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The New England Patriots snapped a six-game losing streak with a last minute touchdown by RB Rhamondre Stevenson last week against the New York Jets with a 25-22 victory at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots will look to win their second straight game when they begin a two-game road trip with a visit to Tennessee to face the Titans. After the trip to Nashville, the Patriots will continue on the road with a game at Chicago.

SERIES HISTORY

The New England Patriots and Tennessee Titans (formerly the Houston Oilers) will square off for the first time since a 36-13 New England victory on Nov. 28, 2021, at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots will play in Tennessee for the first time since a 34-10 loss on Nov. 11, 2018.

The teams have played 45 times in regular season and postseason play since the two charter members of the American Football League began play in 1960. The Patriots and Oilers played twice each year from 1960-1969 in the AFL and have played 25 times since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. In those 25 post-merger games, the Patriots have a 16-9 record, including a 2-2 mark in playoff games.

New England leads the overall regular season and postseason series 26-18-1. While the Patriots are 19-7-1 in home games against the Titans, the Patriots are 7-11 in road games, including 2-2 in games played in Tennessee after the team moved from Houston.

SCOUTING THE MATCHUPS

By Paul Perillo

When the Patriots run - Edge: Titans

The Patriots picked up the 1 yard they needed to snap their six-game losing streak in the win over the Jets, but otherwise the struggles on the ground continued. Rhamondre Stevenson was held to 48 yards on 20 carries for a 2.4-yard average while running mate Antonio Gibson was limited to just 6 yards on five attempts. Other than the effective scrambles by quarterbacks Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett, the Patriots can't get anything going on the ground. It won't be easy for New England to break that trend against Tennessee's defense. The Titans rank 12^th in the league, allowing 113.9 yards per game, and 10^th at 4.1 yards per carry. Led by their talented defensive front of Justin Simmons, Sebastian Joseph-Day and mammoth rookie T'Vondre Sweat, Tennessee has been able to keep inside linebackers Jerome Baker and Kenneth Murray clean. Baker missed the Lions game due to personal reasons and his status is unclear. The group is coming off a poor performance in Detroit on Sunday when it allowed the Lions to rush for 164 yards including a 70-yard touchdown by Jahmyr Gibbs. The Patriots figure to have the same offensive line together for a second straight week and third time in four games, and perhaps that continuity will lead to some improvement.

When the Patriots pass - Edge: Titans

It's hard to believe based on Tennessee's record but the Titans defense has performed well most of the season, especially in the secondary. The Titans lead the league in pass defense, allowing 151.6 yards per game, and rank third at 5.6 yards per pass play. Cornerbacks L'Jarius Snead, Jarvis Brownlee and Roger McCreary, along with safeties Amani Hooker and Quandre Diggs have been stingy. Snead missed the Lions game due to a quad injury so his status will be worth monitoring. Darrell Baker replaced him in the starting lineup in Detroit and would likely do so again if the veteran can't go. Meanwhile, the Patriots have injury questions of their own after Maye was knocked out of the Jets game in the second quarter due to a concussion. Brissett will once again start if the rookie is unable to clear protocol, which would be a blow to the offense. The Patriots will really miss Maye's mobility because the passing game hasn't been overly sharp without the scrambles. The wideouts dropped a number of catchable balls from both quarterbacks against New York, and based on the way the Titans secondary has played they won't be able to afford to miss many opportunities. The Titans don't get much pressure on the passer, however, which could help the passing game get untracked.

When the Titans run - Edge: Titans

The Patriots showed some improvement stopping the run against the Jets but still weren't as stout as Jerod Mayo would like. Tennessee has been able to run the ball effectively at times this year and did so last week early in the loss to the Lions before the score got out of hand. The Titans racked up 158 yards on the ground, led by leading rusher Tony Pollard, who has 494 yards (4.3-yard average) and three touchdowns on the season. Tyjae Spears is an excellent change-of-pace back when healthy, which he wasn't last week when he missed the game with a hamstring injury. He is small and elusive and capable of turning in big plays if left open in space. The Patriots got a boost from linebacker Christian Elliss last week as the special teamer replaced Raekwon McMillan in the starting lineup for the second straight game and delivered a solid nine-tackle performance. He'll need to duplicate that effort to help out a front that continues to deal with injuries after Daniel Ekaule missed the Jets game with an oblique injury. Davon Godchaux and Jaquelin Roy held the fort up front and will be pressed by Pollard and the Titans physical approach under first-year head coach Brian Callahan and his father, well-respected offensive line coach Bill Callahan. This will be a key matchup for the Patriots on the road.

