Four Takeaways After Patriots Not Skilled Enough For Rams

FOXBORO, Mass. — The New England Patriots had a chance with a crunch-time drive, but ultimately failed to capitalize and suffered a 28-22 defeat to the Los Angeles Rams at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.

New England dropped to 3-8 on the season while Los Angeles improved to 5-5.

Here are four takeaways from Patriots-Rams:

Sean McVay bests DeMarcus Covington
Rams head coach Sean McVay is widely viewed as one of the league’s top offensive minds, and Patriots first-year defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington saw that firsthand. McVay’s Rams carved up the Patriots in large part because No. 1 cornerback Christian Gonzalez did not shadow LA’s top wideouts. Veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford feasted on New England’s zone defense and depth cornerback Marco Wilson allowed Nacua to catch all three balls thrown his way when in coverage. Why didn’t the Patriots have Gonzalez on Nacua? Why didn’t they have him on Kupp? Why have him on the boundary typically on Demarcus Robinson? It didn’t make any sense. Additionally, the Patriots missed multiple tackles and allowed 5.2 yards per carry. New England was credited for defensive improvement in recent weeks, but it’s clear that was a product of playing the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans.

Alex Van Pelt shows some tricks
On the other side of the ball, Patriots offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt fared much better. Not perfect, but better. The Patriots featured a heavy dose of pre-snap movement, a small but notable development, Marcus Jones saw his first offensive snaps of the season and Van Pelt dialed up a touchdown play for left tackle Vederian Lowe in the fourth quarter. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo said nobody deserves more credit for Maye’s improvement than Van Pelt does. And Maye (30-for-40, 282 yards, two touchdowns, interceptions) had a strong performance, as well.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have Nacua?
Nacua was the most electric player on the field Sunday, finishing with seven catches on nine targets for 123 yards and one diving touchdown catch. Perhaps this is a good time to remind Patriots fans the organization met with Nacua twice before the 2023 NFL Draft. New England met with the Rams wide receiver at the Senior Bowl and scouting combine, and he thought those conversations went “really good.” Nacua was drafted in the fifth round. The Patriots drafted seven players (!) before the Pro Bowler, including kicker Chad Ryland and offensive lineman Atonio Mafi — both of which are no longer in New England.

Can’t make those mistakes!
The Patriots had points taken off the board because of self-inflicted errors. Most notably was on a blocked extra point with 12:45 left in the fourth quarter. A converted extra point would’ve made it a one-possession game following a touchdown to Lowe. It was one of at least three times New England’s own miscues resulted in a lack of points. Kayshon Boutte dropped a third-down pass from Maye that would have put the Patriots in field goal range. An illegal formation penalty in the second quarter erased a first down to Hunter Henry and ultimately took the Patriots out of field goal range.