The Patriots host a depleted Tennessee Titans team today that will be without its top offensive playmakers in Derrick Henry, A.J Brown and Julio Jones.

The last time the Titans were in town was January 2020 when they beat the Patriots in the AFC Wild Card game and ended the Tom Brady era in New England.

New England leads the overall regular season and postseason series, 25-18-1. The Patriots are 18-7-1 in homes games against the Titans, including 5-1 at Gillette Stadium with the only loss coming in the 2019 playoff game. The Patriots 2-2 in the post season against the Oilers/Titans franchise.

Let’s get to know the Tennessee Titans and what they like to do on offense and defense.

Head Coach: Mike Vrabel

Offensive coordinator: Todd Downing

Defensive coordinator: Shane Bowen

Special Teams: Craig Aukerman

Offense

The Titans like to use both man gap and zone blocking schemes. Their running game is diverse. They are pretty balanced in terms of formation distribution when it comes to running the ball.

Tennessee likes to move the pocket a lot for quarterback Ryan Tannehill. The Patriots will see a lot of naked bootlegs, especially now that the Titans are so short handed on offense.

Look for Tennessee to take some plus territory shots today. Todd Downing has proven to be an aggressive play caller in plus territory.

Expect a heavy dose of the tight ends today. Tennessee like to play in a lot 12 and 13 personnel groupings. The Titans target them a fair amount in the red zone.

Given the lack of playmakers, Tennessee could very well run Ryan Tannehill more. Don’t like for designed runs. If he runs, it’ll be zone read type plays.

Defense

Tennessee is multiple on defense. The Patriots will see a variety of fronts today. 20, 30 and 40 fronts are all on the menu.

Defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons is a stud. Tennessee likes to utilize a variety of T-E and E-T stunts to free him up.

The Titans like to bring edge pressure. It could be daggers or they simple line up their outside linebackers in wide techniques.

The Patriots could see a fair amount of man coverage today as Tennessee will be more aggressive in an attempt to pressure Jones and generate turnovers. The Titans primarily bring five man pressure and they mix in six man pressure as well.

Expect a lot of disguising in the secondary. Especially when they want to pressure.

Depth Chart (Courtesy of Ourlads)