By Chad Graff, Jourdan Rodrigue and Jelani Scott
The Los Angeles Rams rode an offensive explosion Sunday to narrowly edge the New England Patriots, 28-22, and continue the fight to save their season.
The back-and-forth passing affair between Matthew Stafford and Drake Maye was won by Stafford in his second trip to Gillette Stadium. Both passers produced standout efforts, but it was Stafford who finished stronger, finishing with four touchdowns and nearly 300 yards in one of his best games of the season.
Stafford’s showing was aided by star receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp, appearing in just their fourth game together this season. Nacua finished with a game-high 123 yards and a score, while Kupp hauled in six catches for 106 yards and two TDs. The duo’s 100-yard games marked just the seventh time this season a team has had two receivers top that mark.
Meanwhile, Maye, in his sixth start, turned in a career-best 282 yards with two scores but tossed the game-sealing interception on the Patriots’ last drive.
PUKA! Incredible diving TD grab
📺: #LARvsNE on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/GskV545WHF— NFL (@NFL) November 17, 2024
Rams offense shakes off sluggish start
It looked like it would go the way of all too many other Rams games so far this season: A painfully sluggish and seventh scoreless first quarter from the offense as a young and ascending defense kept the team in the mix. True enough, in the first quarter the Rams’ offense looked old and slow, and went 0-for-2 on third downs that both occurred near midfield.
But two touchdowns in the second quarter — including a 12-yard strike to receiver Nacua one play after Rams defensive tackle Braden Fiske strip-sacked Maye and teammate Kobie Turner recovered it — immediately reinvigorated a group that has struggled to capitalize on those gifts from its defense.
Outside of the first quarter the Rams’ offense was much improved in other key areas: They went 3 for 4 in the red zone (Joshua Karty missed a field goal attempt in the first half) and Stafford threw four touchdown passes and even converted a third-and-short with a sneak. They created more explosives; Kupp’s second touchdown came on the second snap of the third quarter for 69 yards. — Jourdan Rodrigue, Rams beat writer
Maye’s career day gives hope amid team struggles
Even when so little else works for the Patriots, Maye continues to show signs that they’ve hit on the most important position in a rebuild. Maye was excellent once again, easily the best player for the Patriots in another loss. He completed 30 of 40 passes for a career-high 282 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception — and that was with receivers struggling to get open and dropping a couple of passes.
He scrambled well, bought time behind a shaky offensive line, and looked especially poised when the Rams blitzed. Maye’s interception on his final pass while trying to lead a game-winning drive wasn’t great, but he was very good before that to even give the Pats a chance to win.
This could be a long final six games for the Patriots if the defense continues to play like this, but Maye is offering hope for better days ahead. — Chad Graff, Patriots beat writer
Rams still learning to finish games
A defense that has recently played beyond its age made undisciplined mistakes in the fourth quarter that kept the door open for New England. Jared Verse’s personal foul and Byron Young’s face-mask gave the Patriots 30 yards on a touchdown drive and the Rams’ offense went three-and-out immediately afterward. A team that looked, for the first time all year, like it was playing complementary football in a good way suddenly became the inverse. Case in point: While the Patriots didn’t score a touchdown off the next possession, their field goal brought them to a six-point deficit with 4:54 to play.
While this team improved in many ways, it still can’t help but let opponents hang with them for too long. The Rams had the opportunity to close the game when they got the ball back with 4:54 left, but again third down killed them. Stafford looked for Nacua on a mid-range throw down the left sideline on third-and-6 and north of the two-minute warning. The play was there, although perhaps a little risky, and defensive back Jonathan Jones disrupted it to force it incomplete. So still, the Patriots were able to hang around past the two-minute break, down just six. — Rodrigue
Improving Patriots D schooled by McVay
A young Patriots coaching staff was feeling good about their progression before Sunday’s game having watched their once-struggling defense steadily improve three straight weeks. But against the Rams, that progress was thwarted and the Pats now look like only the beneficiaries of three straight contests against bad offenses (the Jets, Titans, and Bears).
Put simply, Jerod Mayo and his staff got schooled by Sean McVay. The Rams averaged 9.6 yards the first three quarters. Little that Mayo did worked. He dialed up an all-out blitz in the second half, then watched as none of them even got close to putting pressure on Stafford, who threw it to Kupp for a 69-yard touchdown. Even when it was obvious to everyone that the Pats were going to have issues slowing down the Rams, Mayo tried to play a conservative, field position type game. He declined a 54-yard field goal in favor of a punt. And with the Patriots down 11 in the second half, he opted for a short field goal instead of going for it on fourth-and-goal from the 2. Predictably, the Rams scored on their ensuing drive. — Graff
Required reading
(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
