The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 26-10 to get back to their winning ways on their home field. The Patriots were expected to win big over the 4-8 Rams but this was a historic victory none the less. Sunday the Patriots also celebrated the 15th anniversary of their first Super Bowl victory over the Rams (2001). Also, as the game drew to a close, with Tom Brady taking a knee, the Gillette Stadium announcer came on the PA system that Brady had just achieved his 201st career victory, the most in NFL history for a starting quarterback.
New England Patriots Week 13 Takeaways
Belichick Wins the Chess Match
The level of detail that goes into game planning at the NFL level today makes every game akin to a chess match. When it comes to Bill Belichick versus Jeff Fisher the chess match has been very one-sided. Belichick’s last two meetings versus Fisher resulted in a 59-0 beat down over the Tennessee Titans back in 2009 and a 45-7 trouncing against the Rams (then in St. Louis) in 2012. The final score Sunday’s contest of 26-10 was not quite as one-sided, but the score itself also doesn’t tell the whole story.
The Rams were only able to pick up seven first downs on the day, and before their last drive of the game they had only 90 total offensive yards. Los Angeles was at a disadvantage with rookie quarterback Jared Goff making only his third start, and Belichick knew how to exploit that. The Patriots mixed up their pressures all day, early on by sending five defenders often, but also mixing it up with three man rushes on long yardage downs. The tactic worked, Goff never looked comfortable all day and was sacked four times.
The Patriots focused on coverage over the middle of the field also, allowing the Rams to try to execute one-on-one match ups out wide. Goff completed only 7/14 targets to his top two receivers in the game, due to inaccuracy and because of untimely drops. It was a solid performance from the Patriots defense who laid a number of big hits, but ultimately fans shouldn’t get too hyped up over shutting down the Rams.
The New Patriots Offense
The game plan on the offensive side was of the ball was to play it safe. The Patriots ran the ball on nine of their first 17 plays, including a monster 43-yard run by LeGarrette Blount on fourth-and-one on the Patriots first drive. Outside of that big play the Rams contained the run well, allowing only 45 yards on Blount’s 17 other carries. The Rams rush defense forced the Patriots to get away from the run more than they wanted to, with Brady throwing 46 passes on the day versus just 29 rushes for the team. Brady completed 33 of those passes but they gained only 269 yards. The former Michigan quarterback’s 5.8 yard average does a good job of showing just how conservative the overall strategy was. There were plenty of quick screens and sideways throws. When those types of plays weren’t used Brady usually went after a one-on-one match-up on the outside, often to Malcolm Mitchell.
Patriots fans will recognize this strategy from last week’s game against the New York Jets game, and this is probably the new reality for the Patriots with Rob Gronkowski out. Without Gronkowski being the focal point of defenses, and often drawing double coverage, it is much harder for the Patriots to scheme their receivers open down the field. Gronk’s absence also frees the defense up to send more pressure at Brady. The Patriots recognize this and to protect their quarterback and offensive line the team has moved to a quicker passing game. They will also rely on the run a lot more down the stretch. Don’t expect the Patriots to be rolling the scoreboard over 40 like they have in December in years past.
Malcolm Mitchell Continues to Emerge
Malcolm Mitchell was once again a big factor in the Patriots game plan. Mitchell hauled in eight of the 10 passes thrown his way for 82 yards. With Gronkowski out the Patriots will be more of an ’11’ team, one back, one tight end, and three receivers, than they have been in the past. That means it is on Mitchell to step up and be that third receiver. So far he has shown he can handle that role, displaying solid hands and quickness with the ball.
This was a solid victory for the Patriots. They took care of business on their home field, which was necessary given that they already have an unusual two home losses this season. They now improve to 4-2 at Gillette Stadium and will now get ready to defend home turf again next Monday night against the conference rival Baltimore Ravens.
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