We know better. We do. But if we didn't know better -- if we didn't know that this team is mostly devoid of skill-position talent with a receiving corps that is downright detrimental . . . features a defense whose presumed strength (run-stopping) has become a weakness due to attrition . . . and is led by an inexperienced head coach and an uninspiring offensive coordinator who are failing at the crucial football arts of discipline and play-clock mastery -- we'd almost suspect half of these guys were actively working against the cause.
I am sold, sold, sold on Maye, who in his fourth start completed 29 of 41 passes for 209 yards, ran for another 95 yards, made a sensational, young Steve Grogan-like play to hit Rhamondre Stevenson for a tying touchdown on the final play of regulation, threw a few "Did you just see that?" off-platform passes . . . and yes, fine, threw his second bad interception of the game to seal the Patriots' fate in overtime.
He's already learned a lot, and he'll learn from this. Just imagine when the players in his own huddle actually aid the cause rather than stand as something else he has to overcome.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review:
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Calvin Ridley, Kayshon Boutte, Jeffery Simmons.
Tony Pollard: For a while, it seemed as if Brian Callahan and the Titans might make the same dumb mistake against the Patriots that the Jets did last week: failing to run enough against their porous run defense.
Pollard broke loose for a 32-yard run on the Titans' first possession, which culminated with a Nick Vannett 9-yard touchdown catch. But Pollard had just 10 carries in the first half, despite racking up 69 yards. It was absurd that Titans quarterback Mason Rudolph had 19 passing attempts at the same point.
But the Titans did eventually figure out that the Patriots -- who haven't been able to stop the run consistently since Ja'Whaun Bentley was lost for the season with a pectoral injury in Week 2 -- would have no answers for Pollard if they just fed him the ball.
So they did. Pollard's most impressive run, if not for the 32-yarder, might have been an 11-yard burst after his lead blocker fell down on the Titans' go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth. In overtime, he was nothing less than a workhorse, running seven times for 36 yards on their field-goal drive, which stood as the winning points.
All in all, he ended up with monster numbers (28 carries, 128 yards) despite the Titans coaches' delay in recognizing just how effective he would be.
Jack Gibbens: Yeah, safety Amani Hooker had two interceptions -- one on the first play of the second quarter, and the clincher in overtime -- but both came on very ill-advised Maye throws. Aaron Judge could have caught both of those.
The real stars of the Titans' defense Sunday were defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (5 tackles, 1 sack), who was such a force inside that the Patriots had to move Mike Onwenu from tackle to guard to help stem the tide, and the unsung Gibbens, who stacked up 14 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, and a half-sack from his linebacker position.
Gibbens delivered the hardest hit of any defensive player on either team, blasting Patriots running back JaMycal Hasty for a 3-yard loss after a short catch midway through the second quarter.
Jahlani Tavai: We probably shouldn't give a Patriots linebacker too much praise considering Pollard's production, but Tavai, who always puts up a valiant fight, did make a team-high 11 tackles, including six solo.
His biggest play, however, came while defending the pass. With the Titans facing third and goal from the Patriots' 3 early in the second quarter, Rudolph fired a pass on a quick right-to-left in-cut by tight end Chig Okonkwo. The ball ricocheted off his hands and Tavai plucked it out of the air for his first interception of the season and just the Patriots' fourth as a team.
By the way, did that play remind you just a little bit of a certain seminal moment from a Patriots Super Bowl victory? Felt like they should have given it to Marshawn . . . uh, Pollard there.
Kendrick Bourne led the Patriots' group of wide receivers -- a.k.a. The Most Boring Show on Grass, Turf, and Assorted Other Surfaces -- with 41 yards, catching four of his six targets. That's decent production considering he's still finding his form after coming off the physically-unable-to-perform list in Week 5 while making his way back from a knee injury that ended his 2023 season.
But as the veteran -- this is his fourth season with the Patriots and eighth overall -- he needs to be more conscientious. On the Patriots' second possession, Bourne was called for a false start on third and 9 at the Patriots' 21. He caught an 11-yard pass on the next play, but inexplicably ran his route 3 yards shy of the first-down marker. Maybe he forgot that he had cost the Patriots 5 yards on the previous play?
Those kinds of mental mistakes are at least understandable for a rookie like Ja'Lynn Polk (two penalties, no receptions, needs an entire reset on his season). For someone like Bourne, who needs to be showing these young guys how a professional navigates frustrating times, there's little excuse.
Christian Gonzalez contributed a pair of pass breakups, including a leaping deflection on a third-and-7 play from the Patriots' 38 in the first quarter that looked like Derrick White swatting a shot. But his battle with Titans receiver Calvin Ridley was probably a draw. Ridley finished with five catches for 73 yards, including a 25-yarder in the second quarter in which he beat Gonzalez over the middle. Two of his catches, for 30 total yards, came on the Titans' winning drive in overtime . . . Marcus Jones is one of the very few Patriots who could be called a playmaker at the moment. In the loss to the Jets last week, Jones returned a punt 62 yards. He had two more dynamic returns against the Titans, a 44-yarder near the end of the first half, and a 25-yarder after the two-minute warning to situate the Patriots at midfield for the tying fourth-quarter drive . . . Jason Benetti is one of the best current baseball broadcasters anywhere. After listening to him on this game along with analyst Mark Schlereth, sign me up to hear him call more NFL, too.