Patriots Live Blog: Pats Take Care Of Titans With 33-16 Win
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
Final, 33-16 Patriots: That's all she wrote. This one's final. The Patriots improve to 12-2. Now they wait to see if Denver loses in Pittsburgh, thereby guaranteeing a first-round bye for the Patriots. They'll also need to get healthy in the coming weeks. But for now, they have this victory.
Fourth quarter, 1:06, 33-16 Patriots: The Patriots did just what they should have, running the ball three times and settling for a short field goal. This game is now just a few plays away from going final.
Fourth quarter, 2:14, 30-16 Patriots: Mettenberger was trying his best, but it didn't work out. He threw a pass that wasn't exactly on the mark to Walker, who got a hand on it and deflected it right into Jamie Collins' chest.
Collins made the pick and returned it 51 yards. It's first-and-10 at the Titans' 16-yard line. The Patriots can really just drain some clock and kick a field goal if they are so inclined. Tennessee has one timeout, plus the two-minute warning.
Fourth quarter, 3:30, 30-16 Patriots: The Patriots were able to get a little something going, thanks to a 31-yard connection between Brady and LaFell ... though LaFell came up a little hobbled after the play.
Brady then twice tried to hit Gronkowski in the end zone. The first one was tipped by a defensive back's finger tips just before it reached Gronkowski's chest, leading to a bobble, and the second was hauled in with a toe out of bounds.
Gostkowski came on and clanked 42-yarder off the right goalpost and in, and the Patriots lead by 14 again.
Fourth quarter, 6:52, 27-16 Patriots: Quick strike, and it's a 10-point game.
Mettenberger threw over the middle to Walker, who shed a tackled attempt by Chung and then released up the right sideline. He was gone for a 57-yard touchdown, and as a double whammy for New England, Chung was left injured on the play. It's a hip injury.
As one positive for the Patriots, Succop missed the PAT, meaning Tennessee now needs a field goal plus a touchdown with a two-point conversion to tie it.
Fourth quarter, 7:04, 27-10 Patriots: The Patriots turned in their best play of the day. And then it came back.
After James White was tackled from behind inside the Tennessee 5-yard line at the end of a 70-yard catch-and-run by James White, the play came back due to offensive pass interference on Keshawn Martin, who did engage with a Titans linebacker in the middle of running a crossing route before the pass.
On the ensuing third-and-16, Brady completed a short pass to Martin well shy of the first down, and the Patriots were forced to punt.
That punt wasn't great, as Allen only got it 37 yards before landing out of bounds. Tennessee takes over at their own 43-yard line. They'll probably need some more deep shots to make this one even close to interesting.
Fourth quarter, 9:25, 27-10 Patriots: Mettenberger decided to take a deep shot.
It didn't work out.
Malcolm Butler was running step-for-step up the right sideline with Harry Douglas, and the cornerback looked over his left shoulder, saw the ball, and burst up the sideline for it to snag it in the end zone.
Fourth quarter, 12:28, 27-10 Patriots: Brady took a sack, and his third-down pass to Gronkowski picked up just 11 yards on a third-and-14. Ryan Allen came on to punt, and the Titans take over at their own 24-yard line. This game has no life right now. I don't blame the fans for not being into it. The game is one that is just kind of ... happening.
Third quarter, :58, 27-10 Patriots: Dont'a Hightower appeared to have reinjured his knee, and he was forced to head to the locker room early. That is ... not good.
As for the drive, Malcolm Butler had himself a nice interception ... except, then he didn't. A holding penalty on Leonard Johnson on the opposite side of the field negated the interception and gave Tennessee a fresh set of downs at their own 27-yard line.
Though the Titans did move the chains again on a third-down pass to Fasano, Chandler Jones broke through the line and sacked Mettenberger for a nine-yard loss on the ensuing first down. Jordan Richards nearly came up with an interception on second down, and a middle screen on third down only picked up four yards. The Titans had to punt.
Third quarter, 5:09, 27-10 Patriots: Brandon LaFell managed to hang on to a pass along the sideline even while absorbing a helmet-to-facemask shot from Daimion Stafford. I'm not entirely sure he had full possession, but the penalty apparently distracted everyone from caring to take a closer look.
That catch and penalty moved the Patriots from their own 41-yard line all the way to the Tennessee 27-yard line, and three plays later, Gostkowski came on to hit a 38-yarder.
The Pats got points and drained some clock on that drive, so it was at least partially successful.
Third quarter, 10:05, 24-10 Patriots: Logan Ryan got beat by Green-Beckham for a 30-yard gain, Collins whiffed on a tackle attempt of Andrews to let Tennessee pick up a first down in the red zone, and Walker got free over the middle for a touchdown, and the Titans ahve the decided edge in emotion and execution in the second half thus far.
Seven plays, 59 yards, and Tennessee has its first touchdown of the day.
New England's looked a little flat in the early parts of the second half here. They'll need to sustain something a little more than a three-and-out on this drive.
