10 quick thoughts from Patriots' disappointing loss to Rams

The Patriots’ second game in L.A. in five days certainly didn’t go as well as the first.

Aided by some New England mistakes, the Rams took it to the Patriots from the opening drive and rolled to a 24-3 win.

Following a Cam Newton pick-6 in the red zone, the Patriots trailed 17-0 in the early stages of the second quarter and they are not an offense built to come from behind so that was pretty much the end of their night.

The Rams controlled the line of scrimmage of both sides of the ball, as the Patriots just never seemed to be able to fight back and get control of the game.

Newton finished 9-for-16 passing with 119 yards and an interception, while adding 16 yards on the ground. He was replaced by Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter with 10:12 left, trailing 24-3.

Here are 10 quick thoughts on the game.

1. After a 45-0 win over the Chargers on Sunday, this was disappointing. Not only from a players perspective, but also coaching. The game plan, especially on offense, didn’t seem up to par for what is expected, and then there were several decisions/calls inside the game that were debatable as well. The Patriots were 0-for-4 in the red zone and only came away with three points.

2. Jared Goff wasn’t overly impressive and with that the Patriots had a chance to win the game, but the run defense combined with how poorly the offense played never allowed them to be in the game. Goff finished 16-for-25 with 137 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The play-calling for the Rams seemed to be protecting their QB.

3. Newton did make some good throws, but the game was indicative of what he is as a quarterback. He holds the offense and Josh McDaniels’ play-calling back in a number of areas, especially when it comes to throwing the ball. This forces the unit to be predictable and a lot easier on the defense. On some of his throws he had open receivers, he just couldn’t find them and was sacked four times (Patriots QBs were sacked six overall).

4. Myles Bryant made a great interception of Goff on a throw intended for Robert Woods on third down late in the first quarter. It appeared to be a pick-6, but he was ruled down by contact. Regardless, it was a great play by the undrafted rookie who has shown in recent weeks he’s deserving of the playing time he’s received. Also, it was the spark the Patriots needed after a poor start.

5. But, on the ensuing possession, Newton threw a brutal interception — not only with the throw, but the timing as well with the Patriots being in the red zone and coming following the interception. It was on a screen play intended for Damien Harris, but the timing was thrown off and Harris wasn’t there. It was a terrible mistake as the play was right in front of him. According to ESPN Stats & Info, it was the first pick-6 on a red-zone screen in the entire NFL since 2010.

6. The Patriots defense got off to a miserable start, especially defending the run. Running back Cam Akers had over 80 yards rushing just under six minutes into the game. Fortunately, the Patriots defense recovered quickly as the first half ended with the Rams totaling 55 yards on 15 plays (three possessions and no points). Bill Belichick had a spirited pep talk with the entire defense on the sideline in the second quarter.

7. It didn’t last, as the Rams continued to run the ball successfully in the second half. The Patriots defense not only got blown off the ball up front, but there were plenty of missed tackles and the Rams wide receivers did a great job blocking downfield. L.A. finished with 187 yards rushing in the game and Akers had a career-high 171 yards.

8. N’Keal Harry had two of the better catches of his career as a Patriot in the game, including a 30-yard contested catch on a jump ball thrown up the sideline. Those were the types of plays he made in college that made him a first-round pick. Harry finished with three catches for 49 yards.

9. Give Sean McVay credit as he wasn’t overmatched like he was in the Super Bowl matchup a few years ago. He had an interesting wrinkle offensively by going hurry-up on a lot of third down to prevent them from substituting. The Rams had some success with it early on.

10. With the loss, the Patriots are now 6-7 on the year and will need a miracle to make the playoffs. Winning out and finishing 9-7 would require them to get a ton of help from the teams above them in the standings and that just doesn’t seem feasible right mow. There likely will be a lot of Stidham talk over the next week.

This was the fourth time this season the Patriots have trailed by double digits at halftime. That is tied for their second-most instances in a season since 2000.