NASHVILLE – The Patriots defense didn’t feel like they were playing up to their potential in Sunday’s first half.

The team went into halftime having allowed three Titans scoring drives as the Patriots led, 17-13. That’s when Mike Vrabel told his defensive players to stop waiting for someone to make a big play. Instead, he wanted them to believe that every one of them could be the one to turn this game in the Patriots favor.

In the third quarter, that’s when K’Lavon Chaisson stepped up.

The veteran pass rusher stood out among his peers in the Patriots win, finishing with two sacks, including a strip-sack turned touchdown in the third quarter.

“That was huge,” Chaisson said. “I think that first thing we were talking about at halftime is stop waiting on somebody to make a play and be the one to make the play, so Vrabes kept emphasizing that for sure. It’s something we went over all week and just came to the matching the hand and being able to recover the ball and get in the box.”

Chaisson’s strip sack changed the game for the Patriots. At 7:31 of the third quarter, Rhamondre Stevenson scored to make it 24-13. On the very next defensive play, 11 seconds later, Chaisson broke through with the sack and fumble recovery. The edge rusher easily waltzed into the end zone to give the Patriots a commanding 31-13 advantage.

Vrabel said he noticed the momentum swing before that. Following Stevenson’s touchdown run, Christian Ellis had a huge tackle on special teams. Patriots players were celebrating the stop, which motivated defensive players like Chaisson.

It was complimentary football at its finest for the Patriots.

When the Titans came back on the field, Milton Williams stepped up with a sack on third down.

“A lot of momentum there, guys running on to the field excited, leads to a play,” Vrabel said. “I thought a really cool play was the second down. (Robert) Spillane makes a tackle, forces it to third-and-one, Zak (Kuhr) dialed up a great call, (Kyle) Dugger covers the guy to the flat, Craig (Woodson) covers the guy on the hide, and Milt (Milton Williams) gets a sack and forces them to punt. That’s the idea of some team defense and complementary football.”

This game featured multiple sacks by Chaisson, who now has 4.5 in seven games this season. A 2020 first-round pick, he signed a 1-year, $5 million contract with the Patriots in the offseason after making a career-high five sacks in 2024.

Chaisson entered Monday tied for 13th in the NFL sacks. His impact was definitely felt on Sunday with his first-career NFL touchdown.

“It’s something that we needed obviously,” Chaisson said. “We were feeling like the energy on the defense wasn’t up to par like we would like it to be, so it was a jump start to get it going, and man, I felt like we just started rolling after that for sure.”

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.