FOXBORO, Mass. — The Patriots by no means adjusted to the changes.
Rams head coach Sean McVay coached circles round Patriots defensive-minded head coach Jerod Mayo and first-year defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington and helped Los Angeles declare a 28-22 victory at Gillette Stadium on Sunday.
New England’s defensive workers arguably was the most important purpose the Patriots suffered the Week 11 loss, as mentioned throughout the newest episode of NESN’s “Foxboro Rush” podcast.
The Patriots entered with the plan to maintain prime cornerback Christian Gonzalez on the brief facet of the sector fairly than shadow considered one of LA’s prime wideouts. They hoped zone coverages and blitzes would pressure veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford to make the identical rookie errors Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams did one week prior.
That plan stunk, positive, nevertheless it wasn’t even the most important problem.
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The larger downside was the actual fact Mayo, Covington and the Patriots by no means adjusted when it clearly was not working. All McVay did was maintain Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, two of the most effective pass-catchers within the league, away from Gonzalez on the boundary. All Stafford needed to do was diagnose the identical zone seems he’s seen for greater than a decade with out the specter of New England stress (4 hurries).
“You probably have the chance to have the ability to keep away sure issues, then you definitely need to have the ability to do this,” McVay stated. “All issues being equal, when you had your selection, you’d say let’s steer clear of him (Gonzalez).”
The Rams scored touchdowns on two of their last three first-half possessions and opened the second half with two consecutive scores — 28 factors in lower than 12 minutes of recreation motion. A missed chip-shot discipline objective prevented LA from scoring on 5 consecutive drives.
“I felt like we had been going to be OK,” Mayo stated. “I believed we may outlast them.”
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Stafford and Kupp rapidly identified New England’s Cowl 0 blitz, which left Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones defending Kupp with no security assist excessive. It went for a 69-yard, game-changing rating on route down the seam.
Stafford admitted he hasn’t had many alternatives to run such a play in opposition to Cowl 0, however New England’s slow-developing stress made it seem like a simple pitch and catch.
One other solution to put it? New England’s defensive play-call and execution was a primary for the 16-year professional.
Gonzalez was focused 4 occasions and allowed two catches for 9 yards to Kupp.
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Kupp as a substitute did his work in opposition to Jonathan Jones (two catches, 74 yards, TD) whereas Nacua feasted on the identical veteran (two catches, 49 yards, TD) and Wilson (three catches, 58 yards). Marcus Jones allowed three receptions (six targets) for 37 yards.
No less than the Patriots weren’t beat by the depth receiver who confronted Gonzalez on the boundary, although.
