Patriots-Titans Stock Watch: Maye impresses despite rookie WR struggles originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots had many, many chances to win Sunday’s Week 9 road game against the Tennessee Titans, but they ultimately came up a little bit short with a 20-17 loss in overtime.
The Titans entered the matchup with the NFL’s second-worst record, and they committed eight penalties and one turnover Sunday, but a strong rushing attack and a defense that forced three Patriots turnovers helped Tennessee escape with the win.
There wasn’t much to like from a Patriots perspective. The offensive line took a step back. The run defense continued to struggle. The rushing attack was non-existent outside of quarterback Drake Maye. Special teams miscues included a missed field goal and two bad punts.
One positive for the Patriots is they now own the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, although the order is likely to change a decent amount between now and the end of the regular season.
What should we take away from Sunday’s ugly result? Here are Phil Perry and Tom E. Curran’s “Stock Up” and “Stock Down” selections for Week 9.
Stock Up
Drake Maye, Quarterback
Drake Maye accounted for 301 of the Patriots’ 316 yards of offense on Sunday. He completed 29-of-41 pass attempts for 206 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. His lone touchdown pass came on a fantastic play at the end of regulation where he evaded multiple Titans pass rushers for almost 12 seconds before finding Rhamondre Stevenson in the end zone from five yards out.
Maye also was the team’s leading rusher with 95 yards. Patriots running backs tallied just 15 yards on 12 carries.
Phil Perry: “I’m not giving you two stock ups, I’m only giving you one. It’s Drake Maye, he’s the only one who deserves it. I can’t think of another guy.”
Marcus Jones, Cornerback/Punt returner
Jones continues to be a weapon on punt returns. He had a 62-yard punt return last week against the Jets, and he excelled vs. the Titans, too, with returns of 44 and 25 yards.
Tom E. Curran: “Marcus Jones for the punt returns. He had a nice little pass breakup, too. Better than last week.”
Stock Down
Bryrce Baringer, Punter
Baringer had a rough game. He punted four times and two of them were just brutal, including a 15-yard kick just before halftime that, luckily for the Patriots, didn’t turn into points despite the Titans having good field position from it.
Phil Perry: “What’s going on with Bryce? He had two shanks off the side of his foot.”
Ja’Lynn Polk, Wide receiver
Polk hurt the Patriots in a few ways Sunday. For starters, he made no impact as a pass-catcher with zero receptions. He’s now gone back-to-back games with zero catches, and he has tallied one or fewer receptions in five of his eight games this season. The rookie wideout also committed two penalties.
Phil Perry: “He’s gotta be up there. Had a couple of penalties, no contributions in terms of catches in this one.”
