Welcome to the AFC Wild Card Game Live Blog! The Patriots are set to take on the Titans in a game that many didn’t expect to see, but here we are. New England lost to Miami last week, costing them a bye, so now they will play on Wild Card Weekend for the first time since the 2009 season.
This is not an easy matchup for the Patriots, a Patriots team that is led by its top-ranked defense. New England is only allowing 14.1 points per game, but one of the areas they have struggled is stopping the run. Tonight they will deal with the physically dominant Derrick Henry, so they will have their hands full. Starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill is also playing the best football of his career and he’s had some decent games in the past versus New England while with Miami. New England has their hands full tonight, but they are still the better team in the best position to win tonight’s game.
We are about 35 minutes away from kickoff; here are the inactive players for tonight’s AFC showdown:
Patriots Inactives- CB Jason McCourty, DL Byron Cowart, QB Cody Kessler, OL Jermaine Eluemunor, TE Ryan Izzo, RB Damien Harris, OL Korey Cunningham
Titans Inactives- WR Adam Humphries, DL Reggie Gilbert, WR Kalif Raymond, DL Joey Ivie, WR Cody Hollister, DL Isaiah Mack, OL Kevin Pamphile
We’ll see you all in 26 minutes with our AFC Wild Card Game Live Blog; get ready for some football!
FIRST QUARTER
15:00- The Patriots will receive and the offense will get the first crack at scoring tonight. It would be huge for them to have a strong scoring drive, field goal or touchdown. 1st & 10…
14:57- Blitz leads to a quick throw to Harry that is dropped; 2nd & 10…
14:51- Brady gets pressured heavily and is forced to throw it away; 3rd & 10…
14:40- Watson with a great catch for 21 yards and a 1st down; great throw. 1st & 10…
14:08- Big play to White for 30 yards; 1st & 10…
13:28- Throwback doesn’t work and Brady is forced to chuck it through the end zone, which was the right play; 2nd & 10…
13:23- Eight-yard dash by Michel off-tackle; 3rd & 3…
12:41- Incomplete pass to a covered Sanu; I did not like that decision on that throw, that was dangerous. 4th & 3…
12:37- FIELD GOAL, PATRIOTS!! Folk connects from 36-yards out to give New England the lead. There is the score they needed on the first drive. Yes, a touchdown would have been nice but scoring while taking some time off the clock is a good thing. Patriots 3, Titans 0
12:25- Nine-yard gain on the catch; 2nd & 1 from the Titans 34…
11:56- Henry runs for 12 up the middle; 1st & 10…
11:19- Henry runs for four more; 2nd & 6…
10:36- Gain of seven for another Titan 1st down; 1st & 10, not an ideal start for the defense…
10:01- Henry runs for 11 more and this is not good. If they can’t stop the run, they simply won’t win. 1st & 10, Titans, from the Patriots 38…
9:19- Nine more for Henry as the Titans tear through the Patriots front seven; 1st & 10…
7:57- Four-yard gain on 1st down; 2nd & 6…
7:33- Henry runs for eight more; this is not good. 1st & 10…
6:58- False start backs up the Titans; that is the only thing stopping them right now. 1st & 10 from the Patriots 17…
6:28- Offside on the Patriots is negated by a brainfart by Corey Davis for illegal touching, so the penalties offset. Replay 1st & 15…
6:24- Good pressure by Wise on what looked like a screen; 2nd & 15…
6:21- Henry runs for six on one of his shorter runs tonight; 3rd & 10, and play has stopped as Patrick Chung gets looked at by the trainer. 3rd & 10…
5:39- Touchdown, Titans. Terrance Brooks got burnt and that gives the Titans the cherry on top of a perfect drive. The Patriots defense better get their heads together or this could be a long night. Titans 7, Patriots 3
5:20- No gain by Burkhead; 2nd & 10…
4:52- Sanu picks up 11 and a big first down; 1st & 10…
4:09- Michel with a huge 25-yard run and the Patriots are driving; 1st & 10 from the Titans 40…
3:36- Toss right for no gain; that hasn’t been there all year because they don’t have the personnel for it. 2nd & 10, Brown is down again for the Titans and he is writhing in pain…
3:04- Watson gains 11 on the catch; 1st & 10 from the 29…
2:21- Screen to Burkhead for nine; 2nd & 1…
1:47- Michel loses a yard, running right of course; 3rd & 2…
1:01- White runs for 15; 1st & Goal…
:20- Michel with the gain of three on the catch; 2nd & Goal and we will head to the second quarter. Very good quarter for the New England offense, but the Titans offense tore through the top-ranked Patriots defense for the only touchdown of the quarter. Titans 7, Patriots 3
SECOND QUARTER
15:00- TOUCHDOWN, PATRIOTS!! Edelman takes the jet sweep as he is lined up at the left-wing spot; that is the best way to run that play, quick-hitting to a wing coming to the wide side. Good seal leads to the easy touchdown run; Patriots 10, Titans 7
14:52- JoeJuan Williams with a great tackle on the kickoff; great pursuit. 1st & 10…
14:39- Brown picks up four; 2nd & 6…
14:11- Henry runs for three before being tripped up by Danny Shelton; 3rd & 3…
13:29- Adam Butler bats down the pass! Big play by the big d-tackle; 4th & 3…55-yard punt and the Patriots offense will look to stay hot. 1st & 10…
13:15- Michel with the seven-yard catch, a good sign for this offense; 2nd & 3…
12:35- Michel for no gain; 3rd & 3…
12:02- Edelman picks up six and another first down; 1st & 10…
11:21- Loss of two on the Michel run; 2nd & 12…
10:39- Burkhead with a strong RAC for 11 yards; 3rd & 1…
9:53- The Patriots get cute and run it with linebacker/fullback Elandon Roberts. That was dumb. Period. 4th & 1…punt.
