Mike Vrabel and the Patriots have won three straight games heading into Sunday's contest.
Mike Vrabel and the Patriots have won three straight games heading into Sunday's contest.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Following three consecutive wins, two of which came on the road, the 4-2 Patriots are surging as they visit Tennessee for Mike Vrabel’s first game against his former team since the Titans fired him in January 2024.
Vrabel went 54-45 as Tennessee’s head coach from 2018-23, guiding the Titans to the AFC title game in 2019 and winning back-to-back AFC South titles in 2020-21.
Vrabel said repeatedly over the course of the week that the Patriots operated business as usual as they prepared to face the floundering Titans, at who 1-5 are among the NFL’s bottom feeders.
The Patriots coach was quick to praise rookie quarterback Cam Ward, the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, who had completed 55 percent of his passes for 1,101 yards heading into Sunday’s contest to go along with three touchdowns and four interceptions.
We’ll have live updates and analysis throughout the game, which airs at 1 p.m. on CBS. Follow along.
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Catch up on what you may have missed from our Patriots writers this week.
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Titans QB Cam Ward has caught Mike Vrabel’s attention — 10:30 a.m.
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By Christopher Price
Sunday’s game will mark New England’s first meeting with a rookie quarterback this season, as the Patriots will be facing first overall pick Cam Ward.
Tennessee’s starting signal-caller since the beginning of the 2025 season, the 6-foot-2-inch, 219-pounder has completed 55 percent of his passes this year for 1,101 yards, to go along with three touchdowns and four interceptions.
Ward has impressed Patriots coach Mike Vrabel, who praised his quick delivery and accuracy. He also said that Ward’s “contact courage” really stands out.
“I think there’s a willingness to stand in there,” Vrabel said. “I don’t see him staring at the rush a lot. He has the ability to scramble when need be and scramble for first downs [and] doesn’t look like he’s very rattled. I think his composure is very good.”
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Emma Healy can be reached at emma.healy@globe.com or on X @ByEmmaHealy. Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com. Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social. Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com. Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com.Follow her @nicolecyang.