Over the balance of their three-game winning streak, the New England Patriots have been leaning heavily on the Drake Maye deep ball on offense.
The Patriots are averaging an even 10 yards per pass attempt since Week 4, second only to Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks (10.1), per Team Rankings. That tracks, as Maye and Darnold are the league’s most prolific downfield passers in the NFL entering Week 7.
The league average completion percentage on throws of 20+ air yards is 40.3% this season.
— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) October 14, 2025
TWO quarterbacks completing 70% of their deep balls this season: Drake Maye and Sam Darnold 👏 pic.twitter.com/o8oGjqFael
Maye’s current 71.4 percent completion percentage on passes that travel over 20 yards in the air is ridiculous, and obviously not sustainable; the league average is closer to 40 percent.
New England’s offense could face some downfield regression as soon as Sunday afternoon’s game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium (and it has nothing to do with the Titans’ woeful defense).
The weather report in Nashville for this game could force the Patriots to finally unlock their most frustrating weakness on offense.
The New England Patriots’ struggling run game could be needed against Titans with wind expected to be factor
Wind can be a major deterrent to the downfield passing game, and expected gusts in the 15-17 mph range for this game, per Patriots reporter Mike Reiss, could be an issue for Maye and company against the Titans.
Weather conditions for Patriots-Titans kickoff (1 p.m. ET, CBS):
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) October 19, 2025
61 degrees, morning rain passes but field covered overnight, wind a factor with gusts in the 15-17mph range. pic.twitter.com/wYQ8DptJLm
Facing a bad opponent, what better time for the Patriots to get their frustrating rushing attack going?
New England enters Week 7 ranked 31st in football in yards per rush attempt (3.5). Explosive rookie TreVeyon Henderson has struggled to find the second level. Veteran Rhamondre Stevenson is visibly more concerned with holding onto the football right now than finding rushing lanes; he gained 18 yards in 13 carries in last week’s game against the Saints.
The Patriots rank 25th in the NFL in run blocking, per Pro Football Focus, so that certainly hasn’t helped. If they can’t get things rolling in the right direction against the 1-5 Titans, there might not be much hope for this group.
Tennessee enters Week 7 allowing 133.7 rush yards per game. They’ve allowed the most rushing touchdowns in football.
Josh McDaniels and company will definitely take their shots with Maye down the field, especially when the wind is at their back; that’s become a major staple of their game.
But if this game doesn’t end up being one of New England’s best rushing performances of the season, it’s fair for fans to start demanding moves ahead of the NFL’s Nov. 4 trade deadline.