FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots still haven’t won back-to-back games since midway through the 2022 season.
The Patriots lost another winnable game Sunday when they suffered a 28-22 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. New England had plenty of opportunities to play the game on its terms, but poor coaching, key mistakes, and bad situational football left the Patriots playing catch-up for much of the afternoon.
Rams Hand Patriots Disappointing Week 11 Loss.
The Patriots got out to an early 7-0 lead but allowed the Rams to score 14 unanswered points in the second quarter. New England entered halftime trailing by just four points but Cooper Kupp broke the game open with a 69-yard touchdown in the opening moments of the third quarter.
Drake Maye completed 30 of 40 passes for 280 yards and two scores while throwing one interception and losing a fumble. Maye had a chance to author a game-winning drive late in the fourth, but he took a sack and threw an interception on consecutive plays to seal the defeat.
Kam Kinchens secures the Rams win in New England!#LARvsNE pic.twitter.com/xIWhzNaVuT
— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Kendrick Bourne led the Patriots with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown, while DeMario Douglas and Hunter Henry added 59 yards and 63 yards, respectively. Rhamondre Stevenson posted 73 yards on 20 carries.
On the other side, Matthew Stafford completed 18 of 27 passes for 294 yards and four touchdown passes. Puka Nacua finished with seven catches for 123 yards and a TD, while Kupp added six receptions for 106 yards and two scores. Kyren Williams led all running backs with 15 carries for 86 yards.
Overall, the Rams racked up 402 net yards compared to 382 for the Patriots. New England generated more first downs (26 to 19), was better on third downs, and committed fewer penalties.
The Patriots dropped to 3-8 with the loss, while the Rams improved to 5-5 with the win. New England will visit the Miami Dolphins next Sunday.
Let’s look at three studs and three duds from Sunday’s game at Gillette Stadium.
Best Players for the Patriots in Loss to Rams
QB Drake Maye
You could argue this was Maye’s best game of the season, regardless of the two turnovers.
It wasn’t perfect, and he was fortunate not to throw an end-zone interception midway through the third quarter. Maye also threw a few passes that put his receivers in harm’s way.
But the rookie quarterback otherwise was extremely impressive, especially during the first quarter.
From @ESPNStatsInfo: Drake Maye is the 1st Patriots QB with 100 passing yards a passing TD in an opening quarter since Tom Brady on Oct. 21, 2019 at the Jets.
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) November 17, 2024
Notably, Maye made big plays despite being limited to three rushes for 27 yards. The Rams succeeded in preventing Maye from scrambling for big gains, but Maye accepted the challenge and put on the best pocket-passing performance of his career.
When forced to leave the pocket, Maye did a great job of keeping his eyes downfield and either finding receivers at the last minute or throwing the ball away.
We’ll see what the film and advanced metrics say. But at first blush, this was Maye’s best all-around performance.
WR DeMario Douglas
Douglas is back on track after a stretch of relatively quiet games.
The second-year slot was the Patriots’ most dangerous pass catcher, making multiple highlight-reel plays in the open field. His slick juke move on a 14-yard gain in the first quarter was especially impressive.
Whooop make 'em miss @popshotta3
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/uO8x53jtUY
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 17, 2024
The Patriots are still searching for ways to get Douglas more involved. His snap counts remain low due to his struggles in run blocking; when he’s on the field, it’s a dead giveaway New England will pass.
Regardless, Douglas is a dynamic talent and should see an even larger target share.
RB Rhamondre Stevenson
Stevenson didn’t post eye-popping numbers but ran hard and picked up tough yards against a stout defensive front. The fourth-year pro also contributed in the passing game, finishing with four catches for 16 yards.
Stevenson could be having a huge season if not for New England’s subpar run blocking.
Honorable mentions: Hunter Henry, Keion White, Christian Barmore
Who Struggled for the Patriots in Loss to Rams?
CB Jonathan Jones
This was a rough game for Jonathan Jones, who allowed Kupp to rip off a 69-yard touchdown on the second play of the third quarter. Jones sold out on the play despite not having any safety help and could only watch as Kupp ran untouched to the end zone.
a nice way to start the second half
📺: @NFLonFOX | #RamsHouse pic.twitter.com/syIB0F7CT9
— Los Angeles Rams (@RamsNFL) November 17, 2024
Overall, Jones has been one of New England’s best defensive players all season. And he made a great play to force a Rams punt late in the fourth quarter. However, Sunday’s game was a low point for the typically rock-solid corner.
OT Vederian Lowe
Vederian Lowe’s played well this season, but he had a tough time on Sunday against one of the NFL’s best front sevens. The veteran committed two penalties (one of which put the Patriots in third-and-long) and gave up three QB pressures, according to PFF’s in-game tracking.
Lowe wasn’t a complete disaster, and he nearly redeemed himself with his big-man touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. He needs to be better, though.
Everyone loves a big man TD 👏@DrakeMaye2 | @VederianLowe
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/GLaXtilRfQ
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) November 17, 2024
P Bryce Baringer
Another bad game for Bryce Baringer, whose two punts went for 32 yards and 42 yards.
Early in the second quarter, the Patriots intentionally took a delay-of-game penalty to give Baringer more room, and he still sailed a 42-yard punt in the end zone. He’s been wildly overrated since entering the NFL last season; every booming 50-plus-yarder there are multiple shanks and/or touchbacks.
Baringer’s talent is obvious, but if he doesn’t find consistency in the second half of the campaign, the Patriots could look for a replacement during the offseason.
Bonus: Defensive Coordinator DeMarcus Covington
I usually don’t include coaches in these lists, but Covington’s ineffective game plan needed mentioning.
Specifically, Covington had Christian Gonzalez spend most of the game on the boundary covering Demarcus Robinson… not Nakua or Kupp. Even as both star receivers continued to light up New England’s secondary, Gonzalez stayed on Robinson. It didn’t make any sense.
There were other problems with the Patriots’ defensive game plan, but the usage of Gonzalez was particularly baffling.
Honorable mentions: Marco Wilson, Kyle Dugger, Daniel Ekuale, Marcus Jones