DEFENSIVE BACK

The front seven generated plenty of pressure, but for most of the game Jared Goff simply had nothing available. The Patriots secondary smothered the Rams. Forty-five of Brandin Cooks’ 120 yards came on the final drive, which was essentially garbage time. Prior to that, Stephon Gilmore locked him up. Cooks had a chance to make the game-tying touchdown catch, but Gilmore grabbed just enough of his left arm (without drawing the attention of the officials) to prevent it from happening. Duron Harmon got over in time to lay a big hit on Cooks as well.

The play of the game was made by Jason McCourty with 3:35 remaining in the third quarter. The Patriots were in a four-deep zone coverage. The Rams sent three receivers on the play, but none ran through Jason McCourty’s territory. Both middle defenders, Devin McCourty and Jonathan Jones, committed to Robert Woods on a deep crossing route. This left Brandin Cooks unoccupied in the middle of the end zone. Goff spotted him a half-second late, and Jason McCourty improbably covered 19.5 yards in 2.4 seconds, according to the NFL’s Next Gen stats, to knock the ball away from Cooks.