Five players are down and out

NASHVILLE -- The Patriots will be without nose tackle Vince Wilfork and tight end Benjamin Watson for today's game, as both players were downgraded to out on the injury report.

Wilfork (right ankle) and Watson (left knee) have been sidelined since suffering third-quarter injuries in the team's loss to the Dolphins Dec. 10.

The Patriots also downgraded running back Kevin Faulk (knee), defensive back Chad Scott (back), and wide receiver Bam Childress (ankle) to out for today's game.

Second-year defensive lineman Mike Wright will likely make his third straight start in place of Wilfork, while rookie tight end David Thomas -- who is coming off a career-high five-catch game -- projects to see expanded playing time.

Without Faulk, who often plays on third down, the Patriots lose their top running back in the passing game. Rookie Laurence Maroney will likely pick up some of those duties.

Scott, who has made nine starts (eight at corner, one at safety), came off the bench last week and split snaps with Ellis Hobbs at cornerback. Childress played in his second game of the season last week and made two catches. The Patriots still have five other receivers on their 53-man active roster.

Quarterback Tom Brady, whose playing time likely will be limited today, is encouraged with the strides the team's aerial attack has made over the course of the season. That has been one of the final pieces to the team's offensive puzzle.

"We're much more efficient in the passing game, as evidenced by last week," said Brady, who connected on a season-high 71.8 percent of his throws in a 24-21 win over the Jaguars. "I think we're playing as well as we have all year. We're really starting to put some pressure on defenses, and that bodes well for us going into this part of the season."

Regardless of how much Brady plays today, it's clear that last Sunday's performance has given the Patriots confidence heading into the playoffs. Brady noted how his completion percentage has risen steadily over the year.

In the team's first five games, his completion percentages were 47.8, 51.7, 56.4, 57.7, and 55.2.

In the last 10 games, Brady has completed more than 60 percent of his passes eight times, with his only sub-60 percent performances coming against the Colts and Dolphins.

"The offense has evolved," said Brady, adding that a reduction in turnovers and penalties also has been a key factor. "We can run it. We can throw it when we need to. We have a bunch of playmakers on offense, and all are capable of catching the football and getting open."

Sean Conover, who was born in Brockton, Mass., and played at Whitman-Hanson High School, has been a surprise contributor to the Titans. A rookie defensive end out of Bucknell, Conover has played in five games (one start) and has been credited by coaches with 17 tackles and two quarterback pressures. Conover spent the first 10 weeks of the regular season on the practice squad before he was signed to the active roster.

The 6-foot-5-inch, 272-pound Conover originally was signed by the Titans as a free agent May 5. At Bucknell, he played in 36 games, with 34 starts, and finished his career with 142 tackles (33 for losses) and 17 1/2 sacks (fifth in school history).

Conover, 22, was a Shriners all-star selection as a senior at Whitman-Hanson.

LP Stadium, home field of the Titans, is the only current AFC venue in which the Patriots have played at least one game and have never won. The team's lone visit to LP Field came Dec. 16, 2002, and was a 24-7 loss on "Monday Night Football" . . . Second-year Titans tight end Casey Cramer, who played at Dartmouth College, has two catches for 8 yards on the season . . . Titans defensive assistant Matt Burke is a native of Hudson, Mass. Burke played four years at Dartmouth before breaking into the coaching ranks in 2000 as a graduate assistant at Boston College. He was also an assistant secondary coach at Harvard in 2003 before joining the Titans in 2004 . . . Today's game marks the 38th meeting in the history of the franchises (the Titans being the Houston Oilers from 1960-96), with the Patriots holding a 20-16-1 edge. The last meeting came in the 2003 divisional playoff round, when the Patriots recorded a 17-14 victory at Gillette Stadium . . . The Patriots were one of three teams in the NFL to have their final two games on the road in the regular season, joining Arizona and Carolina . . . Ed Hochuli is scheduled to referee today's game.

The Patriots worked out four free agents at Gillette Stadium Friday, a group headlined by Yale quarterback Jeff Mroz. Defensive back Robb Butler (Robert Morris), center Trey Darilek (Texas-El Paso), and receiver J.R. Russell (Louisville) were the other players in for workouts.

Mike Reiss can be reached at mreiss@globe.com.