MAC Jones passed for a career-high 310 yards and two touchdowns (TD) as the host New England Patriots (NE) defeated the Tennessee Titans (36-13) for their sixth straight win on Sunday in Foxborough, MA.
The rookie quarterback completed 23 of 32 passes and eclipsed his previous high of 307 yards in New England’s 54-13 rout of the New York Jets on Oct. 24. Kendrick Bourne made a pair of TD catches on Sunday while Jakobi Meyers had a team-high 98 receiving yards for the Patriots (8-4).
The Patriots’ league-leading winning streak is their longest since they opened the 2019 season with eight straight victories.
Dontrell Hilliard rushed for a career-best 131 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries for Tennessee (8-4). The fourth-year rusher was elevated from the practice squad by the injury-depleted Titans ahead of last week’s loss to Houston.
D’Onta Foreman also rushed for 109 yards on 19 carries. Ryan Tannehill passed for 93 yards on 11-of-21 passing with one touchdown and an interception for Tennessee.
It was the Titans’ second straight loss following a six-game winning streak. Tennessee held the No. 1 seed in the conference coming into the day. New England entered as the third seed behind the Baltimore Ravens (7-3), who host Cleveland on Sunday night.
New England led 16-13 at half time. Nick Folk’s fourth of five field goals had the Patriots on top 19-13 early in the third.
Late in the quarter, Jones connected with Bourne for a 41-yard score down the sideline that was set up by a timely block from Meyers.
Folk added a 52-yarder in the fourth quarter before Damien Harris rushed for a 14-yard touchdown with 4:38 remaining to put the game away.
The Patriots scored on their first possession of the game, with Jones hitting Bourne on a 4-yard fade in the corner of the end zone to make it 7-0 with 7:37 left in the first quarter.
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine dove low into the end zone on a 1-yard pass from Tannehill with 14:29 to play in the second quarter, but Randy Bullock missed the extra point.
Three straight Folk field goals put the Patriots up 16-6 before Hilliard broke loose for a 68-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds left before half time. — Reuters