9:09- One-yard gain by Henry; 2nd & 9…
8:25- Jones with the strong PBU leading to another 3rd down for the Titans; 3rd & 9…
8:19- Lewis on the draw for seven but the Titans are called for holding; the Patriots will decline and the Titans will punt it back to the Patriots.
8:00- Sanu returns it 24 yards to the 50 to set up the offense with great field position; they need a score on this drive. 1st & 10…
7:35- 11-yard run by Michel; 1st & 10…
7:17- Pass incomplete to Sanu; 2nd & 10 from the 36…
7:05- Burkhead for four; 3rd & 6…timeout, Titans. Mike Vrabel was concerned with the Titans coverage…
6:33- Harry with the seven-yard catch for a 1st down; 1st & 10…
5:47- Michel runs for 12 and another Patriot first down. I have to give credit to the right side on that play; 1st & 10…
5:01- Burkhead for 15 down to the Titans one; 1st & Goal…
4:22- Michel loses two; 2nd & Goal…timeout, Patriots.
3:36- Burkhead runs for 2.5; 3rd & Goal from just inside the one…another timeout by Brady.
3:01- Nope, that didn’t work; 4th & Goal…
2:16- FIELD GOAL, PATRIOTS! Not good to miss out on seven when at the one, but at least he hit it. Patriots 13, Titans 7
2:09- Henry runs for 30; 1st & 10…
2:00- Play-action is incomplete; 2nd & 10…
1:48- Henry runs for 13 more; 1st & 10…
1:17- Henry for eight more; 2nd & 2…
:49- Henry runs for three more and another 1st down. Henry has run for over 100 yards in the 1st half. Timeout, Titans.
:35- Touchdown, Titans. Henry tears through the defense again and now has 106 yards rushing and 22 yards on the screen. Titans 14, Patriots 13
:29- Brady to White for nine, Patriots call timeout; 2nd & 1 from the Patriots 34…
:23- Watson for seven more; 1st & 10…
:18- Logan Ryan dropped a pick-six after Watson dropped a pass he was wide-open on; 2nd & 10…
:13- Brady just got pissed at Harry so he did something wrong; 3rd & 10…
:06- White foolishly runs out of bounds to make it 4th & 2, so the Patriots will chuck one for the Hail Mary…which is knocked down after Harry had his shot. That is the end of a tight first half. Titans 14, Patriots 13
TITANS 14, PATRIOTS 13
HALfTIME
THIRD QUARTER
15:00- Henry runs for two; 2nd & 8…
14:10- Henry runs for eight; 3rd & 1…
13:39- Henry for five more; 1st & 10…
12:56- Good pressure and the Patriots shut it down for no gain on the catch; 2nd & 10…
12:15- Finally the defense gets pursuit and stops Henry for two; 3rd & 8…
11:40-Incomplete pass and the defense comes up with the HUGE stop they needed coming out of the half. The Patriots offense will take over at their own 13 after the perfect 45-yard punt. 1st & 10, Patriots…
11:11- Michel runs for three; 2nd & 7…
10:41- Edelman runs for six but he got a crazy-good spot; 1st & 10, that should be challenged…
9:53- 13-yard gain by Harry for another 1st down; 1st & 10 from their own 36…
9:20- And then he drops a catchable ball; 2nd & 10…
9:15- Incomplete to Edelman; 3rd & 10…
8:57- A big play is negated by an illegal man downfield and that is a KILLER PENALTY, KILLER. 3rd & 15…
8:35- White for no gain. Shaq Mason may have just cost the Patriots a score. 4th & 15…3- yard punt. This is getting worse.
7:57- Loss of three by Henry; 2nd & 13…
7:13- Jone with the DPI; spot foul, 1st & 10 from the Patriots 40…
7:00- Simon makes the tackle after Henry gains four; 2nd & 6…
6:21- Fumble forced but Tannehill somehow gets it back; 3rd & 11…
5:41- Good defense by J.C. Jackson and the Titans are forced to punt, which is not a bad thing when you have THIS guy. The Patriots offense takes over at the…seven. Yuck.
