On the verge of giving up another touchdown, the Patriots force a turnover instead as Jahlani Tavai picks off a deflected pass at the goal line to give the ball back to New England. Huge play for the Patriots defense.

A rookie moment from Drake Maye, who seemed to panic under pressure from a Titans blitz and delivers a pass straight into the arms of Tennessee safety Amani Hooker for an interception. The Titans will take over at the New England 40 with a chance to turn a turnover into points.

Titans 7, Patriots 0 | End of 1

By Christopher Price

One quarter is done here in Nashville, and the Patriots are down 7-0.

• The New England defense is having issues early. On Tennessee’s opening drive, there was a third-and-long dash from Mason Rudolph when things broke down. Rudolph, who picked up a couple of really nice blocks along the way, ultimately got 13 yards for the first down. A few plays later, Tony Pollard checked in with a 32-yard gain to get Tennessee into the red zone. It was the sort of ugly run the Patriots’ defense has allowed an awful lot of over the last several weeks. The Titans cashed in one play later when Rudolph found Nick Vannett for a 9-yard touchdown pass. In all, the Titans had four plays of 10 or more yards on the drive, an ugly start for the New England defense.

• The Patriots appeared to tighten up (no pun intended) defensively on the second drive, forcing a punt from midfield. Christian Gonzalez spent much of the first quarter traveling with Calvin Ridley in man coverage and had an excellent PBU on a ball for Ridley that set the stage for New England to regain possession.

• Drake Maye didn’t appear to be limited at all after last week’s head injury. He gained 26 yards on an early scramble. Layden Robinson gave up a pressure on the play, but Maye did well to avoid the hit. (Robinson also was hit with a holding call on third down that was ultimately declined — not a great start for the rookie right guard.) The 26-yarder was the third-longest run of the season for the Patriots, and longest play from scrimmage in the first quarter. The Patriots couldn’t convert after crossing midfield, and a 56-yard field goal attempt from Slye was wide right. Slye is now 11 for 14 on field-goal attempts this season, including 2 for 3 from 50-plus.

• Excellent punt return from Marcus Jones with just over a minute left in the first quarter. It was a 44-yard return, his second-best of the season. That got New England out to midfield at the end of the quarter.

New England’s second drive of the day goes nowhere after a Kendrick Bourne false start on third down pushed the Patriots back to a third and 14 they couldn’t convert. Bryce Baringer is out for his first punt of the day.

The Patriots miss a chance to respond with a score as Joey Slye’s kick from 56 yards is wide right. Drake Maye got the Patriots into field goal range with a 26-yard scramble, but Slye couldn’t convert, and New England comes up empty. — Amin Touri

That 26-yard run from Maye is the third-longest from scrimmage this season for the Patriots.

Slye is now 11-for-14 on the year on FGAs. — Christopher Price

The Patriots’ struggles stopping the run continue, as a 32-yard gain from Titans running back Tony Pollard sets up a 9-yard touchdown pass from Mason Rudolph to Nick Vannett, and Tennessee leads, 7-0, early in this one. New England had a chance to get off the field early on third and 12, but Rudolph managed to scramble for 13 yards to extend the drive.

The Patriots kick off the the Titans to open the contest, and Tennessee will start on the 25-yard line after being hit with an illegal formation penalty on the kickoff.

By Christopher Price

The Patriots OL in warmups is as follows:

LT: Lowe, LG: Jordan, C: Brown, RG: Robinson, RT: Onwenu

New lineup! Robinson returns to start at right guard. Onwenu back to right tackle.

Not that it’s much of a surprise, but Ben Brown is working with Maye in warmups, which is certainly a sign that Maye is good to go today.

Pop Douglas and Marcus Jones are working as punt returners in warmups. Bolden, Polk, Baker, Boutte, Hasty, and Gibson working as kick returners.

Christopher Price: Patriots 24, Titans 20. In his return, Drake Maye leads them to a win by throwing a pair of touchdown passes, and the Patriots win back-to-back games for the first time in roughly two years.

Nicole Yang: Patriots 27, Titans 24. The Patriots get their third win of the season thanks to a two-touchdown performance from Drake Maye and a defensive score.

Ben Volin: Patriots 24, Titans 19. As close to a must-win game for the Patriots, who won’t play many weaker opponents than the Titans the rest of the year. The Patriots’ defense will keep Mason Rudolph out of the end zone for most of the day, and Drake Maye returns to the lineup to throw two touchdowns and run for another.

Dan Shaughnessy: Patriots 21, Titans 10. We love the Drake. Pats vault into second place in AFC East. Too early to start talking wild card?

Here’s who the Globe reporters are keeping an eye on.

