Pats Pulpit
Here is who caught our eye, for better or worse, in the Patriots’ loss on Sunday.
The New England Patriots dropped their Week 11 contest 28-22 to the Los Angeles Rams to fall to 3-8 on the year.
Here is who caught our eye for better or worse upon live viewing.
QB Drake Maye: Sunday was Maye’s best statical game under center, as he set a career-high with 282 passing yards and +0.27 EPA per play. Facing a near 50 percent pressure rate, Maye’s decision-making shined as he carved up the underneath area of the field (27-of-33, 240 yards, 1 TD). Maye only scrambled three times for 27 yards, but worked the pocket well to find several completions — including drifting to his right to avoid pressure and find Pop Douglas for an early 28-yard gain.
The only negative, again, was the turnovers. The early strip sack came in just 2.32 seconds (fastest sack this NFL season) as Braden Fiske and Kobie Turner ran an interior stunt — something that's plagued the line all season. Then came the game-ending interception, where Maye took most of the blame for the miscommunication between him and Douglas.
WR Kendrick Bourne: After being benched last week, Bourne bounced back in a big way on Sunday. The veteran wideout caught all five of his targets for a team-high 70 yards and the first touchdown of the game. Bourne is back in the rotation at receiver and the Patriots will need more of those performances moving forward.
DL Christian Barmore: In his return from blood clots, Barmore gets in the winner column for just making it back to the football field. The awesome story included Barmore playing 21 snaps in his season debut, where he finished with three tackles and a QB pressure. His biggest impact was drawing double-teams as a pass rusher, something that should only help New England’s other rushers moving forward while Barmore himself settles in.
Coaching staff: After a positive week for the coaching staff in Chicago, it felt like a step backwards for Jerod Mayo and his staff against the Rams.
Starting with Mayo himself, there were plenty of questionable in-game decisions. Mayo opted for a field goal on 4th-and-goal from the 2-yard line and kicked an extra point down nine in the fourth quarter (the opposite of what he did against Jacksonville). Mayo has been one of the more conservative coaches in football, an interesting choice for a team that needs all the help they can get.
As for his coordinators, the plan to leave Christian Gonzalez along the boundary will be the popular second guess as Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp ran wild elsewhere. From this point of view, blitzing Matthew Stafford on over 60 percent of his drop backs were the head scratcher. The veteran carved up New England’s blitzes going 12-for-17 with 217 yards and three TDs — including the 69-yarder to Kupp off an aggressive Cover-0 call.
On offense, Alex Van Pelt...