Third quarter, 14:03, 24-3 Patriots: Six-yard run by Bolden, incompletion to Gronkowski (borderline throwaway), incomplete to LaFell, and an uninspired drive ends with a quick punt.
Harry Douglas returned it 18 yards to the Titans' 41-yard line.
Third quarter, 15:00, 24-3 Patriots: The brief halftime is over, and Danny Amendola's day appears to be done. He was in pain after that punt return, and I don't think he ever really got fully right after suffering the injury vs. Buffalo. He'll be best suited to simply rest until the divisional round at this point.
Meanwhile, Brady's offense gets to work without Amendola, first-and-10 at their own 20.
Halftime, 24-3 Patriots: That Tennessee timeout did indeed end up benefiting the Patriots, as the Titans ran just 16 seconds off the clock before being forced to punt. Amendola returned that punt 22 yards, but he suffered an injury on the play and had to sit out the drive. He's been dealing with a knee sprain for several weeks.
James White came up with an 18-yard reception to get the Patriots into field-goal range, but Gostkowski came up with a rare miss on the 48-yard field goal. No wind, he just pushed it right.
The Titans then took over at their own 38-yard line with 20 seconds left, and Jabaal Sheard just abused left tackle Taylor Lewan for a sack. That ended the first half.
Your halftime headlines.
- Mariota left the game with a knee injury.
- Amendola did, too.
- Brady threw his 35th touchdown of the season, the fourth time he's reached that mark in a single season. That's tied for the most with Peyton Manning.
- James White has 7 receptions for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Second quarter, 1:44, 24-3 Patriots: White made a good bid to move the chains on a third-and-8 but ultimately came up a couple of yards short. Gostkowski came on to hit a 43-yarder, and with no wind, that's a piece of cake for him.
Interestingly, Tennesee called timeout after the third-down stop, presumably to try to score before halftime. We'll see if that backfires, as the Patriots have two timeouts left themselves and could opt to use them to get the ball back before halftime.
Second quarter, 2:00, 21-3 Patriots: At the two minute warning, the Patriots are driving, facing a second-and-8 at the Tennessee 31-yard line. Joey Iosefa just absolutely trucked Coty Sensabaugh. I mean, he just ran right over him. Looked like a Pop Warner player out there trying to make the tackle.
That came after James White showed off some next-level open field moves to pick up 12 yards on a third-and-8 to keep the drive moving past midfield.
Second quarter, 5:00, 21-3 Patriots: Marcus Mariota left the game and got some attention on his left knee. He was showing the trainers that he could run after adjusting his knee brace, so I'd think that Zach Mettenberger's time at QB will be brief.
Mettenberger did complete a long pass to Green-Beckham on a third down, gaining 29 yards, but the Titans drive ultimately stalled when they couldn't get a yard on fourth-and-1 at the Patriots' 38-yard line. Antonio Andrews got stuffed at the line, and the Patriots take over on downs.
Second quarter, 9:23, 21-3 Patriots: That did not take long at all.
Brady threw a simple short screen pass to the left side to James White on second down, and White showed great patience and impressive awareness to let his blocks set up before bouncing it outside and making it all the way into the end zone.
The momentum Tennessee may have claimed from that fumble and score did not last very long.
Second quarter, 9:35 14-3 Patriots: Keshawn Martin has made up for Danny Amendola's special teams flub. Martin took the kickoff out of the end zone and returned it 75 yards, all the way to the Tennessee 30-yard line. He found a crease and threw on the jets, and took off up the right sideline. Patriots are already in field-goal range.
Second quarter, 9:44, 14-3 Patriots: The Titans were gifted a golden opportunity, taking over at the New England 26-yard line after the Amendola fumble, but they were only able to get a field goal out of it.
They were fortunate to get that chance, too, because Hightower knocked a pass out of Delanie Walker's hands at the goal line, and it bounced right into Jordan Richards' body. But the rookie safety wasn't able to hold on to the interception.
On third down, Jamie Collins shot through the B gap untouched and sacked Mariota, forcing Tennessee into a 49-yard field goal attempt. Succop hit it, and that's three free points, but credit to the Patriots' defense for limiting the damage after another awful special teams play.
Second quarter, 11:24, 14-0 Patriots: After allowing the Patriots' defense to score, the Titans didn't exactly get their next drive off to the greatest start, as Tre McBride dropped the kickoff in the end zone while trying to set up a return. He could have just taken a knee after recovering the football, because it never left the end zone, but he decided to try to take it out. It was not the best decision, as he only made it to the 10-yard line.
The Titans might have moved the sticks, if not for two things. First, Patrick Chung stood up Anthony Fasano after a second-down reception, stopping him cold three yards shy of the marker. Considering Fasano has 40 pounds on Chung, it was an impressive job by the safety. He works out. Then on the ensuing third down, the Titans called a QB sweep which probably would have worked, but the Patriots called a timeout just before the snap. The Patriots ended up stopping the inside run on third down, thereby forcing a punt.
