What we learned in Pats-Rams: Maye’s poise, Mayo’s decision-making in focus

What we learned in Pats-Rams: Maye’s poise, Mayo’s decision-making in focus originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

FOXBORO — Jerod Mayo’s first comments about Sunday’s loss to the Rams might’ve been a source of confusion for those watching from home.

“I never really felt like they had control of the game,” Mayo explained following his team’s 28-22 defeat. “I felt like we had control of the game.”

Yes, the Patriots had just two drives of fewer than seven plays — they put together four series that lasted 10 plays or more — and they out-possessed Los Angeles by almost 15 minutes. Additionally, they held the Rams to just 2-for-8 on third down.

But there was a section in the middle of the matchup where Mayo’s defense faltered time and again, the game became unwieldy, and the Rams won because of it.

“Just frustrating,” safety Kyle Dugger said. “Third down was something we knew, if we got them there, we’d have a good chance to get them off the field. It’s just frustrating. Feeling like we have control of the game in a lot of aspects and just not doing enough of the little things to get a win and knowing how to win. So, yeah. Pretty frustrating.”

That’s where we’ll start for our weekly What We Learned…

Eleven minutes from hell does in Patriots’ D

Eleven minutes. Or 11:23, to be exact. That’s all it took for Rams coach Sean McVay and his offense to rack up 28 points and build a lead that proved insurmountable for a Patriots offense still trying to get its details in order.

Matthew Stafford was on point. Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua were problems. The Rams running game — the second-worst in football on a per-play basis this season — couldn’t be stopped.

The Patriots were decidedly not in control. In fact, it was as though they had no answers. For five consecutive drives.

The Rams got into the end zone on four of those five series, which featured 30 total snaps. They averaged 9.9 yards per play during that stretch and compiled a success rate — meaning they accumulated 40…


Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/learned-pats-rams-mayes-poise-161441169.html

Author : NBC Sports Boston

Publish date : 2024-11-18 16:14:41

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