On a a slushy Foxboro field, the New England Patriots fell to Tennessee Titans in an unceremonious finish 20-13.
Defenses were stingy in the second half and running was at a premium in this Wild Card matchup.
Here are the winners and losers of the second Saturday playoff game.
Loser: Run Defense
In the first half, the Patriots defense could not stop the run even if they knew it was coming.
Running back Derrick Henry was gobbling up five and or six yards on every single run on the Titan’s opening drive.
This opened up the pass which in turn gave Tennessee the lead.
Henry capped off the first half tallying a touchdown along with 106 yards rushing on 14 carries.
A lot of talk of questions answered in press conferences about how great Henry is and they definitely made him look good today.
Winner: Sony Michel
On the flip side, the Georgia alum looked very well for the Patriots in the early going also.
After losing the lead, the Patriots turned to Michel who recorded his second longest run of the season to set up the Patriots in Titan territory.
Michel showed his versatility in the passing game with a seven-yard reception to set up the Julian Edelman rushing touchdown.
By the end of the first half, Michel was carrying the Patriots offense with some fantastic inside and outside runs.
He did not do anything in the second half but he was one of the lone bright spots on offense.
Loser: Red Zone Offense
While the offense was moving, it did not finish the job when it mattered most.
The notable missed touchdown at the end of the first half changed the complexion of the game and gave the momentum over to Tennessee who took the lead on the next drive.
Simple math. You score on that drive, you are up by three instead of trailing the entire third quarter.
Winner: J.C. Jackson
If there was a huge positive to take from this season, it is the stellar play from the secondary and the emergence of J.C. Jackson.
Jason McCourty has been an inactive for almost half of the season and this has been because of the elite play from the Maryland alum.
Jackson’s play of the game was his huge pass break up on third down at the end of the third quarter to give the Patriots the ball back.
He, Jonathan Jones and Gilmore going to be a formidable group next season.
Winners: Terrence Brooks and Duron Harmon
Other than that one touchdown he gave up at the end of the first half, Brooks was exceptional coming in for Patrick Chung after the veteran went down with an injury.
Duron Harmon was also stellar in center field recording his traditional playoff interception which set up his offense in good field position.
The secondary sustained a lot of injuries in this game, but whoever came in did a fantastic job containing A.J. Brown, Corey Davis and company.
Loser: Tom Brady
In what could be Brady’s last game at Gillette Stadium, his performance was among the worst in his career in the postseason.
With only 209 yards and a 59.4 yard passer rating, the six-time Super Bowl champion’s only touchdown pass was to his former teammate cornerback Logan Ryan.
The Patriots and Brady played this entire season like everything was supposed to be given to them and not earned.
