Tennessee Titans: Winners and losers from Wild Card win over Patriots

Winner: Titans defense

The only bad thing you can really say about the Titans’ defense is that it didn’t get anywhere near enough pressure on Brady and failed to record a single sack. On the flip side, the secondary did everything it needed to do in order to counteract that problem.

Tennessee’s coverage was sensational, and after a slow start against the run in the first half, the Titans’ defense picked it up in the second half and forced Brady to beat it with his arm.

In the end, Brady had just 209 yards through the air and wasn’t able to overcome the issues he’s dealt with for most, if not all, of 2019.

And, in what was perhaps the biggest series of the game, Tennessee’s defense made a crucial stop and forced a field goal with the Pats having a first-and-goal from the one-yard line. Hats off to Rashaan Evans, DaQuan Jones and Jeffery Simmons for making big plays there.

Kenny Vaccaro also made numerous big plays throughout the course of the game, so he deserves recognition in his own right. I was also impressed to see David Long and Wesley Woodyard step up in a big way for Jayon Brown, who left the game early with a shoulder injury.

On this night, the Titans won because of their defense and run game.