FOXBOROUGH - The Patriots grabbed an early 7-0 lead over the Rams on Sunday, but that's when Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams woke up, scoring four touchdowns in five possessions to take control and pull away for an eventual 28-22 victory.
Drake Maye threw for a career-high in yardage (282) and two touchdowns, but the Pats offense sputtered in the red zone (two-of-five) and fell just short of keeping pace with Stafford's four-touchdown day. Maye's only interception of the day came at the end of the game and closed out New England's comeback hopes.
The Patriots defense had few answers for the Rams attack after forcing two initial punts in the middle portion of the game, as the Rams put up over 400 yards of offense and averaged close to 10 yards-per-play until New England forced two final punts that made the game interesting down to the very end.
Here's how it all went down!
1. Big Plays Lead to a Patriots Lead
The teams traded punts on their opening possessions, but the Patriots got some good contributions right out of the gate from a 46-yard kickoff return by rookie Javon Baker and then a nice third-down conversion pass from Maye to Hunter Henry. However, a penalty call on Mike Onwenu for a chop block backed the Pats up after some positive gains and then Kayshon Boutte dropped a third-down slant that might've gotten New England into field goal range.
The Rams had one big gain on their first possession, a nice 38-yard connection between Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua that got the Rams out of deep within their territory. But the Patriots defense stiffened and forced a punt on the edge of their own territory.
That's when the Patriots put together their first scoring drive of the game, beautifully executed by Maye on a seven-play, 77-yarder that was capped off with a touchdown toss to Kendrick Bourne, his first TD of the season. Maye hit big plays to Pop Douglas of 14 and 28 yards, and another to Austin Hooper for 18 yards as the Patriots were stringing together big plays thanks to Maye's strong and accurate arm, despite some pressure in his face.
It was one of the most well-executed scoring drives of the season and it gave the Patriots an encouraging 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
2. Rams Offense Shakes Off Shaky Start
The Rams opened their ensuing possession with their best run of the day, as Kyren Williams navigated his way through the line to pick up a drive-starting 18-yard rush. Williams is a tough tackle in space and wiggly enough to avoid big hits.
But again the Patriots defense stepped up with back-to-back run stops that set up a 3rd-and-4 near midfield. That is when Christian Barmore made his presence felt in his return, charging upfield like he has done often in his career and taking multiple blockers with him. Christian Elliss looped around on a stunt and challenged the throw from Stafford, forcing an incompletion and another Rams punt. With Barmore and Yannick Ngouke entering the mix the Patriots pass rush looked just as disruptive as it did last week against the Bears, working in conjunction with good coverage.
Maye and the Pats offense picked right back up where they left off their scoring drive, with the quarterback dealing. Maye hit Henry for 14 yards then again found Bourne with pressure on top of him for 18 yards, but like the Rams, the drive fizzled out in part due to an illegal formation penalty on Vederian Lowe that canceled out a third-down conversion. New England punted back to the Rams for their third possession of the game early in the second quarter.
The Rams got another drive starter out of the gate with a 25-yard pass to Nakua that quickly took them out to near midfield. This time they wouldn't waste the big play, as LA would continue down the field for their first score of the day. The Patriots defense struggled to make a positive play on the drive, as Stafford and running back Blake Corum (28 rushing yards on the drive) led a nine-play, 80-yard drive with just one play stopped for no gain and the rest gaining at least five yards. The Rams also did not face a third down on the scoring possession.
After holding the Rams to just two first downs through their first two possessions, the Patriots allowed five on this drive as the game was knotted up at 7-7 midway through the second quarter.
3. Giveaway Gives Rams Seven More
Things quickly snowballed on the Patriots on their next possession with Maye dropping back to attempt a third-down pass but rookie Braden Fiske quickly looped through the line on a stunt and landed a blindside hit on the Pats QB. Maye couldn't hold onto the ball as it bounced loose out of his hand and was recovered by Kobie Turner at the Patriots 12-yard line.
It took just one play for the Rams to convert the turnover into points, with Nacua laying out for a Stafford pass and coming down with an impressive 12-yard touchdown catch that gave the Rams a 14-7 lead.
After a strong start on both sides of the ball, the game suddenly got away from the Patriots with a 14-point Rams surge. Big plays and turnovers have a way of making that happen.
4. Pats Escape First Half Down Four
The Patriots would take back some momentum on their next drive with some help from the Rams, who took facemask and encroachment penalties to hand New England an easy 20 yards. Maye continued to play well, but a zero blitz by the Rams on 3rd-and-3 forced a throwaway and the Pats had to settle for a field goal that made it 14-10. The drive lasted nine plays and went 57 yards and gave the ball back to the Rams with just under two minutes left in the half.
The Rams would continue to stay hot on offense after scoring touchdowns on their previous two possessions, again quickly moving down the field with the Patriots unable to come up with positive plays. Despite a solid third-down tackle that forced a 4th-and-1, the Rams rushed to the line and quickly converted for a first down as they approached the Patriots red zone.
