Nashville, TN – The Patriots winning streak is at four games following a 31-13 victory over the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on Sunday.

Although the Patriots started slow, New England got things rolling in the second quarter, rattling off 21 unanswered points to coast to an 18-point victory against head coach Mike Vrabel’s former team. Vrabel downplayed his return to Tennessee all week in the press, and according to players, he didn’t discuss it in the lead-up to Sunday’s game.

Many players expressed how much it meant that Vrabel kept it about Patriots football, rather than turning the game into his personal revenge party after being let go following a six-year stint as Titans head coach (2018-2023). Taking the lead from the head coach, we won’t make this recap about Vrabel’s return to Tennessee, either. Still, it must’ve felt good to hear a loud contingent of road fans in attendance chanting his name as the Patriots kneeled out the clock in the closing seconds on Sunday.

From a football standpoint, New England got off to a slow start, trailing 10-3 late in the first quarter. For a few minutes, it looked like the Titans were getting the interim head coach bump. However, for the second week in a row, the Patriots took control of the game in the “middle-eight” around halftime. The middle-eight is a football theory where, if you win the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half, you can seize momentum by executing a “double score” when you get two straight possessions.

After winning the opening coin toss, the Patriots deferred to the second half. Before halftime, QB Drake Maye led a three-play touchdown drive to put the Patriots up 17-13. Then, the Pats scored a touchdown on the first drive of the second half to take a commanding 11-point lead. Last week, in New Orleans, the Patriots scored 10 points during the “middle-eight” to take a 9-point lead over the Saints, back-to-back weeks winning the middle eight.

“Anytime you can do that and double them up, a lot of positives involved. So, hopefully that continues to be a trend,” head coach Mike Vrabel said post-game. “Great job of taking a shot and having it be there. Great ball. Great catch by [Kayshon Boutte] to secure it. Defensively, it was good that we didn’t give up anything cheap there with 45 seconds left [in the first half].”

Along with the positive middle-eight trend, the Patriots are also playing mistake-free football during their winning streak. Since turning the ball over five times in a Week 3 loss to the Steelers, the Patriots have only turned the ball over once during their four-game winning streak. They’re making big plays offensively and not beating themselves, which is a good way to live.

New England has surpassed its 2023 and 2024 season win totals (four wins), has a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2021, and won three consecutive road games in a three-week span for the first time since the merger in 1970 (regular-season only). At this point, the excitement level for the program Vrabel is building in Foxboro is very high.

Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots improve to 5-2 on the season with a 31-13 victory over the Titans on Sunday.

1. Play of the Game: Drake Maye Connects with WR Kayshon Boutte on 39-Yard TD

The Patriots scored before halftime for the second consecutive week, and the deep passing game was rolling again on Sunday.

This week, Maye was 2-for-2 for 61 yards and a touchdown on passes over 20 air yards. Last week, Maye connected on four deep balls, bringing his two-week total to 6-of-7 on deep passes. In Tennessee, the Patriots took the lead on a 39-yard touchdown pass to Boutte, a pretty ball on the backside of a Patriots staple passing concept.