The Tennessee Titans pulled off one of the biggest playoff upsets in the recent history of the NFL, shocking the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots 20-13 to advance to the AFC Divisional Round.
The Titans went on the road and eliminated the Patriots, who have won two of the past three Super Bowls and had participated in all three, with a strong defensive performance and a huge night from running back Derrick Henry.
Henry, the NFL’s leading regular season rusher, pounded New England’s defense for 182 yards and a touchdown to establish the Titans’ running attack.
The Patriots and quarterback Tom Brady were never able to get going despite being heavy favorites. Brady threw for only 209 yards on 37 pass attempts, throwing a late game interception which was returned for a touchdown by Logan Ryan, which put the game to bed.
The Titans, who were the playoffs’ lowest seed and had the worst record of any team in the postseason, will now have an opportunity to pull of an even more monumental upset as they travel to take on the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens next weekend.
New England, which won’t participate in the AFC Divisional Round for the first time since 2009, will look to regroup in the offseason and will wait to see if Tom Brady will stay on for another year.
