Coming off their second loss of the 2003 season, the New England Patriots hosted the Tennessee Titans in Week Five. The game was an important match-up for both teams, but took on a surreal atmosphere as the sell-out crowd at Gilette Stadium cheered loudly at seemingly inopportune times, such as a kick-return for a touchdown by the Patriots' Troy Brown that was nullified by a penalty, and a standing ovation by the crowd for a Steve McNair rushing touchdown late in the game. The reason for the oddly-timed crowd celebrations was that they were simultaneously keeping track, via radios and periodic updates on the stadium scoreboard, of the Boston Red Sox and their crucial playoff game with the Oakland Athletics, a late-inning victory by the Red Sox. As for the bemused Patriots, they faced a hard-hitting Titans squad but hit back and held a 31-27 lead with less than four minutes to go, trying to stop the fast-moving Titans as the clock ticked toward zero.
