Titans sack Brady, stun Patriots
TOM Brady added another big chunk of National Football League history to his resume. The Tennessee Titans made sure the Patriots quarterback didn’t finish his 300th game.
The Titans sacked Brady three times and hit him repeatedly as they won 34-10 on Sunday, snapping a seven-game skid against New England in Mike Vrabel’s first game as head coach against the team he helped win three Super Bowls.
It was the most sacks allowed in a game this season by the Patriots (7-3), and coach Bill Belichick pulled Brady for Brian Hoyer midway through the fourth quarter.
Only Brett Favre (326) has played in more games, both regular season and postseason, as a quarterback than Brady. The three-time NFL MVP also needed only three touchdown passes to tie Peyton Manning (579) for the NFL record for most TD passes all time for both the regular season and postseason. He left having thrown for 254 yards and no TD passes.
Marcus Mariota capped each of the first two drives with TD passes, and Derrick Henry ran for a pair of TDs. Ryan Succop also added two field goals as the Titans (5-4) scored a season high in points after jumping to a 17-3 lead in the first quarter. They now have beaten both of last season’s Super Bowl teams in Nashville.
The loss snaps a six-game winning streak going into New England’s bye. The Patriots, who routed the Titans 35-14 in January, also lost to Tennessee for the first time since December 16, 2002.
In Cincinnati, Ohio, Drew Brees threw three TD passes in the first half, moving ahead of Favre for second place on the career list, and the Saints rolled to their eighth straight victory, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 51-14.
Brees led the Saints to TDs on all five first-half possessions with a nearly perfect performance — only two incompletions. His 17-yard TD to Michael Thomas with 2 seconds left in the half gave him 509 career TD passes, one more than Favre.
Up next: Manning’s record 539.
Brees had his way with the Bengals’ historically bad defense, even diving over the pile to score a 1-yard TD. Cincinnati (5-4) became the first team in the Super Bowl era to give up 500 yards in three straight games; New Orleans finished with 509.
The Bengals matched the most lopsided defeat in franchise history and gave up the second-most points in club history. In the first half alone, the Saints piled up 311 yards and had 21 first downs on 40 plays. Brees was 18 of 20 for 214 yards.
Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara recognized Dez Bryant by crossing their arms after scoring TDs. The former Cowboys receiver signed with the Saints on Wednesday but tore an Achilles tendon in his second practice.
Elsewhere in the NFL, it was: Chiefs 26, Cardinals 14; Bills 41, Jets 10; Colts 29, Jaguars 26; Redskins 16, Buccaneers 3; Browns 28, Falcons 16; Bears 34, Lions 22; Chargers 20, Raiders 6; Packers 31, Dolphins 12; Rams 36, Seahawks 31; and Cowboys 27, Eagles 20.