Patriots

Everyone will be watching Drake Maye, and for good reason. But it’ll also be important to keep an eye on the young receivers who are active today, particularly Kayshon Boutte. (KJ Osborn and Tyquan Thornton are out this afternoon.) Boutte had some big catches down the stretch against the Jets last week, but was also part of a group of receivers who had multiple drops. Jerod Mayo made it clear he wasn’t happy with the performance of the wide receivers when it came to ball security. It’ll be interesting to see if his message got through to Boutte and others this week. — Christopher Price

The defense. The Titans have the worst turnover differential in the league, so I expect New England’s defense to be able to force some giveaways this season. — Nicole Yang

Ja’Lynn Polk. He’s back in the lineup after missing last week’s game with a concussion. And the Titans’ secondary will be short this week without CB L’Jarius Sneed. Polk has had a rough start to his career, with just 10 catches in 23 targets for 78 yards. With K.J. Osborn and Tyquan Thornton both healthy scratches today, look for Drake Maye and the Patriots to try to get Polk going by throwing a few designed passes his way. — Ben Volin

Titans

Tony Pollard. The back, who has done the bulk of the damage on the ground this season for Tennessee (494 rushing yards, 4.3 yards per carry), has been dealing with a foot issue as of late. But opposing backs have really gashed the Patriots’ run defense as of late. The New England defense bounced back last week against the Jets; let’s see if it can keep the arrow pointed in the right direction today against Tennessee. — Christopher Price

Calvin Ridley. Ridley broke out for 10 catches and 143 yards last year — the highlight to his otherwise quiet season. The Patriots pursued Ridley this offseason, but he ultimately decided to sign with Tennessee for more money and the opportunity to stay down south. We’ll see if Ridley, who will likely be matched up against Christian Gonzalez, can build off his performance last week. — Nicole Yang

Jeffery Simmons. His stats this year don’t pop, with just two sacks, a forced fumble, and 21 tackles in six games. But Simmons is still one of the most disruptive interior defenders in the NFL and could be a handful for Patriots center Ben Brown, who is making his fourth straight start. — Ben Volin

Quarterback Will Levis is among the Titans’ inactives, meaning Mason Rudolph will get the start on Sunday. Also inactive for Tennessee: running back Tyjae Spears, corners Tre Avery and L’Jarius Sneed, linebacker Cedric Gray, offensive lineman Dillon Radunz, and tight end David Martin-Robinson.

By Christopher Price

The Patriots have just announced their inactives for today’s game. Here’s a list of who will be down, and what it means.

Veteran safety Kyle Dugger (ankle) missed last week’s win over the Jets, and will be out again today. The Patriots got good help on the back end last week from a wide variety of defensive backs, including rookie Dell Pettus. As a result, Pettus could be in line for more work today

Defensive tackle Eric Johnson is a healthy scratch, which means Daniel Ekuale — who was struggling with an abdomen issue the last couple of weeks — is back in the lineup. Also, it’s not exactly a one-for-one switch, but the presence of Jaquelin Roy has provided a big boost for New England up front the last couple of weeks. Roy will likely be one of a couple people the Patriots will lean on with Johnson out.

Two notable scratches when it comes to the receivers. K.J. Osborn, who has been the subject of trade rumors, is a healthy scratch this afternoon for New England. With the deadline looming Tuesday, he’s certainly someone to keep an eye on between now and then. And wide receiver Tyquan Thornton, who was on the injury report (and was limited) with an ankle issue, also won’t be playing. It wouldn’t be a surprise if one — or both — of them aren’t around after the deadline.

And Joe Milton III is the emergency quarterback.

Notable actives today include quarterback Drake Maye, who completed the concussion protocol over the weekend after sustaining a head injury last week against the Jets. In addition, Ja’Lynn Polk, who suffered a concussion in the loss to the Jaguars in London last week, is active for the first time since that contest. In addition, Alex Austin is back to add some depth at corner.

By Nicole Yang

The Patriots announced Saturday that quarterback Drake Maye has cleared concussion protocol and will be available to play Sunday against the Tennessee Titans.

The Patriots initially listed Maye as questionable to play after he was a limited participant in practice all week. But coach Jerod Mayo indicated Friday there still was a chance for Maye to start on Sunday. The Patriots just needed clearance from medical professionals.

“Once he gets out of the protocol, I think we feel he’s been cleared by the medical professionals,” Mayo said. “He’ll be ready to go.”

Maye entered the protocol after suffering a head injury in the first quarter of last Sunday’s win over the Jets. He stayed on the field to finish that drive, but then entered the blue medical tent on the sideline, visited the locker room, and didn’t return to the field.

The league fined Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood $6,354 for unnecessary roughness on the hit that concussed Maye. Officials did not throw a flag on the play, even though Sherwood’s helmet knocked into Maye’s.

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By Christopher Price

Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux offered a frank assessment last Sunday of the team’s run defense against the Jets, saying the reason they found success — as opposed to the struggles of previous weeks — was that they “cut out the cute (expletive)” and got back to basics.

Asked Thursday for their take on Godchaux’s opinion, New England’s defensive assistants took a different approach, instead praising the ability of the front seven to execute.

“For me, really, we executed,” defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington said. “We talked about last week being a fundamentally sound, consistent football (team).

“And we also talked about it’s really not about words but about actions, and so that’s how I look at it. It’s not about what you say. It’s about what you do and how you do it. How well you perform, and showing the action on the field.”

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By Chad Finn

Enjoy this scenario as much as you can, Patriots fans. Because Sunday’s road matchup with the Titans could be the last time this season that Jerod Mayo’s crew will enter a game with more wins than its opponent.

The Titans have a rookie head coach themselves in Brian Callahan, the former Bengals offensive coordinator who was hired to replace an excellent coach in Mike Vrabel, and things are not going well. The Titans have one win — a 31-12 victory over Tyler Huntley and the Dolphins in Week 4 — and have lost their other six games, with a pair of three-game losing streaks already.

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Emma can be reached at [email protected] or on X @_EmmaHealy_. Christopher Price can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @cpriceglobe. Nicole Yang can be reached at [email protected] her @nicolecyang. Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected]. Amin Touri can be reached at [email protected].