The New England Patriots are poised to make history Sunday afternoon in a rematch of Super Bowl XXXVI against the now Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately for the Rams, the chilly temperature did not slow down the Patriots.
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Teams like the Denver Broncos and New Your Giants have had success against Brady and the New England offense by using a strong pass rush to disrupt the timing between Brady and his receivers. The Rams chose to defer after winning the initial coin flip.
“We hit our scoring opportunities”, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said, “which is always important to take advantage of our points when we have an opportunity to score points to take advantage of those situations”. Receivers dropped pass, protection was spotty – Goff was sacked four times – and once again, the Rams’ run game was almost nonexistent. The Rams, nearly every week, have a solid first drive or two, then slowly descend into offensive mediocrity.
The Patriots didn’t need the extra yards to go up 17-0 before the end of the half. The loss of Gronkowski is impossible to replace – he had three 100-yard games and 21 catches for touchdowns in Brady’s first four games after the quarterback returned from a four-game suspension. The solid running game of the Patriots can also be attributed to the offensive line, but there is no doubt that Blount has been playing at a level much higher than he has in recent seasons.
The Steelers (7-5) won their third straight to keep pace with Baltimore atop the AFC North.
The Patriots may be without Gronk, but they are still the much better team, not to mention they are incredibly well coached.
It is also fair to access this game against LA as just another for the injury riddled Pats and a contest that will be hard for the Patriots to get overly motivated for.
Cornerback Malcolm Butler, whose interception helped Brady and the Patriots earn that fourth Super Bowl title in 2014, said Brady has set the ideal example for how to work.
The Rams only compiled 25 yards of offense in the first half. In two starts he’s thrown for just 348 yards – a mark Brady eclipsed in each of his first two starts of the season.
Goff has at least one big fan in New England: Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who this week went to nearly absurd lengths to praise the Rams (4-7) in general and Goff in specific. LeGarrette Blount got them going on the game’s first drive, turning a fourth-and-1 into a 43-yard touchdown run.
Brady completed 33 of 46 attempts for 269 yards and one touchdown and effectively spread the ball around.
The Patriots will be without the most dominant tight end in football, Rob Gronkowski, as he begins the road to recovery from a back surgery performed on Friday.
Brady faces a Rams defense that ranked among the NFL’s best for nine-plus games before melting down in the final minutes against Miami and giving up 555 yards and 49 points against the Saints. The Rams converted only one of 12 third downs.
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The defeat, the Rams’ seventh in eight games, dropped their record to 4-8.
