The Patriots are heading on the road for the third consecutive week to a familiar venue for Mike Vrabel, and although that’s interesting, it’s not all that important, says the Patriots head coach.
Earlier this week, Vrabel dropped that line when asked about his return to Tennessee for a matchup with the Titans, the team he was the head coach of for six seasons. Despite having a 54-45 record with three playoff berths and being named AP Coach of the Year (2021), the Titans moved on from Vrabel following the 2023 season, and have since fired his replacement.
“I think it would file under the category of, is it interesting or important? I would probably say this would be very interesting. But in the end, not very important to our preparation or what we need to continue to try to do to improve as a team,” Vrabel said on Monday.
After a Week 6 loss to the Raiders, Tennessee parted ways with head coach Brian Callahan following a 4-19 record over the last season and a half. Callahan was brought in off the Bengals staff as an offensive guru, and then the Titans drafted QB Cam Ward with the first-overall pick in the 2025 draft. Although he’s had flashes, Ward and the Titans offense rank last in DVOA and only average 13.8 points per game (31st in the NFL).
Following the decision to move on from Callahan, the Titans named senior offensive assistant Mike McCoy as interim head coach. McCoy was the Chargers head coach from 2013 to 2016, going 27-37 as head coach. Plus, teams who fired their head coach during the season are 17-16 the following week over the last 15 seasons. Since 2022, that record is a more pedestrian 3-6: Darren Rizzi (Saints), Antonio Pierce (Raiders), and Jeff Saturday (Colts) all won their first games as interim head coaches. Recently, the interim bump hasn’t been as significant. But teams that fire their head coach in-season occasionally win in this spot, making it a trend worth highlighting.
Between the Titans coaching change and the Patriots playing their third-straight road game, it’s another week for Vrabel’s program to shine. New England has never won three straight road games during the regular season in franchise history, while the Pats have an opportunity to win four consecutive games for the first time since the 2021 season.
From a football standpoint, the big-picture question for the Titans and future opponents is this: How long will you let Maye and the Patriots passing game go off? In the first six weeks, New England saw single-high safety defenses on a league-high 53.3% of their drop-backs. Typically, defenses play single-high when they don’t fear an opponent’s downfield passing game and want to get an extra defender in the box to stop the run.
Maye has responded to those defensive structures by ranking first in passing yards (988) and second in EPA per drop-back (+0.35) against single-high safety coverages. We can talk all we want about Maye trending toward being a top-10 quarterback, but the next step is defenses game-planning Maye like an elite quarterback, and in turn, will that open up the Pats struggling run game with fewer defenders in the box? From an Xs and Os perspective, that’s when we’ll know Maye has arrived, like all the meaningful QB metrics suggest.
On Sunday, the Patriots will play a Titans defense that plays single-high safety coverages on just 34.5% of their drop-backs under defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson (11th-lowest in the NFL). Wilson’s defense caused Maye to turn the ball over three times in a 20-17 overtime loss for the Patriots in Tennessee last season. From a growth standpoint, seeing how Maye handles Wilson’s system this time will be interesting.
Let’s break down the chess match as head coach Mike Vrabel returns to Tennessee to face the Titans on Sunday.
Patriots Offense Key: Learn From the 2024 Matchup for QB Drake Maye vs. the Titans
As is usually the case in the year-to-year NFL, a lot has changed since the last time the Patriots visited the Titans at Nissan Stadium during Maye’s rookie season.
On the Patriots side, Maye has a new head coach (Vrabel) and offensive coordinator (Josh McDaniels), while his supporting cast has changed significantly. Maye’s starting offensive line in Tennessee last season was LT Vederian Lowe, LG Michael Jordan, C Ben Brown, RG Layden Robinson, and RT Mike Onwenu. They’ve come a long way, with four upgraded OL spots, and Maye now has WR Stefon Diggs catching his passes.
Tennessee also has notable personnel changes, especially in the back-seven, where they’re getting good play from newcomers S Xavier Woods and LB Cedric Gray. However, the leaders of the Titans remain the same. Star Jefferey Simmons is having an All-Pro caliber season, leading all defensive tackles in pass-rush win rate, while S Amani Hooker and CB L’Jarius Sneed, who didn’t play in this matchup last season due to injury, anchor the secondary. The Titans coaching staff and defensive system is also the same. Former head coach Brian Callahan retained DC Dennard Wilson, who’s back calling Tennessee’s defense this season.
Before we deep-dive into the chess match, we must talk about Simmons’ dominant play. The Titans defensive tackle can take over this game by himself, leading all DTs with 27 total pressures. Simmons dominates with his power, slap-rip, and swim moves, and is effective on stunts. Vrabel knows him well, but Simmons has been the NFL’s best defensive tackle through six weeks – he’s a game-wrecker that needs four hands on him at all times.
Last season, Maye had some great flashes as a runner and playmaker vs. the Titans. We all remember the scramble drill touchdown at the buzzer to send the game into overtime. Plus, Maye had two big-time throws and rushed for 95 yards on eight attempts. However, the Pats quarterback also had four turnover-worthy plays, turning the ball over three times, including a game-ending interception down three points in OT. Maye finished with a subpar -0.03 EPA per drop-back (37th percentile).
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