5 keys for a Patriots win over the Titans

Tom Brady calls a play in the second quarter against the Tennessee Titans. Joe Howell/AP

By Henry McKenna @McKennAnalysis

December 18, 2015

4 minutes to read

COMMENTARY

This will be Tom Brady’s 221st regular season NFL game. Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota has played 11. This season, Brady’s Patriots have 11 wins; Mariota’s Titans have three.

Both players operate a passing attack that requires a fast delivery, accuracy, and sound decision-making. But the narratives around these two quarterbacks — and the teams they lead — are hugely different. The Patriots are looking to finish first in the AFC, and the Titans may get the first-overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. The Patriots will have mismatches all over the field when they play the Titans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

The same thing was supposed to happen a few weeks ago against the Eagles, and it didn’t.

Here are the five keys for a Patriots win over the Titans.

1. Exploit the Titans’ weak secondary depth

The Titans, like the Patriots, have been using no-name players as their third cornerback. But unlike Patriots cornerbacks Justin Coleman and Leonard Johnson, the Titans’ no-name players have disappointed in coverage. B.W. Webb has been (not) covering No. 3 wideouts for the Titans, which should mean good things for Keshawn Martin, who is — for now — the Patriots’ third wideout. Even if cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson gets Webb’s snaps, the result should be the same.

Brady will pick apart the Titans, who sorely miss shutdown corner Jason McCourty. Even without Julian Edelman, the Patriots’ wideout depth will overwhelm a secondary that allowed Ryan Fitzpatrick and Blake Bortles to score 30-plus points.

2. Generate interior pressure on Marcus Mariota without pushing him out of the pocket

Dominique Easley was the Patriots’ most disruptive interior pass-rusher. But without him against the Houston Texans last week, the Patriots did just fine. Linebacker Jabaal Sheard displayed versatility, generating a quarterback pressure from the defensive tackle position. And Akiem Hicks had a pair of sacks after filling in for Easley. And of course, Jamie Collins is a fantastic pass-rusher when the Patriots choose to send him.

But with that pressure, Mariota may get jumpy and run for, say, a 87-yard touchdown. And so it’s up to Chandler Jones and Rob Ninkovich to contain Mariota from scrambling outside the pocket. If he scrambles up the middle, the linebackers should be able to converge on him.

Oh yeah, and the rookie can catch the ball. I guess the Patriots have to look out for that, too.

3. Pat Chung should be the Patriots’ first defense against Delanie Walker — then Jamie Collins

Collins may have the difficult responsibility of spying on Mariota, but the Patriots would be better suited to see if a safety can handle Titans tight end Delanie Walker. Chung has struggled at times in coverage, but has also been the Patriots’ most versatile defender, essentially playing safety, linebacker, and slot cornerback. A guy that can play all of those positions should be perfectly suited to defend Walker, who is basically a lumbering 6-foot, 250-pound slot receiver.

“Even when he’s covered he’s open because of his length and his ability to go up and timing on jump balls and his hands, catching the ball away from his body,’’ Belichick said of Walker Wednesday.

If Chung can limit Walker single-handedly, he’ll take away Mariota’s first option, while also freeing Collins up to limit Mariota’s second-best option: scrambling.

4. James White will have to get active in the screen game

Without a true No. 1 running back — or a true running game — the Patriots could get creative in straying from the downfield passing attack. They’ll look first to the screen game with James White, whose pass-catching contributions have been sorely needed since the loss of Dion Lewis.

Last week, the Patriots drew up a counter-screen play, pulling offensive linemen to the right, only to dump the ball off to the left. Had White broken a shoe-string tackle, it would have been a massive gainer. That sort of creativity could provide a semblance of balance and misdirection, which would force the defense to pay some attention to the Patriots’ backfield.

5. Pay attention to the scoreline, resort to the run game

You could almost hear Patriots fan yell out in unison when Rob Gronkowski caught a fourth-quarter reception from Brady last week: Why is Gronk still playing? Why are the Patriots throwing the ball?

It’s about time the Patriots win games without adding to their list of starters on injured reserve.

And the Patriots got themselves into some trouble during Week 4 against the Bills, where Buffalo tightened the scoreline with a fourth-quarter strip sack of Brady, which led to a touchdown. The Patriots haven’t been particularly effective running the ball, and may be even less effective without LeGarrette Blount, so perhaps they’d prefer Brady trying to burn the clock with an efficient passing game. It makes sense in a Belichickian way.

But there’s no need to overthink it. When the Patriots take the lead, they should run with whoever is their power back (Brandon Bolden, Montee Ball), and trust their defense to contain the Titans offense.