Vrabel glad Titans got good look at Patriots

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans got their chance to measure themselves against the reigning Super Bowl champions last week with a pair of combined practices and a preseason game.

Now it’s time to get back to work as they try to meet the New England Patriots’ standard.

“It was really beneficial for us,” Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota said. “The opportunity again to work against an organization, you’re talking about the Super Bowl champs, so any time you get that opportunity to see where you stack up and continue to just build off what you’re doing, I think that’s huge.”

The Titans (1-1) led New England 17-8 at halftime Saturday night at Nissan Stadium but lost the exhibition 22-17 with veteran New England quarterback Tom Brady watching all night from the sideline. Second-year coach Mike Vrabel, who won three Super Bowl rings as a linebacker for the Patriots, said the past few days have been great for the franchise.

“To have a team come in here that’s a proven winner, a proven organization, how they operate, how they do things,” Vrabel said. “For us, to be able to compete against them for two days and then play a game against them is always going to be beneficial.”

Before the Titans can work on trying to reach the playoffs for the second time in three seasons, first they have to address some issues that emerged in the loss to New England. For a second straight game, a franchise that set a team record in a 16-game season for the NFL’s fewest penalties in 2018 was flagged for double-digit penalties — this time 10 for 77 yards.

Vrabel said whether his team sees something as a penalty or not doesn’t matter to the officials.

“We have to be conscious of what they’re looking at, the mechanics they’re using to call those secondary calls, whether it be holding or illegal contact,” Vrabel said. “So, just continuing to work that stuff.”

The Titans, who won their preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles 27-10, host the Pittsburgh Steelers at 8 p.m. EDT next Sunday and close their exhibition schedule on the road against the Chicago Bears on Aug. 29. Tennessee’s regular-season opener is also on the road, against the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 8.