Yet on the punt return, Danny Amendola fumbled, and Tennessee recovered. They now have it deep in New England territory.
Second quarter, 13:48, 14- Patriots: The Patriots' defense has now matched the Patriots' offense on the scoreboard.
On a thitd-and-9 from the 25-yard line, Mariota dropped back to pass. As he did, Chandler Jones fought through an illegal hands to the face by Taylor Lewan to knock the ball out of the quarterback's hands. That knocked the ball back toward the end zone, and Akiem Hicks ended up knocking it toward the end zone before falling on top of it for a touchdown. Hicks technically fumbled the ball himself en route to scoring, but the conclusion of the play is all that matters.
And just like that, it's 14-0 Patriots.
First quarter, :45, 7-0 Patriots: That Patriots drive didn't quite have the same success as the previous one, thanks to an illegal formation penalty followed by a third-down sack allowed by Tre Jackson. That pushed them back to a fourth-and-22, forcing Ryan Allen into action.
The Titans will take over at their own 25-yard line.
Here's a photo of Gronkowski pointing to the sky after that first-quarter touchdown.
First quarter, 3:11, 7-0 Patriots: The Titans got the ball moving a bit, but a holding penalty on Chance Warmack (he tackled Dont'a Hightower) forced Tennessee into a third-and-24. They did not convert.
On the play prior to the hold, Mariota's first and second options were taken away, and that extra time stuck in the pocket let to Akiem Hicks coming right over the top of him for a sack. The Titans have just 36 yards in their first two drives combined.
First quarter, 7:10, 7-0 Patriots: Surgical.
The Patriots just carved up the Titans defense on an 11-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Brady to Gronkowski.
Gronkowski, who's dedicating today's game to the memory of his friend who passed away this week, spiked the football and then immediately retrieved it in order to keep it.
LaFell caught two passes for 39 yards on that drive, and Bolden ran for 19 yards on four carries.
Brady went 7-for-7 for 70 yards and a touchdown.
First quarter, 13:37, 0-0: The Titans went with two rushing plays to start the game, setting up a third-and-2 on which they decided to go to the air. Mariota threw to Green-Beckham, but the two weren't on the same page and the pass hit the turf.
Danny Amendola caught Brett Kern's punt back on the New England 21-yard line, and the New England offense now gets to work.
First quarter, 15:00: Stephen Gostkowski's opening kick went deep into the end zone, and it'll be first-and-10 for the Titans at their own 20-yard line.
1 p.m.: It's time for some football. Tennessee called heads, and it came up tails. Jerod Mayo shouted that the Patriots elected to defer before running out of the midfield huddle. The Titans will get the ball first.
12:41 p.m.: Warmups have concluded, and it's just about time for the pregame festivities to begin. It appears as though there will be some football played here in just a short time.
11:35 a.m.: This comes as no surprise, but Tom Brady is indeed active for today's game.
As reported earlier, Bryan Stork and Scott Chandler will not be active. Linebacker Dont'a Hightower will be active, after missing the past two weeks with a knee injury. Here's the complete list of Patriots inactives.
S Devin McCourty
OL LaAdrian Waddle
TE Scott Chandler
C Bryan Stork
WR Julian Edelman
LB Jonathan Freeny
DL Ishmaa'ily Kitchen
Here are the Titans' inactives:
WR Kendall Wright
WR Damaris Johnson
S Da'Norris Searcy
CB Blidi Wrek-Wilson
T Jamon Meredith
DE Ropati Pitoitua
DT Mike Martin
11 a.m.: The final home game of the regular season for the New England Patriots is not exactly a marquee matchup. There's no way around that, not with the Titans in Foxboro, sporting their league-worst 3-10 record and coming off a 30-8 beatdown last week at the Jets.
That being said, today will present an opportunity for the Patriots to execute a game plan, keep their focus for 60 minutes, and take care of business in a game which they absolutely should control from start to finish.
As was seen here just two weeks ago, that can sometimes be easier said than done.
The Eagles made the most of some Patriots special teams blunders en route to shocking the home team in Week 13, and we'll see this afternoon whether that provided enough of a wake-up call to remind the Patriots that no matter the opponent, they can't afford to take any plays off. Or, if the Titans are able to put together a similarly surprising performance, we may be looking at the Patriots in a different light by mid-afternoon.
As for who will be playing, it appears as though Bryan Stork and Scott Chandler will not be on the field, based on these tweets by CSNNE's Mike Giardi.
Wide receiver Leonard Hankerson is expected to make his Patriots debut, so you are hereby forewarned when No. 15 makes a catch to pick up a first down for the Patriots.
And, of course, Tom Brady is expected to play. It would take more than a little illness to keep him off the field.
As for the rest of the updates, I'll have them right here in the live blog, from the list of inactives, through the game, until the final whistle, so check back early and often.
Read more from Michael Hurley by clicking here. You can email him or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
