It took a minute, as the kids would say, before the Patriots' offense found their footing. But once they did, it was time to call in the dogs, pee on the fire, and send those sad-sack Titans back to where they belong - in the gutter.
For the fourth straight week, the Pats are in the winner's circle, and this Drake Maye-led unit has more appeal than Bo Derek in her prime (or Sydney Sweeney for the young-ins. I'm so hip).
Maye set the franchise record for completion percentage in a game (21-of-23, 222 yards, 91.3%), fueled in part by hitting 16 passes in a row at one point. That latter number matched a career-high set last year, also in Tennessee. The rushing attack, previously about as useful as a computer without the internet, set a season-high in yards and yards per carry.
"It felt good," Rhamondre Stevenson (18 carries, 88 yards, TD) said. "I feel like (Mike) Vrabel challenged us, the o-line this week, even the receivers. It felt good. It felt great."
"Offensively, really, we don't beat ourselves," Vrabel said post-game. "It's been a good product, and it was the same way today. I love the fact that we're finishing with football."
That's not to say it was all perfect. The offense had some issues on third downs, pass protection - especially from the left side - was shaky at times, and Maye got reckless on a scramble, bouncing his head off the turf and having to leave temporarily for evaluation of a concussion. All because the 23-year-old was fighting for an extra yard when, in that moment, it wasn't necessary.
"I feel all right," Maye said of the play. "Just gotta get down. Just landed awkward..."
Considering he went right to his head after being taken down, I'm not sure he was "all right," but he passed the protocol and looked none the worse for wear thereafter. I'm sure there will be more to nitpick with upon the rewatch, but otherwise, this was another gem from the second-year pro.
For starters, Maye's deep ball is the best in the league. After his long touchdown to Kayshon Boutte to essentially end the first half, Maye became the only quarterback this year with multiple TD throws on balls that traveled more than 50 yards (per Next Gen Stats). Not surprising, when you consider how dialed Maye has been on those throws since the start of week four.
- 18-of-25, 72%
- 453 yards
- 4 touchdowns (0 INTs)
- 153.8 passer rating
"I think there's an athleticism to him that's really, really cool," Vrabel said. "I think he's really accurate from all different spots, whether it's in a pocket, off platform. I mean, he's really done a nice job so far, and spreading the football around, but there's an accuracy to him that's been really good for us."
"If something's there, take a shot deep," Maye said of the TD to Boutte. "Came out with seven (points), and we're able to double-dip coming out of halftime."
But it went beyond that. Maye's ability to put the ball anywhere he wants continues to be next-level. That throw to Stefon Diggs near the tail-end of the 3rd quarter was a thing of beauty, good for 18 yards. Sure, Diggs flashed his hands late, but the quarterback couldn't have placed it any better had he just walked it over. The drive didn't end in points, but up 31-13, the Pats chewed up over 7 minutes on the clock and took the final bits of whatever soul the Titans had left.
Maye had another gem in the first half, hitting another hole shot - this one to Mack Hollins - versus what appeared to be cover two. That was good for 22 yards. Three plays later, Austin Hooper went all Randy Moss on the cornerback, tying the score at 10. That capped a game-changing, energy-shifting 93-yard march (Titans star Jeffery Simmons was hurt at the end of the previous series and didn't return), the Pats' longest of the season. Maye went 5-for-5, hitting five different receivers for 51 yards. He also ripped off a 20-yard scramble (he slid on that one). Vrabel and Josh McDaniels couldn't have drawn it up any better.
"There's a lot of demand there from Josh and myself, and I think he's responded to that, as far as the leadership that he's had to show this offense and kept talking about he wants to earn it," Vrabel said. "I've told him that he's earned it, and I think if he doesn't like something in practice, then he'd get fixed. ... I think those guys respond to him and the things that he says and the way that he operates."
That last word is an important one: operate. Maye's command is growing by the week. When the mental matches the physical, look out, but that gap is shrinking.
"Just keep playing the offense," Maye said. "I think we're learning each other, learning the offense together, and I think (we're) more and more comfortable every week. And I think that's the big thing with coach (McDaniels) - he's just calling great games. And I think we got even more left in the tank. That's what we'll look back on. And in that fourth quarter, there to try and really seal the game."
Maye smiled on more than one occasion during his press conference - as he should. But the fact that his brain was already taking him to the plays he left on the field is precisely what this coaching staff wants. He's been damn good, but there's more to learn, and Maye appears ready and willing to do that very thing.