5:26- Harry runs for seven on the end-around; 2nd & 3…
4:56- No gain by Michel; 3rd & 3…’
4:08- Edelman picks up 20 and another 1st down; 1st & 10…
3:27- Michel runs for three; 2nd & 7…
2:49- Pass was deflected and incomplete as Brady was pressured; 3rd & 7…
2:42- Incomplete pass to Harry; the Patriots will punt again. 4th & 7…punt is a touchback, Titans will take over at their own 20.
2:24- Five more for Henry; 2nd & 5…
1:51- Henry runs for four more and the Titans are starting to tear up yardage again; 3rd & 1…
1:10- Tannehill sneaks for three; 1st & 10…
:30- Henry for no gain and that will be the final play of the quarter. The Titans will face 2nd & 10 to begin the 4th quarter. Titans 14, Patriots 13
FOURTH QUARTER
15:00- INTERCEPTION, PATRIOTS!! Harmon makes a great play as he always does in big moments! 1st and 10, Patriots…
14:45- Fake end-around deep bomb to Dorsett is incomplete; 2nd & 10…
14:39- White picks up six, but the Titans are called for holding; 1st down on the penalty…
13:57- Edelman picks up four; 2nd & 6…
13:32- Michel runs for three; 3rd & 3…
12:52- Incomplete. The pressure got there. Ugh. 4th & 3…touchback, again. Not a good game Bailey. 1st & 10, Titans from their own 20. The defense needs to get a quick stop because the offense cannot go a long way to score.
12:40- Two-yard run by Henry; 2nd & 8…
12:06- Three more for Henry; 3rd & 5…
11:20- Gilmore gets hurt as Lewis picks up the first down, a first down that happened because a Patriots fell down. 1st & 10…
10:49- Four more for Henry; 2nd & 6…
10:28- Instead of a three-yard loss they get 3rd & 3…
9:33- Tannehill takes the RPO for the 1st down. Not good. 1st & 10…
9:00- Henry with a dagger run; 1st & 10…
7:59- Lewis runs for two; 2nd & 8…
7:12- Tannehill runs for four; 3rd & 4…
6:29- Fumble, recovered by Henry; 4th & 4 and the Titans will punt. This is interesting…
5:28- Bullcrap by Tennessee on the punt. Smart, but these are foolish rules.
4:44- New England finally gets the damn ball with just 4:44 on the clock. I understand taking advantage of how the rule is written, but that was garbage. That took over a minute off the clock, rewarding the penalty. Fix this crap, NFL. 1st & 10, Patriots from their own nine. The season comes down to this drive.
4:36- White takes it 20 yards to the 31; 1st & 10…
3:58- Dorsett with the catch for four; 2nd & 6…
3:22- Edelman with a BAD drop; 3rd & 6…
3:17- Incomplete. Punt. Edelman’s drop probably just ended this game. The Titans take over at their own 12. 1st & 10…
3:03- Two-yard gain; 2nd & 8…
2:59- Illegal formation on the Titans; 2nd & 13…
2:55- Gain of five by Henry; 3rd & 8…
2:08- First down. This might be over.
2:00- Henry for 12, and that’s a wrap. NE has one timeout left, but they need a stop and yardage to setup for a field goal. That would require a miracle. 1st & 10…
1:57- Henry for one; 2nd & 9…
1:12- No gain by Henry; 3rd & 9…
1:06- No gain by Henry; 4th & 6…
:15- Foolish play on the punt return. That was dumb. 1st & 10 from the one. Wow.
:10- Touchdown, Titans. Interception return, Tennessee will go for two because the Patriots will get the ball on the kickoff.
:00- Nothing doing on the return, and the 2019 Patriots season has come to an end.
This was not what fans wanted, obviously, but that was a VERY flawed offense that really had no chance to win a title. Now we play the hard-to-endure waiting game with Tom Brady. In a way, losing earlier in the postseason might help the Patriots in the long run because it gives them more time to plan, something Belichick has admitted takes a hit during Super Bowl runs. They need to sign Tom Brady. Let me repeat that, LOUDLY- THEY. NEED. TO. SIGN. TOM. BRADY. He is still good, this trainwreck passing offense was not his fault. The Patriots need to find someone who can pinpoint receivers that can come in and give this team the aerial threats Tom Brady deserves. They also need to think about replacing Marcus Cannon, who just seems to have lost all his athleticism. Be sure to read my breakdown of the season next week before the 2020 Draft Series begins; we are not shy about what the film shows us, and I know it shows a LOT of ugly on offense and the run defense.
This team is flawed, but the core is VERY strong. Don’t listen to the national media, they are pushing this narrative because they want to make it happen. The Patriots aren’t done, that wasn’t the end of a dynasty. That was a team that just dominated the decade trying to finish it off with a HOF tight end, a dominant left tackle, and a great center all missing from last year’s lineup, not to mention another tight end that was a beast in the run game (Dwayne Allen) missing from the roster. They still went 12-4; they’re not going anywhere.
Thank you for reading the live blog this season, we truly appreciate it. Enjoy the offseason, and keep your fingers crossed that #12 is back in Foxborough in ’20. Goodnight, Patriot’s fans.
