Pats can forget the playoffs
They simply just don’t measure up
Talk about putting the Patriots in their place. Bill Belichick’s team was exposed right out of the gate Thursday night by Sean McVay and the L.A. Rams, and simply couldn’t recover after a horrendous start. No surprise. Comebacks haven’t been their deal in 2020. And you can kiss the playoff comeback goodbye, too. They simply don’t belong.
The 24-3 loss to the Rams pretty much put the final nail in the Patriots’ coffin. At 6-7, they could get to 9-7 winning out, but they’d need a ton of luck to get in. Plus, it’s hard imagining them running the rest of the slate.
In the end, there’s only so much that great coaching can do, especially when the talent on the other sideline is far superior.
The Rams certainly aren’t the Chargers, who the Patriots dismantled Sunday. Far from it. They have one of the best defenses in the league, and a darn good offense.
The combination was just too much for the Patriots, who were never really in it, and didn’t belong in it.
The defense couldn’t stop the Rams’ running game, allowing a ton of big plays on the ground, while the offense was woeful as Cam Newton once again couldn’t throw the football. He made a ton of bad throws, and continued to be indecisive.
Not a recipe for success now, or in the future.
“That was some of the worst offense I’ve ever seen,” Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw said on the Fox halftime show.
Indeed, it was. But then again, it’s been pretty awful in recent games, and the Patriots kept winning despite it thanks to great play by the defense and special teams. But it’s hard to live like that, and have the offense continually being bailed out.
Look, there’s no arguing Belichick’s genius when it comes to coaching. But even Belichick had an off-night, because the team didn’t seem prepared or ready to go to start the game.
But then again, when you don’t have a viable offense, with a fully functioning quarterback, and a defense that gets blown off the ball, it’s just not going to happen.
And it didn’t happen last night against the Rams in a rematch of Super Bowl LIII.
So, the Patriots are done. Not mathematically, of course. But they’re cooked because 9-7 probably isn’t going to do it, if they win out.
But mostly, it’s hard to expect them to win out.
They cannot produce offense if the running game is stopped. The personnel, be it at quarterback — and we did see Jarrett Stidham with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter — wide receiver, or tight end, just isn’t good enough.
A great defense like the Rams (six sacks) just reinforced that. Miami also has a tough defense. The Dolphins will feast on this offense, too, in Week 15.
The defense also showed its colors, unable to stop the Rams’ running game. Using a two-tight end set most of the night, which wasn’t McVay’s primary personnel grouping in the Super Bowl, the Rams just bulldozed the Patriots to the tune of 187 yards, led by rookie Cam Akers (29 carries, 171 yards).
After the Rams jumped out to a 17-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter, a pick-six of Newton, it was over. And not just because McVay was 33-0 with a halftime lead entering the game.
While the Patriots made a nice run recently, winning four of the last five games, and two straight including Sunday’s blowout of the Chargers, this was more of a litmus test for where they stood going forward.
Forget Belichick’s record on Thursday nights, which was 10-1 going in, including nine straight on three days’ rest.
Sometimes, you just can’t overcome a talent deficit. Belichick couldn’t scheme his way out against the Rams.
Slow starts have been a problem for much of the season, and it was no different against the Rams. To this point, the Pats have been outscored 66-28 in the first quarter.
The Patriots did get in the red zone a bunch of times. Three times in the first half, once in the fourth quarter. The sum total of those visits was three points.
The Rams actually had more points, because Newton was picked off by Kenny Young. He sailed a screen pass to Damien Harris, and Young took it 80 yards to the house. That was just a devastating play.
Again, all the Patriots’ warts were on display. Poor quarterback play — and Stidham was no better than Newton. No playmakers on offense, although N’Keal Harry had a minor breakthrough. And a defense that’s ultimately been hurt by free-agent departures and opt-outs. They just couldn’t stop the run.
The Pats couldn’t contain the edges on the Rams’ outside zone scheme. But ultimately, they were beaten across the board. When Jake Bailey, the punter, is your best player, you don’t deserve to be in the playoffs.