricia being the next coach of the Giants or the Lions. I wonder how much this is distracting him. Josh McDaniels has been rumored to be a viable HC candidate this offseason. How many times has his phone rang this week? Maybe the Patriots win in a blowout. No one would bat an eye. But maybe this is the week where we find a crack in the Patriots’ armor.

[Mike75]

Looks like TN will win the punting battle, NE will counter that by not punting.

 

 

We will see. This is a big game for Tennessee.

 

Do you think Patriots will win in a blowout??

[Mike75]

throw new england with chelsea and tottenham in the morning. wont lose

 

Looks like a huge percent of bettors are backing the Patriots. 

[mikeman]

We will see. This is a big game for Tennessee.

 

Do you think Patriots will win in a blowout??

Well, the spread is 13, TN would need to get a break early and take the lead to have a chance, I could see a 34-10, 31-7 final. People miss that NE's defense has played better and better as the year went on, remember they were 2-2 to start, looking decent but not great on offense, and terrible on defense

[Mike75]

When the Tennessee Titans travel to Foxboro Field to face the New England Patriots in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, they’ll be a 13.5 point underdog, which is expected. However, while the Patriots are the Patriots and are 20-4 in home playoff games in team history — 20 of those contests occurred during Robert Kraft’s ownership of the club.

 

While the Titans must rely on Henry on the offensive side of the ball to pick up a win, their 13th ranked defense as a whole needs to step up and shut down a Patriots offense that finished 2017 ranked No. 1 in yards (6,307) and No. 2 in points scored (458). In a game in which the books believe will be a high-scoring affair — the Vegas over/ under is 47.5 — a New England win is likely anticipated.

 

Tennessee ranked just 23rd in both total offense and passing, while ranking a middling 15th in rushing, and 19th in scoring. The Titans should attempt to exploit a New England run defense that has surrendered 4.7 YPC by deploying Derrick Henry extensively behind Taylor Lewan and Quinton Spain on the left side of their formations. However, the Patriots can make neutralizing Henry their top priority, while maintaining sufficient resources to address Marcus Mariota’s mobility. Rex Burkhead, James White, and Chris Hogan will all be available within New England’s assemblage of weaponry.

 

There are two problems for the Titans in this game. The first problem is that Mariota would have to play even better than last week. The second issue for the Titans is that Bill Belichick won’t underutilize his best weapons like Andy Reid did last week with Kareem Hunt. From a statistical standpoint, Titans back Derrick Henry will do his damage but it won’t be enough. The defending Super Bowl champions are immersed in attention-grabbing headlines over the state of their franchise. Whatever the case may be, the Patriots have always found a way to overcome controversy.

[Mike75]

Well, the spread is 13, TN would need to get a break early and take the lead to have a chance, I could see a 34-10, 31-7 final. People miss that NE's defense has played better and better as the year went on, remember they were 2-2 to start, looking decent but not great on offense, and terrible on defense

 

You are right the Titans need to grab the lead early to have a chance. Another thing is New England aren't gonna let Tennessee stick around like Kansas City.

 

Early on in the year the Pats faced Chiefs,Saints,Panthers in the first four games those were tough teams. After that in the final twelve games the only tough teams they played were the Falcons,Steelers and Bills.

 

I do think the Pats have played a fairly easy schedule after those first four games. During those last twelve games the only loss they suffered was to Miami 27-20.

 

The hardest game the played toward the end of the year was the 27-24 come from behind win at Pittsburgh.

 

The Pats lost two home games this season. First was to Chiefs 42-27 the other was to Panthers 33-30.

 

Titans will definitely have to bring their A game and play well with no turnovers or early deficit to have a shot.

[Mike75]

In Mike Mularkey’s two full seasons as @Titans HC, the team has played 8 total games decided by 3 points or less. The record is 7-1. The #Titans’ .875 winning % in games decided by 3 or fewer points during that stretch is tied with the @steelers for the best in the league.

 

Against teams with a winning record the Titans have the 3rd best win % in the NFL this year after the Steelers and Patriots.

 

Marcus Mariota is the first quarterback to lead a visiting team to an 18+ point comeback on the road in the postseason since 1957.

 

Since entering the NFL, @Titans QB Marcus Mariota has 40 TD passes vs 0 INTs in the red zone, the highest TD/INT ratio in NFL over that span (including playoffs)

 

QB Marcus Mariota is 1 of 5 QBs in NFL history with 9,000-plus pass yards (9,476) and 900-plus rush yards (913) in first three seasons.

 

Tom Brady age 40 and Marcus Mariota age 24 will be the largest age gap between starting QB in NFL Postseason History

 

Titans have the most sacks in the NFL since week 12 (30).

 

Derrick Henry tallied 390 4th quarter rushing yards during the regular season. No player averaged more yards per carry in the 4th quarter than Henry, who gained 6.09 yards per attempt (minimum 25 carries). @Titans

 

When Mariota runs more than 5 times or Henry runs more than 10 times=VICTORY

[Dark Raver Camper]

I hope it works out for you!

 

It’s An interesting matchup.

[Dark Raver Camper]

I’d like to add that it makes me happy for you seeing your excitement, as a fan, for a game/team.

 

I lost that feeling many years ago, so it brings a smile to my face/makes me want to root for you!

[Mike75]

I’d like to add that it makes me happy for you seeing your excitement, as a fan, for a game/team.

 

I lost that feeling many years ago, so it brings a smile to my face/makes me want to root for you!

 

Thanks!!  Appreciate it.

[Mike75]

I’d like to add that it makes me happy for you seeing your excitement, as a fan, for a game/team.

 

I lost that feeling many years ago, so it brings a smile to my face/makes me want to root for you!

