Ups & Downs: Drake Maye made plays, but Patriots made it too easy for Rams
FOXBORO -- The New England Patriots lost another winnable game on Sunday, falling to the Los Angeles Rams, 28-22, at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots had a number of chances to win their second straight game, but bad situational football, costly penalties, and some questionable coaching decisions by Jerod Mayo doomed them against the Rams.
The loss dropped the Patriots to 3-8 on the season, and New England hasn't seen a winning streak since the 2022 season. Here are a few things that were trending "Up" for the Patriots in Sunday's loss, which were far outweighed by all the "Downs" in the defeat.
UP: Drake Maye
Even with two turnovers, the rookie quarterback had his best game as a pro on Sunday. Maye was in control for much of the afternoon and completed 30 of his 40 passes for a career-best 282 yards. He threw a pair of touchdown passes, but also had a strip-sack fumble and another late interception that sealed the game for Los Angeles.
Maye didn't have to rely on his legs as much on Sunday, though he used them to buy more time and deliver slick passes like this side-arm throw to Kayshon Boutte in the third quarter:
Maye still did do some damage with his legs too with 27 yards on three scrambles, including a 16-yard scamper after he faked out an L.A. linebacker with a fake pass.
Maye wasn't perfect, as he was strip-sacked (which wasn't completely his fault) and threw another pick to end the game. He went deep for DeMario Douglas after the two-minute warning, but the receiver never turned around for the ball (Maye's pass had a little too much on it too) and it fell into the hands of Kamren Kinchens for the game-sealing interception.
But the kid continues to grow, and continues to be the brightest spot on this Patriots team.
DOWN: Jerod Mayo didn't get aggressive
There were two chances for Mayo to get aggressive and he didn't take either of them.
The first came on New England's third possession of the game, when Mayo opted to punt from the Los Angeles 37 rather than go for a 54-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye. The kicker had struggled in pre-game warmups, but we've seen his big leg this season. The Rams went 80 yards downfield for their first touchdown drive following that punt.
Maye was spectacular on New England's first drive of the second half and had the Patriots set up at the L.A. 5-yard line, but the Patriots got just three yards on their three goal-to-go plays and faced a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. Instead of getting aggressive and letting his play-making QB try for six points, Mayo opted for a chip shot from Slye to make it a 21-13 game. It wasn't the best way for the team to end a 63-yard drive that ate over seven minutes off the clock, but that's what Mayo settled for.
Mayo said he likely would have gone for it from the 1-yard line. He said those two questionable decisions were what he felt was best for the team.
"I'm always coaching to win," said Mayo. "Not every decision I make is going to be the popular one, but that's part of the job."
DOWN: Undisciplined Patriots
Dropped passes and penalties hurt the Patriots again. Their first drive of the day was derailed by a costly drop by Boutte and an illegal chop block by Rhamondre Stevenson and Mike Onwenu, which ultimately forced a New England punt.
The Patriots scored a touchdown on their second possession, but were forced to punt away their third when a 17-yard connection between Maye and Hunter Henry on a third-and-8 was negated by an illegal formation penalty on Vederian Lowe.
"I was warned previously, I believe twice, by the official. I thought I was lining up correctly," Lowe said of the infraction. "What sucks about that call is it came on a conversion and I feel like that really killed the drive."
In the fourth quarter, with the Pats down 28-19, Mayo decided to go for it on a fourth-and-1. Maye was getting everyone set up pre-snap for what looked to be some trickeration -- potentially a direct snap to someone -- but Ja'Lynn Polk jumped early and was flagged for a false start. That forced a fourth-and-5 and the Patriots settled for another Slye field goal when what they really needed was a touchdown.
When the Patriots did get a much-needed touchdown in the fourth quarter, Slye's extra-point was blocked to keep it a two-score game instead of an eight-point game.
The New England defense was not without blame either, as the defense wasn't prepared for a Matthew Stafford QB sneak on a fourth-and-1 late in the first half. Luckily for New England it didn't hurt as the Rams missed an easy field goal before the half, but that was a microcosm of the defense's day. Most of the afternoon was too easy for Stafford, and the Rams faced just eight third downs all afternoon.
UP: A Big Man touchdown for Vederian Lowe
That blocked kick came after left tackle Vederian Lowe caught a four-yard touchdown from Maye. The big man said he had never caught a touchdown at any level of football until Sunday afternoon.
It's nice to see Alex Van Pelt call for some trickeration, because it had the Rams completely confused. Sidy Sow had been reporting as an eligible receiver at times on Sunday, and the Rams were caught off guard when Lowe was announced ahead of his touchdown.
"Been waiting my whole life to catch a touchdown so I was ready," Lowe said after the loss. "I had to shed my guy, and we were so close to the end zone it was a lot easier. I just had to catch it, and I knew I was going to do that."
DOWN: Zero protection on Fiske's strip-sack
While Maye was only sacked three times on Sunday, this strip-sack by Braden Fiske was massive. The Rams recovered at the New England 12-yard line, and scored a touchdown on the very next play to take a 14-7 lead.
DOWN: Too easy for Matthew Stafford, Rams offense
Rams head coach Sean McVay saw that Christian Gonzalez was sticking to one side of the field and not shadowing either of L.A.'s top two targets -- Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. McVay and the Rams' offense took full advantage of New England's zone defense for much of the day.
Kupp had 106 yards and two touchdowns on six receptions, while Nacua led the way with 123 yards and a score on his seven receptions. Maybe having Gonzalez follow either one would have made life a little more difficult for the Rams receivers on Sunday.
Kupp got most of his yardage on one play. On the second play of the second half, the Patriots sent the house at Stafford. But the QB still got to enjoy a clean pocket as he delivered a strike to Kupp, who easily beat Jonathan Jones for a 69-yard touchdown.
That was way too easy for the Rams. A lot of things were too easy for the Rams on Sunday.
Kupp was also wide open for a five-yard score in the second quarter when safety Dell Pettus and linebacker Sione Takitaki had a defensive miscommunication for New England.
The New Engalnd run defense also struggled Sunday, allowing the Rams to average 4.5 yards on their 24 carries for 107 yards.
UP: Christian Barmore returns
Barmore was back in a limited role on Sunday, but it's pretty incredible he played at all after he was diagnosed with blood clots in late July.
He had three tackles on the day, but just getting Barmore back is a huge boost -- mentally and physically -- for the New England defense.
