The Patriots’ loss to the Rams was frustrating to watch unfold because the answers to the game were plain to see. And they did nothing about them. The Rams beat the Patriots 28-22 as Matthew Stafford carved the Patriots’ defense up with ease, throwing four touchdowns and passing for 295 yards. Drake Maye finished the game 30-40 for 282 yards with two touchdowns and one crucial interception..
If you missed the game but saw the highlights afterward, you’d see that the Rams won after Drake Maye was intercepted on the Patriots final play, the second time that’s happened in three weeks. While the rookie has the blame there, even though his receiver didn’t turn around, the reason they were behind for the last nearly 36 minutes was plain to see. And that was the coaching.
There Was No Control, That Was Fallacy:
“You never had control, that’s the illusion!” – Dr. Ellie Sattler, Jurassic Park
After the game, Jerod Mayo easily had the most intriguing, if incorrect, comment of the day. “I never really felt like they had control of the game,” Mayo said. “I felt like we had control of the game.”
Ah, no, they had lost any semblance of control of the game with 5:45 left in the second quarter when Puka Nacua scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford after a strip-sack of Maye deep in New England territory. The Rams never trailed again. In the final nearly 36 minutes of the game, the Patriots trailed that is hardly under control.
While Mayo pointed to the time of possession (37:20 to 22:40) as proof of his argument, the Rams had touchdown drives of one play and two plays, which will skew the time of possession.
Bill Belichick Philosophy Forgotten:
Mayo played under Belichick and adopted his philosophies so much that the other players called him “Little Bill.” After his playing career was over, he coached under Belichick for five more years.
Belichick’s philosophy was to take away the opponent’s best weapon, and if they beat you with secondary weapons, so be it. Well, the Rams’ best weapons are Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp. And the Rams quickly realized that the Patriots were leaving their best defensive player, Christian Gonzalez, out on the perimeter. They just moved Nacua and Kupp to other areas.
“Gonzalez is the real deal, does an excellent job, and I think it worked out that way,” McVay said of avoiding Gonzo. “There were some instances where we said if you can avoid him, let’s go ahead and do that.”
The results spoke for themselves. Nacua had seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown. Cupp had five catches for 102 yards and a 69-yard touchdown early in the third quarter, when the Patriots came with a zero blitz and Jonathan Jones slipped, making it an easy score.
Did the Patriots ever decide to make any adjustments? Nope. Did they think, “Maybe we should double-team these guys?” No, again. And the question begs, Why Not? Mayo and Demarcus Covington got the Belichick mantra backward. They didn’t take away the opponent’s best players; instead, they took their own right out of the equation. That was frustrating to watch.
A week after sacking Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams nine times, the defense yielded zero sacks, only six pressures, and four quarterback hits. That was not getting it done, and the adjustments didn’t seem to be there. We will go back and watch the tape again, but there weren’t any results to see.
Questionable Calls Again:
Mayo leaves himself open for criticism with some of his in-game calls that don’t seem to make sense. Case in point: the decision earlier in the game to forego a 54-yard field goal for a punt. Joey Slye has been good this season, and while a 54-yarder is hardly a gimme, it is well within his range.
And kicking a field goal on fourth and goal from the two-yard line? The defense showed that they could not stop the Rams’ offense all game long. Every Rams’ possession ended in New England territory until the fourth quarter.
It was digging your rookie quarterback into a hole that was too deep at that point. However, when they did score to make it 28-19, wouldn’t the smart play have been to go for two points right there? Of course, we know the Rams blocked the extra point, and the team kicked another field goal, making it 28-22, which rendered the argument moot.
I wrote here a week after de-pantsing the Bears coaches that the task will be much more challenging against a Sean McVay-led team. And this week, the coaching staff de-pantsed themselves…again.
And Maye was left holding the bag. Yes, he threw the game-ending interception at the end of the game, and he took accountability for that. But his coaches didn’t exactly put him in a great position to win.
They are now 3-8, with another game to add to the “what if” category. And worse still, they travel to Miami, where even during the Brady years, wins were tough to come by.
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But first, look for our positional report card asap.
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A former US Army Special Forces NCO and Officer, Steve has been following the Patriots since their days at Fenway Park. Steve has worked in the film industry and wrote as an Military Editor at SpecialOperations.com, 1945.com as a reporter for the Millbury Daily Voice, Millbury-Sutton Chronicle, and the Grafton News. He's also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA)
Can’t argue that. At least Patsfan brings some facts and basis. I would love to know how much man coverage vs zone was called. There was talk, at least in the media realm that cup and Nacua were more possession receivers now. Good ones but possession. So therefore the pats could man to man handle them.