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The New England Patriots offense looked lost for its identity to start their game against the Tennessee Titans. Then the fourth quarter happened. The Patriots again looked like a juggernaut.
They had been a run-first offense for the entire year, but they weren’t finding any running room against Tennessee — not until the fourth quarter. Prior to that, the Patriots relied upon their passing game and Mac Jones, buoyed by an excellent game plan from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But when they got to the end zone, they had problems — again, until the fourth quarter.
That’s when everything started clicking, just like we’ve seen throughout the team’s six-game win streak which continued in their 36-16 win over the AFC’s now-former top team. The running game ground away at the Titans to the point where after starting with 23 yards on nine carries in the first half (2.6 ypc) they finished with a respectable 105 on 24 carries. Between that and Jones’ 310 passing yards, the Patriots were mighty impressive.
“I don’t think there is a ceiling at all,” receiver Kendrick Bourne said when asked postgame about their offense under Jones. “We try to emphasize that.”
But then he walked it back as best he could.
“[Matthew] Slater just talked to us after about not getting overzealous about ourselves. Nothing like that,” Bourne said. “We’re onto Buffalo now and that’s the focus. That’ll be good for us to just certify ourselves.”
Jones finished the game 23 of 32 for 310 yards and two touchdowns. He completed 71% of his passes, which will boost his season average (70%0). Does anything surprise the Patriots about their rookie QB?
“No surprises,” receiver Jakobi Meyers said after the game. “Mac is the type of guy who will come in here to compete, be the best guy he possibly can. The guys around him have to continue to do a better job supporting him and I feel like that is why he’s been playing better.”
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