The Patriots’ defensive plan against Matthew Stafford worked out well — for the Rams
New England used a blitz-happy, zone-heavy game plan more suitable for facing off against a rookie QB.
Welcome to the Unconventional Review, an instant reaction to standouts, stats, and story lines from the Patriots’ most recent game . . .
All right, I’ve watched and listened to all of the postgame chatter. I’ve heard all the quotes from the podium and locker room, and read all the relevant transcripts.
And I am yet to hear anything approaching a plausible explanation why coach Jerod Mayo and defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington decided that the best course of action against 16-year-veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford was to throw a game plan at him more suitable for facing a Kid QB with the experience level of Caleb Williams, or their own Drake Maye.
That’s kind of a shot at Williams, who was sacked by the Patriots nine times last week while the Bears offense was held to 142 yards in one of the more hapless and hopeless offensive performances you will see.
It’s no knock whatsoever on Maye, whose youth occasionally belies him — Sunday was the second time in three weeks that he threw, for all intents and purposes, a game-ending interception — but who otherwise looks like the realist of Real Deals.
Maye was 30 of 40 for 282 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception, and his command and poise were more impressive than his stats. Oh, and a prominent football podcaster mentioned him in the same breath, specific to his skill set, as John Elway this past week. Go ahead, get giddy, if you’re not already there.
Returning to the actual point, I cannot comprehend why the Patriots coaches thought it was a good idea to put together a blitz-happy, zone-heavy game plan — with lockdown corner Christian Gonzalez stuck defending a boundary rather than the Rams’ pick-your-poison receiver duo of Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp — against a quarterback of Stafford’s savvy and experience.
The blitz-’em-into-submission approach might work against an inexperienced QB. It did just last week. But against Stafford — who entered the league in 2009, when Maye was 6 years old — the Patriots were asking to be torched.
He happily fulfilled the request, completing 18 of 27 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns. In the second and third quarters alone, Stafford was 13 of 17 for 226 yards, and all four touchdowns. Overall, the Rams racked up 402 yards of offense.
Turns out a go-get-him game plan similar to the one used to frustrate Williams isn’t so effective against a quarterback with a Super Bowl ring, two superb receivers, and 224 NFL games worth of experience. Go figure.
Some further thoughts, upon immediate review . . .
Three players who were worth watching
Players suggested in the Unconventional Preview: Jared Verse, Rhamondre Stevenson, Jeremiah Pharms.
Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp: Fine, we’re cheating here by going with a duo. But both of these guys deserve a salute for tormenting the non-Gonzalez portion of the Patriots’ defensive backfield while leaving New England fans daydreaming of the day when Maye has a receiver as good as either of these guys.
Nakua did the early damage, catching six passes for 117 yards and the Rams’ first touchdown in the first half. He had one catch for 6 yards in the second, but that was in part because it was Kupp’s turn to torch the Patriots after halftime …. immediately after halftime, actually.
On the second play of the third quarter, he beat Jonathan Jones on an in-cut against the Patriots’ cover-zero defense and coasted 69 yards untouched. That was his second touchdown — he got warmed up with a 5-yard TD catch in the second quarter. He finished with six catches for 106 yards and the pair of scores.
Kendrick Bourne: A week after the eight-year veteran was a healthy scratch against the Bears, Bourne bounced back with five receptions for a team-best 70 yards, including a 9-yard TD reception for the game’s first points. Bourne’s Mayo-mandated hiatus was justified — he’d been rusty since returning from the knee injury that ended his 2023 season, and his attention to detail had been lacking. Against the Rams, he looked like the version of Bourne — all positive energy and chain-moving catches — that had been missing the past few weeks. What we saw Sunday was a great example for the Patriots’ young receivers on how a true professional goes about putting frustration behind him.
Kamren Kinchens: The Rams rookie safety, taken in the third round of April’s draft — 31 picks after the Patriots took Caedan Wallace, for whatever that’s worth — was all over the place on Sunday. Kinchens made eight tackles, including one for a loss, broke up a pass, forced a Stevenson fumble, and picked off Maye on the Patriots’ final last gasp of a possession. It might not have been his best game as a pro — in Week 9 against the Seahawks, he intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown — but it is in the conversation.
Grievance of the game
Welp, we’ve got plenty of options. There was a blocked extra point, multiple instances of good field position wasted, Ja’Lynn Polk’s weekly inexplicable penalty, a strange passiveness on offense in fourth-down situations … and yet the answer here is pretty easy.
The Patriots were marching down field on their third possession of the game, leading, 7-0, and threatening to add to their advantage. Facing third and 8 at the Rams’ 32, Maye found Hunter Henry for a 17-yard gain … that is, until the play was negated because of an illegal formation penalty against left tackle Vederian Lowe.
It was a terrible call, the kind of thing that could be called on every single pass play in every single game, every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday. The decision to call it there was as arbitrary as it gets, and it changed the entire tenor of the game for the Patriots, who chose to punt rather than have Joey Slye attempt a 55-yard field goal.
Three notes scribbled in the margins
Predicted final score: Rams 23, Patriots 20
Final score: Rams 28, Patriots 22
Marcus Jones got his first touch on offense since Week 15 of the 2022 season when he ran around left end for a 5-yard gain on a Patriots scoring drive midway through the third quarter. The possession concluded with a 25-yard Slye field goal, cutting the Rams’ lead to 21-13. Count me as someone who likes the idea of Jones being involved with the offense, albeit on a limited basis given his value to the defense and the return game. He’s a more dangerous offensive player than Tyquan Thornton ever was … Left tackle Lowe, who capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive in the fourth quarter with a 4-yard touchdown reception, apparently has better hands than a few receivers the Patriots have drafted in recent years. Though Maye could not have thrown him a more delicate pass if he’d stuffed the football with feathers and called it a pillow … The stat sheet shows that Christian Barmore had three solo tackles in his first action of the season. What the stat sheet cannot tell us is how reassured and triumphant Barmore must have felt, returning to the field for the first time since being diagnosed with blood clots during training camp. It was wonderful to see him out there, for reasons that have little to do with football.
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