Preview, prediction and players to watch

Their active three-game losing streak includes a 20-17 loss to the Colts, a 34-10 loss to the Bills and last week's 52-14 loss to the Lions, who scored 38 unanswered points after scoring 14 – 14, early in the second quarter.

Like the two-win Patriots — who were coming off a 25-22 victory over the hapless Jets that ended their six-game losing streak — the Titans have some uncertainty at quarterback. Backup Mason Rudolph has been in the starting lineup for two weeks while Will Levis is sidelined with a shoulder injury.

Rudolph put up adequate numbers in the loss to the Lions (22 of 38, 266 yards, 1 passing touchdown, 1 rushing TD, 2 interceptions). He has just 133 fewer passing yards than the error-prone Levis this season despite starting three fewer games. But Levis, who has five touchdown passes and seven interceptions, is expected to start Sunday if he is healthy.

The Titans have the 31st ranked passing offense in the NFL (161.9 yards per game). The only thing worse? As if you didn't know. The Patriots are in last place by a wide margin (149.9 yards per game). Their QB situation was also unclear for most of the week, as rookie Drake Maye worked through the phases of concussion protocol after exiting the Jets' game with a hit to the head early in the second quarter.

Jacoby Brissett did solid work as a relief pitcher last Sunday, throwing for just 132 yards but leading the Patriots on a game-winning touchdown drive. One thing is for sure, no matter who plays for either team on Sunday: Maye gives the Patriots one much better The long-term prospects for the quarterback are greater than the Titans' with Levis.

Both teams should be able to run the ball, although the ground game forecast looks better for the Titans. Tony Pollard (494 yards, 4.3 average, 3 touchdowns) ran for 94 of the Titans' 158 yards against the Lions. The Patriots' run defense was a mess in Weeks 5-7, allowing every opposing team to run for at least 173 yards in that stretch. But they held the Jets to 112 yards on 28 carries, which is considered either progress or an indictment of New York's coaching staff.

The Titans have a pretty strong run defense, ranking 12th in the league with 113.9 yards per game, but it's trending in the wrong direction after allowing 164 yards to the Lions. Could this be the week Rhamondre Stevenson breaks out? He had two touchdowns – including the game-winning score – but only 48 yards on 20 carries against the Jets. He has four games this season with 48 or fewer yards and only one, the season opener against the Bengals, with more than 100. A breakout is overdue.

Get started, Slye, and let's get things started. . .

Three players other than quarterbacks worth watching

Calvin Ridley: By all accounts, the Patriots were serious suitors for the productive former Falcons and Jaguars receiver when he hit free agency in the offseason. For a while it even seemed as if they would get him.

Amid reports that Ridley would come to Foxborough or return to Jacksonville, the Titans pounced on him, securing him a huge four-year, $92 million contract that included $50 million in guarantees.

The loss to Ridley felt like a disappointment at the time. (The Patriots reportedly offered $22 million a year, with owner Robert Kraft saying after the fact that Ridley's girlfriend didn't favor New England.)

But it might end up being the best thing for her.

Oh, Ridley is a very good player, and he had his best game as a Titan, with 10 catches on 15 targets for 143 yards last week.

But Ridley hasn't been consistent, due in large part to Tennessee's messy quarterback situation, which is worse than the Patriots' is now and will be even worse far worse as Maye develops. In his first six games as a Titan, Ridley had just 12 catches for 183 yards and one touchdown.

At his best, Ridley is a B+ as a receiver. For the money he's earned, he needs to get an A and play like a real No. 1. . . but that's no longer his ceiling, and hasn't been since 2020, when he had 90 catches for 1,374 yards and nine touchdowns for the Falcons.

Oh, of course the Patriots could have used him. It would have added to her entertainment value and given Maye a proven target. But given the situation this team finds itself in, missing out on Ridley shouldn't be a lasting disappointment.

Instead of paying big money for a receiver who is just 30 years old and will be past his prime when the Patriots face off again, what they really need to do is draft and develop their own cornerstones.

Kayshon Boutte: At least to people unfamiliar with the Patriots' receiving corps, it may seem strange to assume that a player who suffered two egregious losses in his last game is actually trending in the right direction.

But it's true when it comes to Boutte, the second-year receiver and former sixth-round pick. Although he didn't make his season debut until Week 3, he is now second among Patriots wide receivers in receptions (11) and yardage (185), behind only DeMario Douglas (28 catches, 271 yards). And Boutte is one of four Patriots wideouts with a touchdown this season.

Sure, these numbers are modest, and many of us would be tempted to trade the entire receiver room for Randy Moss – not even the 2007 version, but the current 47-year-old version. But there is little doubt that, bouts of stone-skills aside, Boutte is making real progress.

Last Sunday, he had three catches for 46 yards, including a crucial 34-yarder that set up the game-winning touchdown. This continued a nice little string of games with regular big plays that included a 40-yard touchdown catch in Week 6 against the Texans and a 33-yard reception in Week 7 against the Jaguars.

The Titans' defense is the best in the league overall (265.4 yards per game) and in passing yardage (just 151.6 per game), but they could face top cornerback L' Jarius Sneed (quadriceps injury) will be out.

The Jets game marked the third straight week in which Boutte led Patriots receivers in snaps (this time with 55 of a possible 67), so he should take advantage of his opportunities against the stingy Titans.

All of this is real progress for a player who wasn't sure whether to leave training camp. This season is all about player development for the Patriots, and Boutte looks to be a success story.

Jeffery Simmons: Less pleasant fact: The Patriots did not have a single player ranked in the NFL's top 100 until 2024, according to the time-filling program that NFL Network runs in July and August.

The Titans? They had one, their 27-year-old defensive tackle, checking in at No. 73. This match is full of elite talent, I'm telling you that.

The two-time Pro Bowl player, whose 2023 season was cut short due to an elbow injury, hasn't been as productive as usual this season – he only has 2 sacks, 2 quarterback hits and 21 tackles. But he had a strong game in the loss to the Lions as he had 4 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and a sack.

He could have his best game of the season against a Patriots offensive line that has been a little more cohesive of late but is still inconsistent.

The review

The best running back I ever saw in my entire career was Walter Payton. The best in a fleeting, Bosworth-esque outburst was Bo Jackson. But the best thing over a two or three year period? Earl Campbell. The former Oiler had some excellent games against the Patriots. But perhaps his best came on Nov. 10, 1980, on “Monday Night Football,” when Campbell rambled, blurted and bullied his way to 130 yards and two touchdowns in Houston's 38-34 win.

Complaint of the week

This isn't so much a complaint as it is a confusion. It's always been a mystery here why Bill Belichick spent a second-round pick, No. 60 overall, on Joshua Uche in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Uche had and still has obvious talents as a pass rusher, and he was productive in that regard, playing alongside Matthew Judon during the 2022 season and contributing 11½ sacks. But Uche's inability to contribute against the run made him a two-down player at best, and his skillset didn't match the requirements of playing at the rim in a Belichick defense.

A second-round pick for an undersized pass-rush specialist was an odd choice, and it shouldn't have been a surprise that Uche — who was traded to the Chiefs for a sixth-round pick last week — started just four games in his five Seasons here.

He will help the Chiefs in his role. But he never fit in, even if he had certain performance limits.

Prediction, or Eddie George belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. . .

Does two in a row count as a winning streak? When you're in the shape the Patriots are in, that's definitely the case. Marcus Jones goes the distance on a punt return and that makes the difference. Patriots 20, Titans 16.

Chad Finn can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GlobeChadFinn.