Sunday afternoon the New England Patriots travel down south to take on the Tennessee Titans in the Music City. This marks the third straight road spot this Patriots team will be on.
As far as football tendencies go, three straight road spots is about as bad a draw as you can have. It is typically a regression identifier, but for this Patriots team it is a chance to make history.
“The Patriots will try to do something they haven’t done since 1961 (before the AFL-NFL merger in 1967): win three consecutive regular-season road games,” ESPN insider Mike Reiss writes. “Coach Mike Vrabel’s return to Tennessee, where he served as coach from 2018 to 2023, is naturally a top storyline as well, but Vrabel and players downplayed its importance.”
While I’m happy to call flagrant on Vrabel downplaying the Titans revenge angle, I find it more important to point out how impressive it is to be undefeated on the road. The Pats are 3-0 this season playing away from home. All three coming in difficult spots.
Miami is a place the team historically struggles in, Buffalo is a place nobody wins at, and New Orleans has one of the most rabid fan bases in sports.
As 6.5 point road favorites on Sunday, the Pats are primed and ready for a historic win.
Stefon Diggs Wants To Be A “Road Warrior”
Going on the road is all about how you make the weekend feel normal. It is not the environment on the field that plays the largest role in creating a “home field advantage”. As a former Division I football player, I can tell you it’s the 5 AM bus ride to the airport and fast food at the hotels that make road trips so difficult.
I say that to say this, a coach and an organization can play a massive role in making road trips feel more comfortable. It’s also a mentality thing. Fellow newcomer Stefon Diggs says coach Vrabel has spent a considerable amount of time making sure that his team has the right mentality when traveling.
“Coach was preaching to us about being a ‘road warrior’ — going on that path of least resistance,” Diggs told Reiss.
Experts Predicting A Route
I am no expect, but I certainly agree with ESPN’s Seth Walder when it comes to how Sunday may play out. After the Titans fired Vrabel, then hired former head coach Brian Callahan, and fired him a few days before Vrabel made his return, it’s very easy to talk yourself into the Patriots winning this game.
The 1-5 Titans are coach-less. The interim stepping in Sunday will be former San Diego Chargers head coach, Mike McCoy. Even with experience coming in, the Titans have not done enough to talk Walder out of thinking the Patriots are going to put on a clinic.
“Patriots QB Drake Maye will throw four touchdown passes,” Walder writes in his ‘bold predictions’ column. “New England is one of the heavier pass teams in the league, with a plus-3% pass rate over expectation that ranks fourth highest. Meanwhile, the Titans have the fourth-highest pass rate over expectation allowed (plus-1%). On top of that, don’t you think Vrabel is going to want to pour it on against his old team?”
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