The New England Patriots allowed 266 rushing yards to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday afternoon, but Mac Jones threw for over 300 yards with two touchdowns and the defense recovered three fumbles and picked off Ryan Tannehill once leading to a 36-13 win at Gillette Stadium. New England has now won six straight games and seven of their last eight.
Jones hit wide receiver Kendrick Bourne for a four yard touchdown pass on the Patriots first possession to make it 7-0 almost halfway through the first quarter. Tennessee (8-4) came right back with Tannehill finding Nick Westbrook-Ikhine on a short one yard crossing pattern into the endzone. Randy Bullock though hit the right upright on the extra point. Three field goals in the second quarter by Nick Folk extended the lead to 16-6, before Dontrell Hilliard scored on a long 68 yard TD run with just 48 seconds left in the half to cut it to 16-13 at the break.
Folk nailed his fourth field goal of the day on the first possession of the second half for a six point lead, and later in the quarter Jones would connect with Bourne again this time down the middle of the field. Bourne worked his way past three defenders, keeping his balance and staying inbounds as he worked his way down the right sideline for a 41 yard touchdown to make it 26-13. A good drive by the Titans was stopped when Tannehill was intercepted by J.C. Jackson in the endzone early in the fourth. Folk added a long field goal of 52 yards and Damien Harris also scored on a 14 yard run with 4:45 left. Tennesee had the interception thrown by Tannehill, a turnover on downs, and a fumble that was recovered by New England in the fourth quarter alone.
Jones went 23-32 passing for 310 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Rhamondre Stevenson had nine carries for 46 yards and Harris added 11 for 40 yards and a touchdown. Jakobi Meyers had five receptions for 98 yards, Bourne five for 61 yards and two touchdowns, and Bolden added four for 54 yards. Davon Godchaux had six total tackles, while Ja’Whuan Bentley and Kyle Dugger had five each. Matt Judon had another sack and leads the team with 11.5 (third most in the NFL). Tannehill finished 11-21 passing for just 93 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Hilliard had 12 rushes for 131 yards and the one long touchdown run, while D’Onta Freeman had 19 attempts for 109 yards. Westbrook-Ikhine and Cody Hollister had two catches each for 25 and 22 yards respectively, with Westbrook-Ikhine finding the endzone once in the first quarter. Kevin Byard had nine tackles and a sack to lead the Titans defense. Up next for 8-4 New England is a huge AFC East showdown for first place next Monday night in Buffalo against the Bills.
