BOSTON – Drake Maye was back at quarterback for the New England Patriots on Sunday, leading a spectacular game-winning performance at the end of regulation against the Titans. But the rookie also struck out three times, and the Patriots lost 20-17 in overtime at Tennessee.

Maye led the Patriots on an 11-play touchdown drive at the end of regulation, tying the game at 17-17. The whole thing was topped off by an incredible improvisation from the quarterback, who danced around as time expired to buy time on third-and-goal. Maye threw a pass over his body that Rhamondre Stevenson landed in the end zone for the game-tying score that sent the game into overtime.

The Patriots' defense couldn't be stopped in overtime, as Mason Rudolph connected twice with Calvin Ridley for 30 yards and Tony Pollard rushed for 28 yards. But the Titans fumbled the snap on third-and-2 from the New England 7 and had to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Nick Folk to take a 20-17 lead with 2:34 left.

That gave Maye and the New England offense another chance. But Maye went deep to Kayson Boutte on the third play of the drive, and his underthrow was blocked by Amani Hooker to end the game.

It was one of three turnovers by Maye on the afternoon, as he was picked off twice by Hooker and also recovered a fumble while being sacked. The Titans entered Sunday's game with just three takeaways all season.

The loss leaves the Patriots with a disappointing record of 2-7 this year. Sunday was just the second win of the season for the Titans, who are now 2-6.

How the rest of the game unfolded

The Titans scored on their first drive and New England trailed 7-3 at halftime.

After a long drive to start the second half, the Patriots took the lead for the first time. Maye picked up 36 yards on three scrambles and also had a nice 21-yard connection with DeMario Douglas, who made a one-handed grab down the sideline on the play. Stevenson capped the 12-play drive with a one-yard touchdown run to give New England a 10-7 lead. The drive lasted the first 7:21 of the second half.

The Titans also had a long drive on their first possession of the second half, taking over seven minutes to gain 67 yards. But a holding penalty took a Pollard touchdown off the board and Julius Chestnut was tripped by Dell Pettus at the 3-yard line on third-and-goal as he tried to force his way into the end zone. Tennessee settled for a field goal and tied the game at 10-10 with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.

The two teams exchanged punts on their next possessions before Maye was sacked by linebacker Adren Keye on New England's third possession of the half. The Titans needed just five plays to go 26 yards for the go-ahead score: a six-yard TD pass from Mason Rudolph to Nick Westbrook-Ikhine for a 17-10 lead with 4:27 to play.

On New England's next possession, Maye was nearly picked off on a second-down pass, but Jarvis Brownlee Jr. dropped the interception from his arms as it hit the turf. On the next play, Maye hit Kendrick Bourne for 22 yards, but the ball was taken off the board due to an offensive tackle on center Ben Brown.

Maye went deep for DeMario Douglas on third-and-17, but his pass was way too far for his receiver. The Patriots knocked the ball away and Tennessee almost fumbled it back to New England, but Jha-Quan Jackson was able to recover the ball.

The New England defense came to a stop and Marcus Jones managed a 25-yard punt return to the 50-yard line after the two-minute warning. The Patriots reached the Tennessee 22 after an 8-yard scramble by Maye, but his next pass to Bourne in the end zone was deflected by Hooker.

The Patriots reached Tennessee's 5-yard line with eight seconds left, but Maye's pass to Kayshon Boutte was deflected at the line, negating a DPI for Tennessee. On third-and-goal, the QB danced to buy time and made his incredible touchdown pass to Stevenson to send the game into overtime.

Drake Maye wasn't afraid to run

Despite leaving last week's game with a concussion, Maye had no fear heading into Sunday's game against the Titans. It was New England's best way to pick up yards, as Maye ran for 95 yards on his eight scrambles.

Maye also threw for 206 yards while completing 29 of his 41 passes. He was New England's entire offense on Sunday.

Frustrating first half for the Patriots

The Titans scored an opening touchdown for the first time since Week 3. The Patriots rushed Rudolph on a third-and-12, but released the quarterback for a 13-yard scramble to keep the drive going. On the next play, tight end Josh Whyle caught a short pass from Rudolph and stiff-armed Keion White out of his cleats to turn it into a 12-yard pickup for Tennessee.

Pollard then broke off a 32-yard run to the New England 9-yard line, and Rudolph hit Nick Vannett for a 9-yard catch-and-run touchdown to give Tennessee the early lead.

New England's offense only mustered three points in the first half and managed just 124 yards. Maye threw a poor interception and the Pats were just 1-for-6 on third downs in the first 30 minutes.

The most frustrating drive of the half occurred just before halftime. The Pats got the ball back just after the two-minute warning and Maye hit Kendrick Bourne for 14 yards and nine yards on consecutive plays. It was a promising start, but then Alex Van Pelt dropped the pass.

JaMychal Hasty was stuffed on second-and-1 without a gain, and Stevenson lost a yard on third-and-1. The Patriots put the ball away with 47 seconds left in the half.

Maye had been distributing the ball well at this point, so it's definitely legitimate to question the direction of the game in this situation. The Patriots ran for 46 yards in the first half, but Maye accounted for 39 of those yards on two scrambles. Stevenson only had seven yards on his six carries in the first half.

Penalties hurt both teams

There was a lot of yellow on the pitch on Sunday as both teams suffered a combined 18 penalties. The Patriots were flagged eight times for 58 yards, while the Titans were flagged for 10 penalties for 67 yards.

What's next for the Patriots?

New England has another road game in Week 10 where they visit Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears. In this duel, the number 1 overall pick in Williams will face off against the third overall pick, Maye.

The Bears are 4-3 this season heading into their Week 9 road game against the Arizona Cardinals.