What to watch for when Pats visit the Titans in Week 9

FOXBORO — The New England Patriots are in Tennessee this weekend for a Week 9 matchup with the Titans. While the 2-6 Pats aren’t in a great spot, the Titans are even worse at 1-6.
Tennessee is coming off an embarrassing 52-14 beatdown by the Detroit Lions in Week 8. The Titans have lost their last two games by a combined score of 86-24.
Dare we say this weekend is another winnable game for the New England Patriots? Yes, yes we will.
The Patriots got a much-needed win over the Jets last week despite losing Drake Maye to a concussion in the first half. Jacoby Brissett filled in admirably and New England pulled out a comeback win against their AFC East rival.
Now they’ll take on a Titans team that hasn’t won in over a month, and their lone win came against a Miami Dolphins team without Tua Tagovailoa. The Patriots lost to the Dolphins without Tua, so take from that what you will.
So the Patriots have a good chance to embark on their first wining streak of the season. But just because Sunday is a “winnable” game doesn’t mean winning will be easy for New England. Here’s what we’ll be watching for when things kick off at Nissan Stadium.
Jerod Mayo didn’t rule out Maye being cleared to return for Sunday’s game. The quarterback was still in concussion protocol as of Friday, but he was listed as questionable on Friday’s injury report. We might not know if Maye is available until Sunday morning when New England’s inactives are announced at 11:30 a.m.
The Patriots would love to have the rookie back, especially against a talented pass defense. Tennessee leads the NFL at 151.6 passing yards allowed per game, and their 5.6 yards per pass play average ranks third. Maye’s mobility would be welcomed against the Titans, since its been one of the few things to actually succeed in the New England offense. 
But if Maye is cleared, will the Patriots tell him to take it easy a bit on his scrambles? And will the QB have any trepidation when he does take off out of the pocket?
If Maye can’t play, then it will be up to Brissett to lead the way again. He played well in the second half against the Jets, but having Brissett and not Maye would be an obvious blow to the New England offense. That would just put more on the team’s other play-makers, especially Rhamondre Stevenson and the New England receiving corps.
Whoever plays quarterback, they’re going to need Patriots receivers to make some catches this Sunday against a very good Titans passing defense. New England’s pass catchers have had some issues with catching passes this season.
The problem was at its most glaring last week as the Patriots dropped five passes, according to Pro Football Reference, which didn’t give Tyquan Thornton a drop when Maye’s deep ball went off his fingertips. Kendrick Bourne had three drops and Kayshon Boutte had two against the Jets.
Overall, the Patriots have 18 drops on the season. Their drop rate of 7.4 percent is the fourth-worst in the NFL. The most frustrating part is they’ve been dropping a lot of third-down passes that would have moved the chains. 
The receiving corps knows it needs to be better and said as much throughout the week. But it’s time for the group to stop talking and start catching the ball on a consistent basis.
“I’m proud of the way the receivers responded throughout the week of practice and the extra work they put in in the classroom and on the field,” Mayo said Friday. “They competed, caught the ball well and hopefully that translates over to the game. Excited to see what those guys can do.”
It will be interesting to see how the back end of the receiving corps plays out on Sunday. DeMario Douglas, Bourne, and Boutte will continue to get targets, but rookies Ja’Lynn Polk and Javon Baker could get chances on Sunday too. Polk is returning from a concussion and is hoping to kick his own issues with drops to the curb. Baker was active last week after a string of healthy scratches, but only played on special teams.
Whoever is out there, they need to make the most of every pass that goes their way. The Patriots can’t afford any missed opportunities against a talented Titans pass defense.
The Patriots haven’t gotten a takeaway in two weeks. That should end this weekend against a Titans team that loves to turn the ball over. 
Tennessee turned the ball over four times last weekend against the Lions. Quarterback Mason Rudolph threw a pair of interceptions while receiver Calvin Ridley and tight end Chig Okonkwo both lost fumbles. The Lions turned three of those turnovers into touchdowns, which is why they had just 225 yards despite putting up 52 points.
The Titans have 16 giveaways on the season, and their minus-3 turnover differential is tied for the 31st-worst in the NFL this season. We’ll see if it’s Rudolph or Will Levis under center for Tennessee, after Levis returned to practice this week after missing the last two games with a shoulder injury.
But it shouldn’t matter who is at QB for the Titans. The Patriots defense should be able to go get the ball for the offense, which could/should swing momentum in their favor.
The Titans may have a very good defense, ranking first in the NFL at 265.4 yards allowed per game. But they have an atrocious special teams unit. The worst in the NFL in fact, and that was on full display last weekend in the team’s blowout loss to the Lions.
The Titans gave up a 90-yard punt return touchdown to Detroit’s Kalif Raymond last week, and that was just one of their special-teams breakdowns. They also gave up a 64-yard punt return and a 72-yard kickoff return in the blowout loss. Raymond had 190 yards on his five punt returns for Detroit. 
Tennessee punter Ryan Stonehouse has 34 punts on the season, and opponents have returned them for an NFL-high 492 yards. That’s the most punt return yards surrendered by any team by a wide margin, with the Cleveland Browns second at 327 yards. Stonehouse has also had two punts blocked this season.
Brenden Schooler and Marcus Jones, go get yours this weekend.
We’ll get you ready for this weekend’s Patriots-Titans clash Sunday morning with Patriots GameDay at 11:30 a.m. (which you can also stream on CBSBoston.com), and switch to TV38 after the game for full reaction and analysis on Patriots 5th Quarter!