New England Patriots Take Down Titans 33-16

By Dan Schmelzer | Dec 21, 2015

Injuries continued to be an issue, but the New England Patriots downed the Titans 33-16 on Sunday afternoon.

While the injuries continued to be a major part of the story, the New England Patriots were able to step up and take care of business on Sunday afternoon. Their 33-16 victory over the lowly Tennessee Titans was not the Pats’ most impressive performance of the season, but it was enough to get the job done.

At 12-2, the Patriots continue to sit atop the AFC standings. Also, the Denver Broncos later losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers clinched a first-round bye for the Patriots in the post season. Next week, they will have a chance to clinch home field advantage.

Before we look too far ahead, let’s take a look back at how the Patriots were able to defeat the Titans relatively easily.

As usual, quarterback Tom Brady paced the Patriots’ offense, completing 23-of-35 passes for 267 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown pass of the day came on the Patriots’ first drive. After quickly and methodically moving the ball down the field, Brady found Rob Gronkowski for a five-yard touchdown receptions.

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Gronkowski finished with five receptions for 54 yards and that one touchdown on the afternoon, as the Titans gave him a ton of extra attention. Brandon LaFell led the Patriots in receiving yards with 88 on four receptions, while running back James White led the team with seven receptions for 71 yards. White also caught Brady’s second touchdown pass of the day, a 30-yard catch and run in the second quarter.

In a surprise, powerful rookie back Joey Iosefa paced the Patriots’ running game with a solid 51-yard performance on 14 carries. Iosefa looked strong and powerful in his first NFL appearance and could be an important player in helping replace LeGarrette Blount going forward. Brandon Bolden kicked in 36 yards on 10 carries as well.

Defensively, Chandler Jones was the star, finishing with two sacks in the game, and getting relentless pressure on the passer throughout. One of Jones’ sacks resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Patriots’ defensive tackle Akiem Hicks for a touchdown. On top of his touchdown, Hicks added a sack of his own, and brought great pressure from the inside.

Linebacker Jamie Collins was making plays all over the field as usual, and defensive lineman Jabaal Sheard continued to be a star up front. Both Collins and Sheard added a sack to their total on Sunday. Cornerback Logan Ryan had a tough game after his incredible performance last week, but the increasingly reliable Malcolm Butler shined once again. Butler had a big interception for the Patriots in the end zone.

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While it was far from perfect, the Patriots came in and took care of business on Sunday. All in all, a solid performance for the team. Check out the photo gallery from the Patriots’ 33-16 win over the Titans:

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