Stafford added a 21-yard completion to Nacua as the Rams moved inside the Patriots 10-yard line with just seconds left before halftime. One final pass to the end zone fell incomplete and the Rams set up for a half-ending field goal but the attempt hit the upright and the Patriots escaped with a four-point halftime deficit, 14-10.
It was a needed break for the Patriots defense, who were unable to make much impact on Stafford over the Rams final three drives of the first half.
5. Rams Strike Fast, Pats Get Back Three
It took just two plays out of the locker room in the third quarter for the Rams to add another touchdown. Stafford continued his hot day, hitting Cooper Kupp on a crossing route for a too-easy 69-yard touchdown. Just like that it was 21-10 Rams a mere 50 seconds into the third quarter. It was not the start to the second half the Patriots were hoping for as the defense was burned on a blitz for another score. Stafford didn't face much pressure and when the Patriots did blitz he consistently made them pay.
Undeterred, the Patriots put together a third scoring drive, again with some help from a Rams penalty mixed in. It was a 12-play drive, as Maye continued to work the ball around. He converted one third down with a throw on the run to Kayshon Boutte, and also added a 15-yard strike to Henry in the middle of the field.
LA took a low block penalty inside their own red zone that set the Patriots offense up on the Rams five-yard line, but New England was unable to punch it in with Stevenson and settled for another Slye field goal to cut LA's lead to 21-13. It was a nice response drive, but New England's lack of finish inside the red zone hurt them for a second-straight drive.
6. Stafford, Rams Continue to Roll, But Pats Won't Quit
The Patriots response field goal did little to slow down the white-hot Stafford and the Rams offense as once again they went right through the Patriots defense like a hot knife through butter on a seven-play, 72-yard touchdown drive. Big plays continued to pile up as Stafford threw one pass for 21 yards to Tutu Atwell and then a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Colby Parkinson.
To this point in the third quarter, the Rams were averaging 9.6 yards per play as New England's defense struggled to make impact plays after forcing two initial punts.
Maye led another response drive as the Patriots offense refused to quit, but again two 15-yard Rams penalties helped move things along for New England. Those accounted for 30 of the drive's 70 total yards. Alex Van Pelt continued to expand his bag of tricks, with Maye hitting left tackle Vederian Lowe for the team's first touchdown score since their second possession of the game. That made it 28-19 after the extra point attempt was blocked.
7. Pats Defense Wakes Up
Down by nine after the responding score, the Patriots defense stepped up and forced their first punt since the first quarter. The defense was aggressive on third down, sending a blitz, while Christian Gonzalez played good coverage on Kupp, pushing the receiver out of bounds after he made the catch well short of the first down marker.
Maye and the offense continued to hum, with Maye hitting another big passing play, this one going 22 yards to Bourne as the Patriots offense again put together a sustained drive. It was the fourth double-digit play possession of the game.
However, New England was stopped short on 3rd-and-1 and then a Ja'Lynn Polk false start penalty pushed an attemptable 4th-and-1 to a difficult 4th-and-5. The Pats settled for a field goal to make it 28-22 with 4:54 left in the game, putting the pressure back on Stafford and the Rams offense to either close the game out or allow Maye a final chance at a game-winning drive.
Stafford was up to the task as he had been for most of the game, immediately finding Kupp for an 18-yard gain. The Pats would get to a 3rd-and-3 with a chance to get off the field but Stafford again found Nacua for the conversion and time continued to run out on the Patriots chances. Then, they'd get another third-down chance and this time the Pats D got the stop, giving Maye and the offense one final chance, down by six with 2:14 left.
8. Maye Gets One More Chance
Looking for a game-winning touchdown drive, the Pats offense hit a drive starter with an 18-yard completion to Kendrick Bourne that got them away from their own end zone and out to the NE 28-yard line. But that was as far as they'd get as two plays later Maye's final pass was intercepted, ending New England's comeback hopes and capping off their eighth loss of the season.
9. Patriots Are Now 3-8
The Patriots looked good out of the gate against the Rams, forcing two punts on LA's first two possessions while putting together one of their best scoring drives of the year to establish a 7-0 lead. But from there it was all Rams until late in the game, as Stafford and their offense found their stride and methodically picked the Patriots defense apart for what should've been five-straight scoring drives if not for a missed field goal just before halftime.
There were reasons to feel encouraged by Maye and the offense, they strung together a collection of sustained drives and showed a growing ability to move the ball while also repeatedly bouncing back after the defense allowed scores. While they got some timely help from some Rams penalties that extended drives, there was still plenty they did on their own to build off of.
Now 3-8, the Patriots will next travel to Miami to face the Dolphins for an important AFC East matchup. After knocking off the Rams and Raiders in back-to-back weeks, Miami is looking for their third-straight win and a chance to re-enter the playoff conversation. It will be a big challenge for New England, as well as Maye's first chance to play at one of the toughest locations in the NFL and a place where he'll need to learn how to win if he and the Patriots are to eventually challenge for the division.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
