The last time the Tennessee Titans and New England Patriots played, it was not good. Not good if you’re a Titans fan, that is. I wrote about how ecstatic I was to see my team get an opportunity to see where they stacked up against the best of the best. When the first quarter ended 7-0 in favor of the Titans, I thought we might’ve been on the brink of a breakthrough as a franchise.
By the end of the game, I was numb to life. The Pats went on a 35-7 run to finish the game with a 35-14 win and one of the two spots in the AFC Championship. The Titans sure found out that they were not ready to take that next step as a franchise, and they fired Mike Mularkey because of it.
Fast forward 10 months and the Patriots are set to visit Nashville on Sunday.
From a mystique standpoint, not a whole lot has changed since January. The Patriots are 7-2, only behind the 8-1 Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC. That one blemish on the Chiefs record happens to have come at the hands of the Pats. So, perhaps rightfully so, a lot of folks consider them the favorites to win the AFC. As for this match up, Las Vegas has the Pats at -6.5, with a point total at 46.5.
But, on paper, this game looks like it could be a much better contest than we’re anticipating. The Patriots have the 4th best offense in the NFL, scoring 30 points per game. Tom Brady is still one of the best quarterbacks playing, and he’s finding about a million different guys on offense to make plays. Hell, they resurrected Josh Gordon up in Boston. There’s no reason to think the Titans offense can hang with the Patriots if this thing turns into a shoot out.
But, man – if they can slow that Pats machine down, could they score enough to eek out a 24-21 type of win?? Maybe. Maybe. The Titans earned themselves the top spot in the NFL in terms of scoring defense. This is a unit that doesn’t play around. They’re hitting quarterbacks, Kevin Byard is intercepting passes, and they are absolutely bowing up in the red zone.
#4 offense vs. #1 defense? *shrugs*
Crazier things have happened, but make no mistake – it’s going to take a monumental effort to pull off this upset. I still don’t think the Titans are ready to contend for an AFC Championship. It feels like we still don’t know much about this team – is the team that beat the Cowboys going to show up? Or, the team that the Ravens bent over?
To beat the Pats, they’re going to have to hold Brady to 20 points or fewer. I say that’s possible because I still don’t buy this Pats offense as the juggernaut it used to be. Can they score enough to win? I don’t know. That’s the big question. We know Marcus Mariota can play clutch football. If the Titans can get a big day out of Corey Davis, then maybe just maybe they can pull off the upset.
Regardless, I think this will end up being closer than seven points.
Now…the reason I say “on paper” is simple…
The Titans haven’t actually played the Patriots well in over a decade. Actually, the last close game these two teams had was 2004. Bill Belichick just knows how to negate your strengths and expose your weaknesses. Y’all think he gives a shit that the Titans are the #1 scoring defense in the NFL? Nah.
So to summarize, Las Vegas thinks this is going to be a big Patriots win, but I think the Titans defense is being underrated, but it might not matter because the Pats might just blow the Titans out regardless. Thank you for tuning in today.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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