And for the most part, it’s going according to plan for the Patriots. The slow start — specifically the embarrassing Week 3 loss to the Lions — was as unexpected as it was frustrating.

But the Patriots have looked like their usual contender selves since, winning seven straight games, including Sunday night’s affirming victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. They still are second to the high-flying Chiefs in the AFC playoff race, but they have a win over Patrick Mahomes and his speedy friends in their pocket.


Related: Finn: These Patriots are better than I thought they’d be

This Sunday brings a matchup with the 4-4 Titans, a team on the fringes of the playoff race and one with some very familiar faces to Patriots fans. It should ultimately be the Patriots’ seventh win in a row heading into the bye, but it should not be an easy one.

Kick if off, Gostkowski, and let’s get this one started . . .

THREE PLAYERS I’LL BE WATCHING NOT NAMED TOM BRADY

Dion Lewis: In the Unconventional Preview before the recent matchup with the Bills, I ranked the Patriots’ third-down backs in the Bill Belichick era. (Hey, it beat trying to find something interesting to say about the Bills.) I left Lewis, a wildly fun Patriot when healthy from 2015-17, off the list for one reason: I never really thought of him has a third-down back, even though he certainly had the pass-catching skill-set. Lewis, who probably had more stylish moves than any Patriot back since Curtis Martin, is a tougher and more conventional runner than he sometimes gets credit for. Last year, for instance, he ran for a team-high 896 yards on 180 carries for the Patriots, while also adding 32 catches on 35 targets. It seems the Titans are figuring out what Patriots fans already knew: Lewis, despite his durability issues, can be a darn good feature back. Lewis played a season-high 84 percent of the snaps Monday against the Cowboys, and had more touches than fellow running back Derrick Henry by a 23-8 margin. He’s going to be a handful for his former team Sunday. But they probably already knew that. They’re as familiar with his work as anyone.


Related: Catching up with Dion Lewis in Nashville

Malcolm Butler: I mean, assuming he plays. You never know when he might look like a lock to start, only to end up standing on the sideline holding his helmet the whole game. All right, that was obnoxious. I’m sorry. I still think he should have played in Super Bowl XLII, not because he would have excelled in coverage, but because he would have been better in coverage than Johnson Bademosi and Jordan Richards and probably would have made a tackle once in a while. I was glad to see him get a lucrative deal in free agency with the Titans (5 years, $61 million), but it’s also long ago become clear that the Patriots were very wise to pay Stephon Gilmore in free agency rather than signing Butler long term before the 2017 season. Butler has been abysmal for the Titans, allowing six touchdowns in coverage this year, including two Monday night against the Cowboys. The Patriots knew what they were doing in letting him depart. I suppose they knew what they were doing in making him a bystander to disaster against the Eagles, too. I wish his legacy weren’t stained here, but we’ll always have “Malcolm, go!” no matter what.


Related: Gasper: Bill Belichick was right about Malcolm Butler

James White: I’ve written a lot about the Patriots’ second-most-important offensive player lately, but I’d just like to point out here that he is on pace for 108 catches, 944 receiving yards, 11 receiving touchdowns, 417 rushing yards, and 7 rushing touchdowns. What a weapon.

Related: James White, Mr. Reliable

GRIEVANCE OF THE WEEK

It’s not so much a grievance as it is a lament. I miss having former Titans coach Jeff Fisher’s chronic mediocrity around to mock. How did people think that guy was a good coach for so long? Was it his association with the ’85 Bears? Lingering respect for the Steve McNair/Eddie George near-champion in 1999? The intimidating push-broom mustache?

He did have some pretty good teams in Tennessee, including one that gave the Patriots a battle during a frigid night in the 2003 divisional round (that game is the main reason I don’t think of Bethel Johnson as a total bust).


But at some point during his 22 years as a head coach, the game passed him by. He won 8 games just once in his last seven seasons (two with the Titans, five with the Rams). Jared Goff looked like a bust on his watch. He’s a superstar under Sean McVay.

Fisher is tied with Dan Reeves for the most losses in NFL history (165). That says two things: He was around for a long time, and he fooled a lot of people into believing he was a hell of a lot better coach than he actually was.

PREDICTION, OR CAN YOU IMAGINE DRAFTING KEVIN DYSON OVER RANDY MOSS?

Yep, the Titans did that, back in ’98. It was probably Fisher’s idea. Anyway, this Titans staff — led by Patriots great Mike Vrabel — will not lack for respect from Belichick and the Patriots. The Titans, who improved to 4-4 and snapped a three-game losing streak with Monday’s 28-14 win over the Cowboys, have been involved in tight games almost every week this season, Vrabel’s first as a head coach. They’ve had three games decided by 3 points and two more decided by just a point. They have some issues in their defensive backfield, having allowed five touchdowns of 39 yards or more this season, yet they own the No. 1 scoring defense in the league (17.6 points per game). As a teammate, Vrabel had a knack for tormenting Tom Brady in practice. It’s doubtful that he will do the same in his first game against him as a coach, but the Titans are an opponent worthy of respect, and they’ll prove it even in defeat. Patriots 31, Titans 24.


Chad Finn can be reached at finn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GlobeChadFinn.