Initial observations from Week 11 at Gillette Stadium.
A week removed from falling to an AFC East opponent, head coach Sean McVay’s side wouldn’t do the same again.
The Los Angeles Rams outlasted the New England Patriots for a 28-22 win Sunday at Gillette Stadium, where a rookie and a veteran traded drives from start to finish.
Here’s a glance back on what went into the 1 p.m. ET kickoff.
Maye goes 30-of-40 passing as comeback bid falls short
The Los Angeles pass defense arrived in Foxborough tied for last around the NFL with 8.4 yards allowed per attempt. It would be up to a rookie quarterback to test the trend. Drake Maye completed 30-of-40 throws for 282 yards on Sunday. His start spanned two touchdowns, an interception and a lost fumble.
Breaking the huddle in “11” personnel, New England’s afternoon kicked off with three straight completions, an illegal chop block and then a drop to bring the punt team on. Next time out, however, the offense traveled 77 yards on the way to finding the end zone via wide receiver Kendrick Bourne. The century mark in passing yards had been hit by the close of the first quarter. But the second quarter brought additional drops, penalty flags and a strip-sack up the middle that defensive tackle Kobie Turner would recover. A 7-0 lead quickly became a 14-7 deficit before made and missed field goals got things to halftime.
Needing to keep pace out of the break, the No. 3 overall pick out of North Carolina went 6-of-7 passing on a drive that stalled at the goal line with a field goal. The next opportunity ended differently as eligible tight end Vederian Lowe slipped into the end zone. Maye rolled out and hit his blindside blocker to make it a 28-19 game. It’d trim to a single score after a fourth-and-1 false start by rookie wideout Ja’Lynn Polk. Yet with 1:55 to play, a third-and-13 push downfield found the hands of safety Kamren Kinchens to seal things.
Bourne and Douglas deliver for receiver room of six
Seven wide receivers resided on the depth chart for the Patriots. That changed on the eve of the matinee as Tyquan Thornton, the No. 50 overall pick from the 2022 NFL draft class, headed to waivers.
The aforementioned Bourne set the tempo from there. He went from not playing a snap last week to catching his first touchdown of the season and finishing with a team-high 70 yards on five grabs, including a back-shoulder pickup on the game’s final drive. DeMario Douglas also flashed under sunny skies. The sudden slot out of Liberty reeled in five catches for 59 yards, including a long of 28 as well as a facemask call. Starting alongside them was Kayshon Boutte, who dropped a third-and-13 ball yet later hung on through contact on a third-and-1 ball.
Veteran K.J. Osborn marked the lone healthy scratch for the wideout room during an afternoon that saw tight ends Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper combine for 98 yards.
Offensive line keeps its combination for consecutive weeks
A starting five that held together against the Chicago Bears got the chance to do so again.
It would be the touchdown-scoring Lowe at left tackle with Michael Jordan at left guard, Ben Brown at center, Mike Onwenu at right guard and Demontrey Jacobs at right tackle on Sunday. A trio of sacks followed for an offensive line that previously allowed a single coverage sack for no loss. Takedowns twice came courtesy of twisting and stripping rookie defensive tackle Braden Fiske. Linebacker Byron Young then got the last. Cover-0 heat was sent during a matchup that featured penalties for illegal formation, holding and a false start up front.
The Patriots deployed eight different combinations through nine games before going with continuity in November. Sophomore guard Sidy Sow reported as the sixth man, lining up at fullback and on the right side.
Patriots find 125 yards on the ground
While the rookie under center for the Patriots scrambled for 27 yards across three tries on Sunday, the running backs also had volume to work with.
Rhamondre Stevenson turned 20 rushes into 73 yards against Los Angeles. He gained a long of 12, yet was stopped on second-and-goal and third-and-goal handoffs. A facemask penalty was drawn along the way by the starter, who chipped in 16 yards out of the backfield and recovered his own fumble.
March signing Antonio Gibson, whose most recent outing did not include a touch until the fourth quarter, returned to handle 20 yards of offense through a handful of touches. JaMycal Hasty and cornerback Marcus Jones also saw the football on an afternoon spanning 30 carries worth 125 yards for the offense.
Nacua and Kupp eclipse 200 yards during Stafford’s four-touchdown day
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford completed 18-of-27 passes for 295 yards on Sunday. The Super Bowl LVI champion did so while finding four touchdowns and no interceptions against a defense that held its previous opponent to a field goal.
The opening two possessions ended in punts for the visitors. The next two possessions ended in scoring strikes in under two minutes. Former NFL Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp finished with six catches for 106 yards to go with a pair of touchdowns, including a 69-yard waltz out of intermission. Reigning rookie All-Pro Puka Nacua put on a clinic of his own with seven catches for 123 yards, including a play-action long of 37 through zone coverage and a diving touchdown. Tight end Colby Parkinson crossed into the end zone, too, with the 36-year-old quarterback at the helm.
After missing three consecutive games due to a foot injury, Patriots captain Kyle Dugger made his way back to a starting secondary that featured Marcus Jones and Christian Gonzalez on the boundary. And the tenured Jonathan Jones, who battled back from coverage struggles to break up a third-and-6 deep shot late in the fourth quarter, continued to split time at safety.
Barmore back in the middle, but no sacks follow for New England
After being diagnosed with blood clots at the start of training camp in July, the Patriots opened Christian Barmore’s 21-day practice window on Thursday. By Saturday, the four-year, $84 million defensive tackle had been activated from the non-football injury list. And by Sunday, he was in uniform for the first time since the 2023 finale and on a “pitch count.”
No. 90 stood on the field by the second and third snaps as well as during the two-minute rotation. He had a hand in three tackles in his return. Anfernee Jennings, Daniel Ekuale, Davon Godchaux, Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and Curtis Jacobs started in the base 3-4. And past Pro Bowler Yannick Ngakoue, who was claimed off waivers last week, made his debut off the edges by third down for a defense coming off a nine-sack performance.
But New England wound up with no sacks on Sunday. The outing went on without captain Deatrich Wise Jr., who remained sidelined throughout preparations for Los Angeles due to a foot injury. Off-the-ball linebacker Christian Elliss returned to start alongside Jahlani Tavai. Running back Kyren Williams, entering with 10 touchdowns on the campaign, finished the bout with 15 carries for 85 yards. He converted on fourth-and-1 heading into halftime and sliced through for a long of 18 heading out of it.
Slye endures blocked kick to account for 10 points
Sunday’s opening kickoff became a return of 46 yards down the right sideline for April draft choice Javon Baker. Special teams remained an eventful phase from there.
After scoring 13 points in turbulent conditions at Soldier Field, Joey Slye had pregame challenges with temperatures north of 60 degrees at Gillette Stadium. And while he saw Rams rookie specialist Joshua Karty clang a short attempt off the right upright, he also saw a blocked extra point by defensive lineman Michael Hoecht factor in to the difference.
The veteran Patriots kicker finished 3-of-3 on field goals, making good from 32 yards out in the second quarter, 25 yards out in the third quarter and 42 yards out in the fourth quarter.