 

The first dozen years of the teams existence 1999 through 2011 were great as Tennessee regularly made the postseason,won some playoff games,won a few division titles,had the best record in the league on two or three occassions,etc.

 

Then from 2012 through 2015 they entered a real bad four year period especially the last two years of that where they went 2-14 in 2014 and 3-13 in 2015 and those were some really hopeless times but i never gave up on the team.

 

So 2016 with a new GM,head coach and QB we would get to see if they could turn things around.

 

After dealing with almost half decade of losing seasons things got turned around as the new crew in charge helped the team start winning again and in 2016 and 2017 the team had two straight winning seasons as well as making the playoffs and winning playoff games.

 

If you don't mind me asking what was your team and what happened that you lost excitement for them?

[Mike75]

I hope it works out for you!

 

It’s An interesting matchup.

 

Yes the game will be interesting. I think we match up really well them. Of course they have the best QB ever but there is a saying Any Given Sunday which means any team could have their day and get hot at the right time.

 

Between our QB and RB we had a couple hundred yards running the ball last week. Although the Chiefs were winning 21-3 at halftime the Titans never gave up and started to score points while shutting their opponent down.

 

The one thing about this team is they never give up. In fact Tennessee and their QB Mariota had 5 games where they came from behind to win games in the final quarter.

[Mike75]

                                                       Key Questions for Titans Going Forward      

 

 

Can Titans gouge Pats on ground? – If there's one match-up that appears to be in the Titans' favor this week, it's Tennessee's ability to run the ball against a New England defense that finished 20th against the run this season.

 

It would hardly be a surprise to see the Titans run heavily to the left side, considering Derrick Henry ran left on 21 of his 23 carries against Kansas City, per Pro Football Focus, gaining 141 yards.

 

Left guard Quinton Spain earned the Titans' top Pro Football Focus grade of 83.1 against the Chiefs, and Titans coach Mike Mularkey called Spain's performance one of the best of his career. Then there's left tackle Taylor Lewan, who has been consistently strong all season.

 

The work of Lewan and Spain this year is a big reason the Titans averaged a whopping 10.22 yards on their 67 carries around left end, the best figure in the league.

 

New England, meanwhile, was susceptible to opponents running left. The Pats ranked near the bottom of the league when it came to yardage allowed around both left end and off left guard.

 

What's the book on beating Brady? – The NFL has admittedly been trying to figure this out since the turn of the century without a lot of success.

 

The best formula is simple in theory, difficult in execution: Keep Brady off the field as much as possible, and make him uncomfortable when he's on the field.

 

Miami executed the plan to perfection last month when the Dolphins defeated the Patriots in a Monday nightcontest.

The Dolphins kept possession of the ball for 36:09 – compared to just 23:51 for the Patriots – thanks to Kenyan Drake's 114 rushing yards. Defensively, Miami sent extra rushers at Brady on a regular basis, hitting him six times, sacking him twice and making him move from his preferred spot in the pocket.

 

As a result, Brady was picked off twice and finished the game with a quarterback rating of 59.5. The Pats were zero-for-11 on third-down conversions in the loss.

 

The giant asterisk attached to that game, though, is that the Pats were without All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski. He's been a beast since he returned the following week, catching 28 passes for 464 yards and three touchdowns in four games.

Still, the Titans have the ingredients to potentially slow Brady.

 

Tennessee pounded out a season-high 202 yards on the ground last week, which helped the Titans win time of possession by five minutes.

 

On defense, the Titans hit quarterback Alex Smith five times and sacked him twice. Overall this season, the Titans tied for fifth in the NFL with 43 sacks. Making Brady feel some pressure – and preventing him from having a clean pocket – is a necessity this week.

 

Can Titans get more from wide receivers? – Mariota has thrown to his top three receivers – Corey Davis, Eric Decker and Rishard Matthews – 24 times over the past two weeks, completing just 11 of those passes for 96 yards.

 

Decker made an impressive go-ahead touchdown catch against the Chiefs last Sunday, but he's also suffered dropped passes in the last two weeks. Davis continues to show flashes of talent, but the rookie's inexperience showed against Kansas City when he was partially responsible for Mariota's interception.

 

Matthews, the steadiest of the three this season, has been unusually quiet the last two weeks. He's caught two passes for 22 yards.

The Titans will this week be facing a New England team ranked 30th against the pass, so the receivers should be able to find more room and opportunity for themselves.

 

“I think they've made some plays when we've needed some plays made,” Mularkey said. “We just need to be more consistent with winning outside one-on-one match-ups as much as we can, especially the deeper we go in the playoffs. There's not a lot of room for error for anybody, that's for every position.”

 

Can Titans continue third-down success? – Heading into halftime against Kansas City, the Titans were in a serious third-down rut. They'd converted just one of five third-down chances in the first half, meaning they were only seven-for-33 (21.2 percent) over the last 10 quarters.

 

But everything changed in the second half against the Chiefs, when the Titans converted seven-of-eight third downs – including four situations of third-and-eight or more. It's no coincidence that Tennessee scored three touchdowns in the final two quarters.

 

The big keys to converting the third downs were Mariota and the Titans' tight ends. Mariota twice ran for first downs, once completed a touchdown pass to himself on third down, and completed three middle-of-the-field passes to Delanie Walker and Jonnu Smith for first downs.

 

“Some of (the third-down success) had to do with Marcus' ability to either run or move in the pocket and find receivers,” Mularkey said. “We just executed them much better and got open on them.”

 

The Titans are 5-2 this season when converting at least 40 percent of their third-down attempts.

[MikeyLo]

I’ll be playing the Titans

[Balco]

Marcus Mariota over 219 passing yards.

Hammer!