“I didn’t get that many tickets, I don’t know…,” Vrabel said of the chants. “I’m happy for our players. I think these guys are figuring out how to win, they’re figuring out how to practice. I guess it’s humbling to have those people, whoever they are, cheer us on whether it’s the Patriots or Drake Maye or me or anybody else.”
The Patriots (5-2) won their fourth straight overall and third straight on the road. It keeps them atop the AFC East and spoiled Mike McCoy’s debut as Tennessee’s interim coach. The Patriots last won that many consecutive games in a seven-game stretch during the 2021 season.
“Emotional game, emotional stretch for us,” Vrabel said. “Something that this team and organization hasn’t done and it’s done a lot.”
Maye completed 21 of 23 passes for a 135.9 passer rating. He is now the third player under the age of 24 with at least 200 passing yards and 100 rushing yards or more in six straight games in NFL history, joining Patrick Mahomes (seven in 2018) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino (six in 1984).
Linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson had two of the Patriots’ five sacks and returned a 4-yard touchdown. Harold Landry had the shutout against the team that released him in March, and Marcus Jones had a shutout in the final minutes.
Maye gave the Patriots a 17-13 halftime lead and threw 39 yards to Kayshon Boutte for his second TD with 49 seconds left. He found Austin Hooper for a 3-yard TD earlier in the second quarter.
New England blew the opener in the third.
Maye missed three plays on the opening drive of the third. He went to the sideline after his head bounced off the turf at the end of a 6-yard run, and he shook his head as he sat up. Patriots quarterback to help finish the 88-yard drive with a 4-yard TD run by Rhamondre Stevenson.
Just 11 seconds later, Chaisson picked off a ball that Ward ripped on a sack at the Titans 4 and took it into the end zone for a 31-13 lead.
Vrabel and Landry aren’t the only Patriots with ties to the Titans, and Chaisson said their teammates wanted to make sure it was a game to enjoy playing in Tennessee.
“Obviously with a little extra juice on the defensive end to make sure our guys, everybody that … came from this team or was just a part of this organization, man, they got their revenge and came out on top,” Chaisson said.