FOXBOROUGH – Instant Analysis from the Patriots’ 26-10 win over the Rams:
■ This one was all about the defense, which had its best day of the season, arguably even better than the 27-0 shutout against the Texans in Week 3. They held the Rams to 162 total yards and 1-for-12 on third down. The Patriots blitzed more than usual to take advantage of Jared Goff’s inexperience in the pocket, and they held him to 14-of-32 passing for 161 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
The Patriots sacked Goff three times, and forced an interception when Jabaal Sheard hit Goff’s arm as he threw. Cornerback Logan Ryan blitzed a couple of times off the edge and secured his first sack since the 2013 season.
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Of course, the Rams are pitiful on offense, but they did put up 21 points on the Saints last week, so credit the Patriots for a total washout.
■ The Rams’ offense is truly awful, and it’s no wonder Jeff Fisher waited as long as he did to play Goff, the No. 1 overall draft pick. Goff had no feel for the pass rush and stood like a statue in the pocket, needlessly taking hits and sacks. His accuracy was erratic and he fired several passes too high and off target for his receivers. And the Rams had no chance of moving the football, going 1-for-12 on third down (their first conversion came midway through the fourth quarter) and not reaching the Patriots’ side of the field until early in the third quarter.
Goff’s receivers did him no favors with dropped passes, like Lance Kendricks literally handing an interception to Malcolm Butler.
The Rams had just 96 yards of offense for the first 58 minutes of the game, until Kenny Britt faked Butler out of his shoes and beat him for a 66-yard gain down to the 1-yard line inside the 2-minute warning.This game felt like watching the varsity team play the JV team.
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■ Also have to give credit to the Rams’ defense, which gave Tom Brady and the Patriots offense fits. The Rams employ an aggressive, blitz-happy defense, and the Patriots tried to counter with screens and quick passes just to get the ball out of Brady’s hands quickly and catch the Rams in a big blitz. Brady played another efficient game, but it certainly wasn’t his best. He completed 33-of-46 passes for 269 yards for a pedestrian 5.8 yards per attempt. Most notably, they settled for field goals in the second half despite getting some great field position, and were just 4-of-16 on third downs.
■ In the first game without Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell were the only receivers to show up. Edelman had eight catches on 12 targets for 101 yards, taking several big hits and popping back up. And Mitchell continued his solid rookie season with eight catches on 10 targets for 82 yards, including several nice catches to move the chains.
But where was Martellus Bennett? He’s supposed to be the fill-in for Gronk, and Bennett’s contribution was two catches for four yards and two penalties. Chris Hogan did catch a 14-yard touchdown, but still ended the day with four catches for just 23 yards. Dion Lewis and James White combined for just 29 yards on eight catches. Danny Amendola had three catches for 30 yards before leaving with an ankle injury.
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The Rams are a tough defense, but the Patriots need other receivers to step up to avoid being predictable on offense.
■ Thought the Patriots got a little too pass-happy in the second half, especially when the running game was working so well in the first half. The Rams dictated some of it by stacking the box and daring the Patriots to pass against their blitzes. But the Patriots still should have figured out a way to run the ball on first down more and get the ball in manageable down-and-distance spots.
LeGarrette Blount looked like he missed the hole a few times, but still finished with 88 yards on 18 carries and an electric 43-yard touchdown run. Blount now has 957 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns this year and has had a great season.
Watch: Ben Volin and Jim McBride break down the Patriots’ win
Follow Ben Volin on Twitter at @BenVolin.