All eyes are on Mike Vrabel this week, as the Patriots head coach is gearing up for his return to Tennessee to face off against the Titans in Week 7. Vrabel coached the Titans for six seasons from 2018-23, and his 56 wins with Tennessee are the third-most in the franchise's history.

Vrabel's Titans made a run to the AFC Championship Game in 2019 (which included a playoff win over the Pats in Foxboro) and won back-to-back AFC South titles in 2020 and 2021. But it didn't end well for Vrabel in Volunteer State, as he was fired after the 2023 season following back-to-back sub-.500 campaigns. 

But after a year off, he's now enjoying early success with the Patriots, who are 4-2 and sit atop the AFC East heading into Sunday's matchup. The Patriots are going for a fourth straight win on Sunday, which would be the team's longest winning streak since seven straight wins during the 2021 season.

Vrabel has downplayed his return to Tennessee, though chatter will only build as Sunday draws closer. And the Titans threw a new wrinkle into the storyline on Monday after the team fired Vrabel's replacement, Bill Callahan, after he went 4-19 over his season-plus as head coach. Tennessee will have Mike McCoy as its interim head coach Sunday.

While the 1-5 Titans are reeling, the Patriots are on a roll, winners of three straight. The Patriots will go for a fourth straight win overall and a third straight victory on the road. New England has won three straight road games just twice before in franchise history: To close out the 1961 regular season, and during the 1985 postseason en route to a Super Bowl XX appearance.

Now that's a fun fact heading into Sunday's game. Here's everything else you need to know about Patriots-Saints in Week 7:

Patriots-Titans history

Overall, the Patriots are 26-19-1 against the Tennessee Titans/Houston Oilers franchise. They are 16-10 against the organization since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger, and 2-2 in postseason matchups.

Playing the Oilers/Titans on the road hasn't been fun for the Patriots, with a 7-12 record against them away from New England. The Patriots are 2-3 against the Titans in Tennessee, and have lost two straight in Nashville.

A perfect start on the road for New England?

The Patriots are 3-0 on the road to start the 2025 season. If they win Sunday, it will mark the ninth time New England has started with a 4-0 or better record on the road, and the first time since 2021. 

Titans at the bottom of NFL offensively

The Tennessee offense, led by No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, has been one of the NFL's worst to start the 2025 NFL season. The Titans are 31st in the NFL in rushing offense (81.8 yards per game), passing offense (150.5 yards per game), and points per game (13.8). They are dead last in the NFL in total offense at just 232.2 yards per game.

The Titans are tied with the New York Jets for the most sacks allowed through the first six weeks with 25. Ward is the only quarterback in the NFL to be sacked more than 20 times so far this season.

Patriots stuffing the run

The New England defense currently ranks fourth in the NFL against the run, holding teams to just 83.5 rushing yards per game. If that holds, it would be the best in a single season in team history since the 1970 merger. The 2016 Patriots defense held opponents to just 88.6 rushing yards per game for the season. 

The Patriots are the only team in the NFL that has not allowed a running back to rush for 50 yards in a game this season.

Drake Maye looking to match Patrick Mahomes

Drake Maye had a 140.1 passer rating in last week's win over the Saints, his fifth straight game with a passer rating over 100. He's also racked up more than 200 passing yards in all six games this season. If Maye puts up a passer rating of over 100 and puts up 200-plus passing yards, he'll join Patrick Mahomes as the only quarterbacks under the age of 24 to hit those numbers in six straight games in NFL history, per Chad Graf of The Athletic. Not bad company for the second-year QB. 

The record for most consecutive games a Patriots quarterback has had a plus-100 QB rating is eight, which was set by Tom Brady during the 2007 and 2011 NFL seasons. 

Drake Maye already joining Patriots Top 10?

Maye enters Week 7 12th on New England's all-time list for passing yards with 3,798. He needs just 107 yards to move into 11th place, 122 yards to move into 10th, and 149 yards to pass Matt Cassell (3,946) and get into the franchise's Top 10.

Hunter Henry climbing up Patriots all-time tight end list

Hunter Henry has 2,482 receiving yards as a Patriot and needs just six yards this weekend to pass Jim Whalen for fourth place on New England's all-time list for tight ends. 

Marcus Jones flirting with NFL history

Marcus Jones is averaging 14.6 yards per punt return for his career, with 977 yards on his 67 punt returns. New England's electric return man needs just eight more returns to qualify for the top of the NFL's all-time list, a spot that is currently occupied by Chicago's George McAfee, who averaged 12.8 yards per punt return for his career in the 1940s.

Former Titans on the Patriots

Vrabel did not come to New England alone. He brought six player and 13 staffers to New England who were also with him in Tennessee.

Linebackers Robert Spillane, Harold Landry, and Jack Gibbens, quarterback Josh Dobbs, tight end Austin Hooper, and guard Andrew Rupcich all played for Vrabel in Tennessee. Patriots defensive tackle Isaiah Iton also spent the 2024 season with the Titans.

Defensive coordinator Terrell Williams and inside linebackers coach/fill-in DC Zak Kuhr, wide receivers coach Todd Downing, and VP of football ops and strategy John Streicher are among the former Titans staffers to join Vrabel in New England. 

Former Patriots on the Titans

Joey Slye kicked field goals for the Patriots last season, and is 13-for-17 on his field goal attempts for the Titans this season.