When the Titans pass - Edge: Patriots

The reason the Titans running game will be so important is the limitations the offense has in the passing department. Only the Patriots average fewer yards through the air than the 161.9 that Tennessee puts up. Starting quarterback Will Levis has missed time with a shoulder injury recently and his status is unclear. Backup Mason Rudolph hasn't performed any better and tossed a pair of interceptions in last week's blowout loss. Levis has a passer rating of 70.7 while Rudolph's sits at 69.9, so not much to choose from there as neither has generated much production. If the quarterbacks find a rhythm, however, the Titans have some weapons. Calvin Ridley is the leading receiver with 22 catches for 326 yards for a healthy 14.8-yard average. He's coming off a strong game with 10 catches for 143 yards in Detroit. Veteran Tyler Boyd (21-184-0) and tight end Chig Okonkwo (17-121-1) are capable targets, as are Spears and Pollard out of the backfield. But the inability of the quarterbacks to deliver accurate balls while avoiding turnovers (Levis has 10 turnovers while Rudolph has four) has prevented the Titans from establishing any offensive consistency. The Patriots secondary was better against the Jets and will need to build off that momentum in Nashville.

Special Teams - Edge: Patriots

This is a tough one to call because the Patriots special teams have been shaky in recent weeks. The punt coverage was once again leaky against the Jets, allowing a pair of big returns including a 40-yarder. Bryce Baringer also had a punt deflected, which allowed the Jets solid field position on another possession. But Marcus Jones turned in arguably the biggest play of the game when he ripped off a 62-yard punt return to set up a touchdown in the third quarter, and the Titans punt coverage was abysmal in Detroit last week. The Lions had five returns for 190 yards including a 90-yard touchdown and given Jones' explosiveness that could be a huge area for the Patriots to exploit. The kickers are solid on both sides with former Patriot Nick Folk perfect thus far on 22 attempts including all nine field goals, three of which have come from beyond 50. Punter Ryan Stonehouse averages 51.2 yards on his 34 kicks but a net of just 34.6 yards after Sunday's coverage debacle. Jha'Quan Johnson handles both punts and kicks for Tennessee but has been held in check.

TALE OF THE TAPE

CONNECTIONS

FORMER PATRIOTS

• K Nick Folk, 2019-22

FORMER TITANS

• TE Austin Hooper, 2022
• ST Asst. Tom Quinn, 2023

PATRIOTS TO WATCH

• TE Hunter Henry enters this week's game against the Tennessee with a team-leading 32 receptions for 358 yards. He is on pace to finish the season with 68 receptions for 761 yards, which would be career-high marks. While with the Chargers, he had season highs of 60 receptions (2020) and 652 receiving yards (2019).
• Henry has two games with 8 receptions in 2024 – vs. Seattle (9/15) and at Jacksonville (10/20). If he records 8 or more receptions against Tennessee, he will be the first New England tight end since TE Rob Gronkowski in 2017 with at least three 8-plus reception games.

• RB Rhamondre Stevenson scored 2 rushing touchdowns last week against the Jets. If he scores 2 rushing touchdowns this week against Tennessee, he will be the first Patriots player to have back-to-back games with at least 2 rushing touchdowns since RB Damien Harris in 2021 with 3 rushing touchdowns vs. Buffalo (12/26/21) followed by 2 rushing touchdowns vs. Jacksonville (1/1/22).

• CB Marcus Jones is second in the NFL and first in the AFC with a 13.1-yard punt return average (15 returns for 197 yards). The last Patriots player to lead the NFL in punt return average was WR Gunner Olszewski in 2020 with a team-record 17.3-yard average.
• Jones had a 62-yard punt return in the third quarter last week against the Jets to help get the Patriots in position for a touchdown. It was his second-career punt return of over 60 yards. He had a career-best 84-yard punt return for a touchdown vs. the Jets on Nov. 20, 2022. If he registers a punt return of at least 60 yards this week at Tennessee, he will join Troy Brown with three career punt returns of over 60 yards, behind only the four by WR Julian Edelman (since 1980).
• In addition, if Jones registers a 60-yard punt return this week at Tennessee, he will be just the fourth Patriots player with two punt returns of at least 60 yards in the same season and the first since 2020 when WR Gunner Olszewski had two 60-yard punt returns: a 61-yard return and a 70-yard touchdown run at the Los Angeles Chargers on Dec. 6, 2020. The other Patriots to accomplish the feat in a single season were Troy Brown (2001) and Irving Fryar (1985).

• LB Christian Elliss has a team-leading 8 total special teams tackles. If he records two special teams tackles this week, it will be the seventh-straight season that the Patriots have had a player reach at least 10 special teams tackles. In 2023, S Brenden Schooler (13) and LB Chris Board (10) both recorded 10 special teams tackles.
• Elliss has registered 9 total tackles in each of the last two games. If he reaches 9 total tackles this week at Tennessee, he will be the first Patriots player to reach at least 9 total tackles in three-straight games since LB Ja'Whaun Bentley had a three-game stretch with 10 total tackles during the 2022 season: 10 tackles at Arizona (12/12), 10 tackles at Las Vegas (12/18) and 11 tackles vs. Cincinnati (12/24).

BROADCAST INFO

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by FOX and can be seen locally on WFXT-TV Channel 25. Jason Benetti will handle play-by-play duties with Mark Schlereth as the color analyst. Jen Hale will work from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Rich Gross and directed by Scott Katz.

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 33 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. The games are produced by Marc Cappello.

For information on how to stream the game please visit our Ways to Watch guide.