The New England Patriots (13-3) host the Tennessee Titans (10-7) on Saturday night at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro for the day’s AFC Divisional matchup.
To win this game the Patriots will look to attack the Titans with a heavy dose of Tom Brady to Gronkowski, especially after it was evident how bad the Titans defense was at stopping the Chiefs’ connection of quarterback Alex Smith and Travis Kelce, a very solid but much less talented tight end.
It’s important to point out that it was until Kelce left the game with concussion symptoms that the Titans began to take over.
The Titans, on the other hand, should focus on trying to open lanes and holes for running back Derrick Henry to scamper through as the Patriots have struggled all season long against the run. Furthermore, Henry has looked terrific in the two games that DeMarco Murray has missed amassing 308 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
Murray is once again out this week, so Henry will have to carry most of the load once again and continue his outstanding rushing if the Titans are going to pull the huge upset in Foxboro.
The Patriots ranked 20th in total run defense and surrendered 4.7 yards per attempt, which ranked them 31st in the NFL during the regular season. If the Titans find a way to steadily run the football they will limit Marcus Mariota’s opportunities for mistakes and could control time of possession to keep Brady and his offense off the field.
Of course, doing that against a Patriots team that is rested, has had two weeks to prepare for this game and that’s probably going to load the box to stop Henry will be almost impossible. If that happens and the Patriots force Mariota to beat them through the air the game will not only result in a Titans loss, but it could also turn into a rout.
Prediction: The Titans won’t be able to stop Gronkowski and Brady and they will fall behind too early to come back like they did against the Chiefs.
Even though New England struggles against the run they will load the box to contain Henry until they have a comfortable lead that will then force the Titans to abandon the run and will force Mariota to beat them through the air.
That, of course, won’t happen as Mariota’s proven to be too inconsistent on the road this season, so expect the Pats to move on to the AFC Championship game.
