Reassessing the New England Patriots final six games of the season

New England Patriots Week 12 opponent: Tennessee Titans

The Tennessee Titans season probably hasn’t gone as they would have expected, yet they somehow find themselves sitting a top the AFC anyways. With an 8-2 record through 10 games, and an upcoming matchup against the hapless Houston Texans, it seems likely the Titans will keep their stranglehold a top the AFC secure for atleast the upcoming week.

That may not be the case next week when the Titans come to Foxboro for a matchup against the Patriots. Despite their lofty record thus far, Tennessee has been barely stringing together wins this season, and are probably a couple of plays away from not even holding a Wild Card spot. Of the Titans eight wins this season, four have come by three points or less, so it’s not as if they are lighting the league up each and every week.

The Titans are also dealing with a plethora of injuries that could end up being their downfall. Star running back Derrick Henry is out for the foreseeable future, and he was recently joined on the injured reserve by star wideout Julio Jones. Defensively, three of Tennessee’s top linebackers (Rashaan Evans, Bud Dupree, and David Long Jr.) are all going to miss their upcoming matchup against the Texans.

Even with all the Titans injuries, this isn’t a team New England can take likely. The Titans head coach, former Patriots star linebacker Mike Vrabel, knows New England better than most head coaches, and you can bet he will come up with a way to beat the Patriots. Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown still are one of the deadliest passing tandems in the league, and they can rip off chunk plays at any given time.

But this surprisingly seems like a winnable game for New England. The Titans have the 24th ranked defense in the league, and that was before the rash of injuries they were dealt. Their offense is also severely hampered, and Brown will almost certainly be doubled throughout the contest. The game is still over a week away, but unless something changes drastically for Tennessee between now and then, it seems like the scales might be in New England’s favor.

Considering all that the Titans are dealing with, New England’s recent win streak, and the fact that this game is in Foxboro, I think this could end up becoming a very uncompetitive game for the Patriots. They are facing Tennessee at the perfect time, and I really can’t see their offense putting up a huge amount of points against this Patriots defense. Of course anything can happen, but you have to feel good about New England’s chances to win this game.