Editor: Joe Bryant. Game Recap Contributors: Mike Anderson, Michael Brown, Chris Burtt, J.D. Caldwell, David Dodds, Bobby Elder, Jim Enochs, Joel Faulhaber, Michael Flynn, Kevin Goldblum, Clayton Gray, Bob Harris, Fred Hebert, Jesse Hilsenrad, Drew Kendall, Jeff Lewis, Joey Matusek, Justin Oliver, Steve Prosapio, David Shick, Cody Smith, Scott Smith, Jeffrey Stout. New England 7 at Tennessee 30 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW New England Patriots: The running game never got going. The Patriots fell behind so quickly that they had to abandon it. Antowain Smith rushed 6 times for 31 yards. One of those runs was for 23 yards. Kevin Faulk tried to help but only managed 15 yards on 5 carries. It was a dominating performance from the Titans run defense. Tom Brady completed 14 passes for 134 yards. 8 of those completions went to Troy Brown. He had very little room to throw and tossed an interception for a touchdown to Rich Coady. The coolest play of the day was a rocket that Brady threw into a ref's head cam. The ball bounced straight up in the air after it hit him. We got to see the replay of the ball coming straight at us and knocking the camera to the ground. Pretty cool stuff. The ref was lucky, that ball could have broken his nose. Terrell Buckley intercepted a Steve McNair pass on 3rd down and then proceeded to fumble it. Then Robert Holcombe recovered it for the Titans. Tennessee Titans: Steve McNair has proved once again that practice is unnecessary for him. His passing numbers were mediocre with 136 yards and an interception but there were several dropped long passes that would have easily put him over the 200-yard mark. The Titans crushed the Patriots with ball control. Eddie George and Robert Holcombe we're a huge part of that. George rushed 31 times for 101 yards. It was George's 3rd 100-yard rushing day this season. Holcombe stole 10 carries for 85 yards and looked great doing it. Derrick Mason was McNair's main target. He caught 6 passes for 86 yards. He got hit hard several times but bounced right up each time. The Titan's defense was suffocating. The Patriots were 2-11 on 3rd down. They sacked Tom Brady twice and intercepted him once. The only score they allowed was a Brady run for a touchdown. WHAT YOU OUGHT TO KNOW New England Patriots QB: Tom Brady completed 14 passes for 134 yards. 8 of those completions went to Troy Brown. He had very little room to throw and tossed an interception for a touchdown to Rich Coady. He almost threw a second one, but after review the replay showed that the ball had hit the ground. He ran for a 10-yard touchdown to provide the Patriots only touchdown of the game. He didn't look like the same quarterback that won a Super Bowl last year. RB: Antowain Smith had very little to do today. The Patriots fell behind so quickly that they abandoned the running game. He rushed 6 times for 31 yards and caught 2 passes for 41 yards. One of his rushes was for 23 yards and one of his receptions was for 35 yards. Neither of these big plays resulted in a score. Kevin Faulk saw a little action too. He had 5 carries for 15 yards. WR: Troy Brown was the Patriots only reliable receiver. He caught 8 passes for 73 yards, but failed to score. Davis Patten was blanketed all game. He had 1 catch for 5 yards. The Coady interception for a touchdown bounced off of Patten. TE: Daniel Graham caught 2 passes for 8 yards. Cam Cleeland caught 1 pass for 10 yards. New England Pass Defense - They played a strong game. They held McNair to 134 yards and Buckley intercepted one his passes. The Titans could have easily had two more touchdowns. The defenders were beat in both cases, but the ball wasn't caught. New England Rush Defense - They we're nonexistent. The Titans racked up 238 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns. New England Special Teams - Kevin Faulk had a 35 yards kick return. /**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/**/** Tennessee Titans QB: Steve McNair has proved once again that practice is unnecessary for him. His passing numbers were mediocre with 136 yards and an interception but there were several dropped long passes that would have easily put him over the 200-yard mark. Since McNair's receivers had trouble making catches, he took matters into his own hands by rushing for 49 yards and 2 touchdowns. He probably won't be practicing again this week. RB: Eddie George had a fine day. He wasn't stellar, but ate a ton of clock on 31 runs for 101 yards. It was his 3rd 100-yard rushing day this season. George also added 2 receptions for 16 yards. Robert Holcombe was actually the better back tonight. He rushed for 85 yards on 10 attempts including a 39-yard run on the 3rd play of the game. He also stripped the ball from Buckley after the interception. Holcombe recovered it for a first down. WR: Derrick Mason made tough catches all day. He caught 6 passes for 86 yards. Drew Bennett was the only other wide receiver to catch a pass. He caught 1 pass for 16 yards. Justin McCareins had a lousy day. He dropped a catchable ball that would have been a touchdown. TE: There was no offensive production by any of the tight ends. Tennessee Pass Defense - They held Brady to 134 yards and sacked him twice. Coady intercepted a deflected pass and returned it for an interception. They didn't allow a single touchdown. Tennessee Rush Defense - Dominating. Except for the 10-yard run by Brady for a touchdown, they held the Patriots down. Smith and Faulk combined for 46 yards on the ground. Tennessee Special Teams - Joe Nedney kicked a 28-yard field goal but missed a 45-yarder on the opening drive.