A week after blowing out the Chargers to ignite late-season playoff hopes – and following a short week of work at UCLA – the Patriots couldn’t keep the momentum rolling at SoFi Stadium Thursday night, falling in a big hole early on the way to a 24-3 loss to the Rams.
Sean McVay’s team marched down the field on its opening possession capped by a Jared Goff 1-yard touchdown. L.A.’s early lead expanded to 17-0 early in the second quarter on a pick-6 by Rams linebacker Kenny Young.
The Rams controlled the game from wire to wire for the impressive win, handing New England a loss that drops the Patriots to 6-7 on the fading 2020 season.
Before turning the page to the final road game of the year a week from Sunday in Miami, here are some of the personnel highs and lows from the deflating loss in L.A.
Thumbs up
Damien Harris – If there has been one sure-fire fact about the Patriots offense this season it’s that the second-year back Harris runs hard and finishes runs. His role may have been diminished a bit given that the Rams took a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, but Harris had nine rushes for 39 yards in the first half against one of the NFL’s best run defenses. Unfortunately for he and his team, he finished the day with just 11 carries for 50 yards (4.5 avg.) against the NFL's No. 3 rush defense.
Nick Folk/Jake Bailey – On a night when the Patriots struggled more often than not both offensively and defensively, New England’s specialists were one of the bright spots. Nick Folk continued to be money, nailing a 29-yard field goal in second quarter, his 21s straight make. Punter Jake Bailey had his usual solid, Pro Bowl-worthy day with six punts for a 51.7-yard average with four downed inside the 20. That included a career-best 71-yard punt to the Rams 6 in the fourth quarter.
N’Keal Harry – It didn’t make much of a difference, but Harry may have made a couple the best catches of his young, fledgling career. He grabbed a high pass from Newton over the middle for 13 yards and then had a nice jumping catch coming back for the ball on the sideline for a 30-yard gain on third down. In a game with little positive to write home about, Harry’s three catches on four targets for 49 yards sadly make the cut.
Thumbs down
Cam Newton – After leading a pair of three-and-outs to start the night, things got even worse on New England’s third possession when a Newton screen passes intended for Harris was intercepted and returned 79 yards for a touchdown by linebacker Kenny Young. The turnover and score came a few plays after Myles Bryant picked off Goff. Newton had his moments as both a runner and a passer, including a few completions down the field, but overall was once again incapable of leading an efficient passing attack. Newton, who was sacked four times, completed nine of 16 passes for just 119 yards with no touchdowns and the interception for the 53.9 passer rating before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham in the fourth quarter. Sure he has an abdomen injury. But Newton’s problems throwing the ball started long before he landed on the injury report and continued against L.A., his fourth game in the last five with less than 120 yards passing.
Run D – Rams rookie running back Cam Akers had 35 yards around left end on his first run of the night to jumpstart a touchdown drive and foreshadow things to come. He then had runs of 14, 9 and 6 yards to start L.A.’s second possession. Akers had 89 yards on 11 first-half runs and then his career day blew past 100 yards early in the first quarter. Akers’ 171 yards (5.9 avg.) were the most ever against New England by a rookie running back according to FOX and led a Rams impressive attack that ran the ball 36 times for 186 yards over, through and around the Patriots run defense that hadn’t been this bad in a while.
Jermaine Eluemunor – The veteran has had his ups and downs filling in for the injured Isaiah Wynn at left tackle, but it was more downs on Thursday night. Eluemunor gave up sacks to Michael Brockers and Aaron Donald within a five play span on New England’s opening drive of the fourth quarter. He wasn’t the only problem on the Patriots offensive line against a very good L.A. front that picked up six sacks, but Eluemunor was one of the most obvious. FOX’s Joe Buck said of the Patriots quarterbacks late in the game, “They don’t have a chance back there.”
