Patriots lose to Rams, 28-22, to fall to 3-8 on the season
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots couldn't make it back-to-back wins on Sunday, falling to the Los Angles Rams, 28-22, at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots made a nice comeback in the fourth quarter, but their bid fell short when Drake Maye was picked off by Kamren Kinchens on a downfield heave with less than two minutes left.
Maye threw for a career-high 282 yards and two touchdowns as he completed 30 of his 40 passes, but it wasn't enough to outduel Matthew Stafford and his four-touchdown on the day. The veteran QB was 14-of-27 for 295 yards for the afternoon.
The Rams only out-gained the Patriots 402-382, but did so on 22 fewer plays. New England had the ball for nearly 15 minutes more than Los Angeles, but were hit with costly penalties and surrendered big plays for much of the afternoon.
"We have to get better, absolutely," head coach Jerod Mayo said after the loss. "It starts with me and I have to get better, demand more from asst coaches and our players. We have enough talent in our locker room to be a very good football team, but we have to put it together."
After the two teams traded punts on their first possessions, the Patriots scored first. Maye completed four of his five passes for 70 yards on New England's touchdown drive, capping it off with a 10-yard strike to Kendrick Bourne in the end zone. DeMario Douglas had a pair of big catches on the drive, with a 14-yard reception to start the drive and a 28-yard catch-and-run on a third-and-7.
The Patriots got to the Los Angeles 32 on their next possession, but an Illegal Formation penalty on left tackle Vederian Lowe negated a 17-yard connection between Maye and Hunter Henry on a third-and-8 and pushed them back. The Pats ended up punting a few plays later rather than go for a 54-yard field goal try by Joey Slye (who struggled in warmups), and the game swung in Los Angeles' favor after that decision by Mayo.
Stafford completed all five of his passes on a surgical touchdown drive by Los Angeles, capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass to a wide open Cooper Kupp to make it a 7-7 game midway through the second quarter. Sione Takitaki and Dell Pettus had a miscommunication on the play, and Kupp scored easily.
Los Angeles got the ball back a few plays later when Brandon Fiske sacked Maye untouched and forced a fumble that the Rams recovered at the New England 12-yard line. On the very next play, Puka Nacua made an incredible diving grab in the end zone for a 12-yard touchdown to put the Rams on top 14-7.
The Patriots got deep into Rams territory on their final possession of the first half, but had to settle for a 32-yard field goal to make it a 14-10 game. The Rams could have tacked on three more ahead of halftime, but Joshua Karty missed a 26-yard field goal as time expired.
But the Rams added to their lead in explosive fashion to start the second half. The Patriots sent an all-out blitz at Stafford on the second play of the third quarter, but the QB quickly went to Kupp, who beat Jonathan Jones 1-on-1 and scampered 69 yards for an easy touchdown to make it a 21-10 game. That touchdown was Los Angeles' longest play of the season.
Kupp had 106 yards and two touchdowns on his six receptions, while Nacua led the way for Los Angeles with 123 yards and a touchdown on his seven receptions.
The Patriots could only answer that touchdown with three points despite marching downfield and facing a first-and-goal at the Los Angeles 6-yard line. Maye felt immediate pressure on first-and-goal and his low throw to Henry was nearly picked off. Rhamondre Stevenson picked up three yards on second-and-goal, and was then stuffed on third down. Mayo didn't go for it on fourth-and-goal, a decision that was met with boos by fans inside Gillette Stadium, and Slye kicked a 25-yard field goal to make it a 21-13 game midway through the third quarter.
The Rams were hit with no resistance their next trip out, as Stafford guided them on a 7-play, 72-yard touchdown drive. A few plays after a nice 21-yard connection with Tutu Atwell along the sideline, Stafford dropped a dime into the bucket of tight end Colby Parkinson in the corner of the end zone for a 19-yard touchdown. It was Los Angeles' fourth touchdown in five drives and Stafford's fourth TD pass of the afternoon, giving the Rams a 28-13 edge.
The Patriots got some help from a pair of Rams penalties on their next drive. An unnecessary roughness on rookie linebacker Jared Verse negated a third-and-11 stop by Los Angeles, and Byron Young nearly took Douglas' head off on a 15-yard facemask. Maye picked up 16 yards on a fist-down scramble to close out the third quarter, and a few plays later he took advantage of some confusion on the L.A. defense. Lowe was announced as an eligible receiver -- not guard Sidy Sow -- but the Rams left him open and Maye found him in the end zone from four yards out for the left tackle's first career touchdown.
That glory was short lived, as Slye's extra point was blocked and the Rams held it at a two-score game, 28-19. But the New England defense went out and forced its first three-and-out of the day, and got the ball back to Maye and the offense with 11 minutes to go.
The Patriots got deep into L.A. territory, but Stevenson was stuffed on a third-and-1 carry and Ja'Lynn Polk was called for a false start before New England could go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Rams' 19-yard line. Slye kicked a 42-yard field goal to make it a 28-22 game with 4:54 left, and it was up to the New England defense to get a stop.
Stafford hit Kupp for 18 yards on first down to get the Rams to midfield, and then hit Nacua for six yards on a key third-and-3, forcing the Patriots to burn their first timeout with 2:37 left. But the Patriots' defense made a stand from there on out, as Jonathan Jones knocked a deep pass away from Nacua down the sideline on a third-and-6.
With some windy conditions in Foxboro, the Rams elected to punt from the New England 35. An illegal formation on Los Angeles gave New England an extra five yards, and Maye took over at the New England 10. But Maye went deep on a third-and-13 and Douglas never turned around to see the ball, and Kinchens came down with the game-sealing interceptions for Los Angeles.
The Patriots' offense had some very good moments on Sunday. But dropped passes and penalties (the Pats were flagged seven times for 45 yards) hurt that unit, and the New England defense couldn't stop the run in the second half.
No back-to-back wins by Patriots
The Patriots haven't won back-to-back games since Weeks 8 and 9 of the 2022 season.
Christian Barmore returns for Patriots
Defensive tackle Christian Barmore missed the first 10 weeks of the season after being diagnosed with blood clots over the summer. But he was back in a limited role on Sunday, and finished with three solo tackles for New England.
Barmore made a big stop on running back Kyren Williams, keeping him from getting a first down on a second-and-5 carry late in the fourth quarter. The Rams converted on the next play, but were forced to punt a few plays later.
What's next for Patriots?
New England will hit the road again in Week 12 and pay a visit to the Miami Dolphins. Miami improved to 4-6 on Sunday with a 34-19 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Dolphins are 2-3 at home this season, while the Patriots are 2-4 on the road.
