Mason Rudolph reassured first-year Titans coach Brian Callahan not to worry after a rookie quarterback made an incredible play to force overtime. This time, Rudolph guaranteed that Tennessee would win.
Nick Folk kicked a 25-yard field goal with 2:32 left in overtime, giving the Titans a 20-17 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday and marking Callahan’s first home win this season.
“I mean, look at me,” an emotional Callahan said about the win. “I needed it bad, man. Yeah, we needed it.”
The Titans (2-6) broke a three-game losing streak, both overall and at Nissan Stadium. They had lost three games this season by a touchdown or less, and this was their first win since September 30. “We all needed that,” Rudolph said.
The Patriots (2-7) welcomed back rookie Drake Maye after the third overall pick from North Carolina cleared the concussion protocol on Saturday. He started after being injured in last week’s game against the Jets and ran for a career-high 95 yards.
New England had a final opportunity after Maye tied the game with a 5-yard touchdown pass to Rhamondre Stevenson. However, Amani Hooker’s second interception of the game sealed the Titans’ victory with 2:07 left.
“Now we’re starting to piece it together, and that’s the result we got,” Hooker said about the Titans adjusting to a new coaching staff and many new players.
Maye took responsibility for not throwing the ball away on first down when there was still time left. “Just a bad decision on my part,” the rookie said.
Tennessee recorded four sacks and turned three turnovers into a touchdown, showcasing a defense that came in ranked first in the NFL for fewest yards allowed and fewest passing yards.
The fourth sack occurred when Arden Key stripped Maye of the ball, which was recovered by Jeffery Simmons at the Patriots’ 26-yard line.
Rudolph threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Nick Westbrooke-Ikhine with 4:27 remaining, marking the Titans’ first points in the fourth quarter since September 30.
With no timeouts left, Marcus Jones, who was leading the AFC in punt return average, returned a punt 25 yards to midfield with 1:45 left, setting up an exciting finish between two struggling teams.
Maye led the Patriots to the Titans’ 5-yard line, then scrambled to find someone open. He took 11.82 seconds to find Stevenson for the touchdown, which is the second-longest time to throw for a touchdown since the NFL began using Next Gen Stats to track such plays in 2016.
First-year Patriots coach Jerod Mayo praised Maye’s mental toughness and running ability, which gave them a chance to win. When asked if Maye’s scrambling influenced his decision to kick the extra point to tie the game instead of going for a two-point conversion, Mayo replied, “I don’t want to get into that.”
He acknowledged it was a good question but preferred not to discuss it at that moment, especially after the Patriots’ second overtime loss this season.
Only Jayden Daniels’ game-winning play for Washington last week against Chicago took longer at 12.7 seconds. Joey Slye tied the game with the extra point, pushing it into overtime. Rudolph ended the game with 240 passing yards, starting his third consecutive game in place of Will Levis.
Tony Pollard, who had 128 rushing yards despite not practicing all week, helped the opening drive with a 32-yard run. Rudolph then put the Titans ahead with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Nick Vannett.
Tennessee entered the game with one of the NFL’s worst offenses in several categories and needed overtime to score more than 17 points for just the second time this season.
The Titans had two opportunities for first-and-goal. The first ended with Rudolph’s tipped pass that was intercepted in the end zone.
They settled for a 21-yard field goal by Folk, tying the game at 10 inside the final minute of the third quarter after Pollard’s 8-yard touchdown run was negated by a holding penalty on Josh Whyle.
