Though the New England Patriots only lost by six to the Los Angeles Rams at home on Sunday, the score doesn’t tell just how much the Rams controlled the majority of this game. Yet still, the Pats had a chance to win at the end because of some key performances from key players.
In yet another up-and-down performance from the offense, the defense went back to being underwhelming and struggled mightily against the Rams’ offense. Jerod Mayo’s unit wasn’t going up against an injury-ridden offensive line and rookie quarterback like they had last week against Chicago. As a result, the injuries and losses the Pats have suffered in defensive personnel continued to rear their ugly heads and once again got exposed.
Veteran Rams’ QB Matt Stafford did exactly what players with his experience do and took advantage of the Patriot’s woes in the secondary. Even with Drake Maye continuing to impress, the offense has proven too lackluster in talent to have the defense playing this badly. A 28-13 fourth-quarter deficit proved too much to overcome and the Patriots lost the eighth game of their 2024 campaign.
Who were the biggest winners and losers for the team?
Patriots Winners and Losers in Week 11 Loss
Winner: Kendrick Bourne, Wide Receiver
Kendrick Bourne didn’t finish with a crazy stat line, catching five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown reception on Sunday. However, this performance was highly needed for a receiver who’s been disappointing these past few seasons. Bourne led the team in receiving yards, a rare sighting since the end of the 2021 season. He had a decent performance against the Titans two weeks ago, which could suggest that Bourne and Maye are gaining some chemistry. If that is the case, the connection between those two can spark this offense. Hopefully, Alex Van-Pelt and his playcalling allow that to happen.
Winner: Hunter Henry, Tight End
Hunter Henry caught six receptions for 63 yards, averaging 10.5 yards per catch. Between Henry and Austin Hooper, the tight end duo combined for 10 catches and 98 yards. The tight ends have arguably been Maye’s most reliable weapons to rely on in the passing game since he took the starting role.
Winner: Marcus Jones, Cornerback
Marcus Jones’ nine tackles (six solo) led the defense on a day that didn’t see much dominance. Jones has played hard in both the special teams and the defensive side and deserves his flowers for his efforts.
Winner: Vederian Lowe, Offensive Tackle
Any time you see a big man touchdown occur, that alone has to put the touchdown recipient in the player’s win column for the week. Vederian Lowe’s reception put the Patriots back in the game as they were down by 15 at when it happened. Lowe successfully shed his blocker and broke free from the Ram’s defense as Maye’s play fake fooled everyone, leaving Lowe wide open for his first career touchdown reception. That has to be a good feeling for the third-year player.
Winner/Loser: Drake Maye, Quarterback
Maye’s play in totality made him both a winner and a loser on Sunday. Maye for the majority of the game was once again well poised and made plays that kept the Pats in the game once again scoring multiple touchdowns and making plays with both his arm and feet. He had a fumble in the second quarter which set up a Rams score. The blame could be put on both Maye and the offensive line for that miscue. He also threw another game-ending hero ball-type interception on first down on the Patriot’s potential game-winning drive. That’s the second game this year where such a play has occurred when throwing deep was completely unnecessary. If Maye throws that ball away or elsewhere, he may have willed the Patriots to a game-winning drive. However, he still deserves praise for being the primary reason the offense had decent spurts of production throughout the game.
Loser: Patriots Offensive Line
The usual suspects for the Patriot’s offensive ineptitude once again couldn’t hold up when they needed to. Braden Fiske of the Rams blew through the line in the second quarter, which resulted in Maye’s first turnover of the game and the Rams taking a 14-7 lead. Maye was also under heavy pressure throughout the rest of the game getting sacked three times total for 25 yards. The game-ending interception Maye threw was also rushed due to pressure breaking through the interior on first down. The Pats managed to pick up 125 rushing yards. 27 of those yards came on three Maye scrambles. If you take those away the Pats gained 98 yards on 27 carries, which means the running backs averaged 3.6 yards per carry. Those stats aren’t terrible, but also not very impressive. The lackluster rushing attack combined with constant interior pressure on the quarterback makes the offensive line a loser for this week.
Loser: Patriots Defensive Line
Long story short, New England’s defensive front was putrid on Sunday. Stafford had a clean pocket for the majority of the game and wasn’t sacked once. The lack of pressure allowed him to feel comfortable and pick apart the secondary for 295 yards passing. The rush defense also gave up 4.5 yards per carry as the Rams rushed for 107 yards on 24 carries. Stafford rushed the ball four times for zero yards meaning if you take away those numbers, the Pats gave up 5.35 yards per carry which isn’t what you want to see. The defense would like to forget their effort on Sunday, especially when it came to success in the trenches.
Loser: Jonathan Jones
Jonathan Jones took to Twitter after Sunday’s game to take responsibility for the loss. While this gesture is admirable, he blamed himself for a reason. Jones was burned multiple times by the Rams’ receiving core, giving up two touchdowns. The first was to Puka Nacua on a 12-yard out route, the second was a 69-yarder to Cooper Kupp as Jones was beaten badly over the middle and fell down after Kupp made the catch. Fans were rightfully upset after Jones’ performance, moving forward the team can’t afford him to be such a liability.
Main Image: © Eric Canha-Imagn Images
Well said! New England and it’s young-developing squad put up a valiant effort in the 4th quarter, but there was a lot of mistakes and lack of execution that proved to be the most costly. Hopefully the defense improves and prevents big plays like that Kupp touchdown from happening as often. Onto the next one.