Film Review: Patriots Defense vs. Titans Edition

It took me a couple days to finally dive into the film review of the Patriots against the Titans and I can’t say I was looking forward to it. But I’ve been with this defense for a decade and I can’t shy away even when things go as badly as they did in Tennessee.

Let’s take a look at the scoring drives and what went wrong.

1st Drive – Touchdown

The first play of the game pretty much summed up what kind of day it was going to be, as the pressure collapsed around Marcus Mariota but couldn’t bring him down and he found Corey Davis on a deep in cut. The re-appearance of Keionta Davis was a bit surprising and what wasn’t surprising was how the Titans went right after him on this drive. He had the same trouble getting off blocks and making plays. Really Trey Flowers was the only one who showed any pop in this first drive. The Titans finished it off on a third down as Patrick Chung failed to get a jam at the point of the bunch set and was outrun across the field by Jonnu Smith. The rollout by Mariota forced Devin McCourty into a no-win position (see below).

2nd Drive – Touchdown

This touchdown-scoring drive was marked by the Pats getting helped out by a facemask penalty. Didn’t matter though as they still bent and broke. Dont’a Hightower made a play in the backfield, stopping Dion Lewis for a loss, but that was the only real play the Patriots made on this drive which also saw Trey Flowers getting pinned on the edge twice. Mariota continued to look comfortable in the pocket, unconcerned with the pass rush and throwing perfect balls. Especially the double move that got Gilmore on the touchdown to Davis. The plan to keep Mariota contained mostly worked as they have a spy on him here, but when the quarterback is in rhythm you’re in trouble if the pass rush did not finish him. And clearly they did not finish him enough this day.

 

Third Drive – Field Goal

After a brutal punt return set the Titans up at the 49, Patrick Chung missed a tackle on the first play, turning a should-be five-yard gain into a 29-yard gain. Luckily Gilmore was on point for the ensuing third down and the Pats finally held to a field goal. Chung usually doesn’t miss those kind of tackles while the lack of playmaking opposite of Trey Flowers is concerning. Adrian Clayborn has struggled with mobile quarterbacks, as has most of the defense but Davis and Wise we’re much better. They might not lose contain but they weren’t getting to Mariota either.

Sixth Drive – Touchdown

After forcing two punts on the fourth and fifth drives, the Pats back slipped, going into a 24-10 hole at the half. After a first down sack by Elandon Roberts put the Titans in a 3rd & 14 hole. The Pats went after Mariota, with Simon-Hightower-Van Noy-Flowers-Clayborn all coming. Mariota sidestepped the rush, pulled up and fired a perfetly placed ball to Davis for 21 yards. He had beaten Gilmore on a double move again. Later on 2nd-and-14 the Titans got 12 as Mariota again danced around the rush, pulled up and found an open receiver. They got 11 more yards on a third-and-2 when Smith cleanly got off the line and Mariota threw a perfectly timed pass that beat Devin McCourty and set the Titans up on two.

Eight Drive – Field Goal

After forcing a punt on their first possession of the second half the Pats allowed a 10-play, 78-yard drive that saw just one third down, the one the Pats got a stop on. Two big plays defined this drive, a 26-yard pass to Batson that saw Mariota completely at home in the pocket, resetting a throwing a downfield strike. The second, a 27-yard catch-and-run by Davis where he got 10 extra yards just from a bad Duron Harmon tackle. Look how open the middle of the field is below on this play. Things are not in sync. The 20-yard scramble by Mariota would get the Titans in the red zone but the Pats held on third down with sound defense.

10th Drive – Touchdown

This final scoring drive made it 34-10 and put any question of another Pats miracle comeback impossible. The 21-yard pass to Mariota rubbed salt into an already festering wound.  Then came a 14-yard pitch to Henry who stepped around Flowers again. Henry would finish it off with a Wildcat-esque direct snap that he’d take in from 10 yards out. It was a perfectly crappy cap to a perfectly crappy day.

Where’s the Defense At

I’ve been a big proponent that this was a good defense but what is now apparent is that what they really are is an inconsistent defense and usually they’re simply bad on the road and good at home. When they’re all on the same page and playing good fundamental team defense, they’re very solid, maybe more solid than any defense since 2014. When they’re not in sync, and their leaders like Flowers, Chung and McCourty are off, they are as bad as any Patriots defense we’ve seen. Individually they don’t have enough talent to overcome their bad starts.

After Flowers, who’s a free agent, I have real concerns about the defense in the long term. Who are the building blocks for two or three years down the road? There could be some promise at cornerback with three rookies, but I think we’re at peak Kyle Van Noy and everyone else is probably past their primes — including Hightower, McCourty, Chung, Harmon. Gilmore could go either way, though I think he embodies much of what this defense is. Either great or terrible depending on where the game is played.

They can still find consistency, but time is starting to run out as we approach Thanksgiving. Last year’s defense seemed to settle down after a horrid start that looks much like what we saw against the Titans. Then in the Super Bowl they reverted to their shitty ways. That can’t afford to happen again and right now it seems like a very real possibility, especially if the Pats have to go on the road for the playoffs.