Rams beat Patriots on ‘a weird day’ ahead of a challenging stretch of games
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — A short week of preparation, a long cross-country flight and an early kickoff for West Coast body clocks presented the Rams with a challenge Sunday.
And coach Sean McVay’s team looked drowsy in the early stages against the New England Patriots.
But the Rams woke up in time to put away the Patriots, riding Matthew Stafford’s four touchdown passes, 100-yard receiving efforts from Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and stout when-it-needed-to-be defense to a 28-22 victory in front of 64,628 at Gillette Stadium.
Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua are hands on in a very different way during Rams’ win
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
Those are the hands the Rams need.
The tandem accounted for three touchdowns in Sunday’s 28-22 victory at New England, reliably reeling in the pinpoint passes of Matthew Stafford.
Rams defeat Patriots on Kamren Kinchens’ interception
🏈 Rams 28, Patriots 22 — FINAL
Rams safety Kamren Kinchens picked off Patriots quarterback Drake Maye on third down late in the fourth quarter to secure the Rams’ fifth win of the season.
Rams linebacker Byron Young sacked Maye on the first play after the two-minute warning to force New England to use its final timeout. Maye then threw a pass right to Kinchens on the next play, ending the game.
Matthew Stafford completed 18 of 27 passes for 295 yards and four touchdown passes to spearhead the Rams’ offense. The Patriots failed to sack him.
Rams wide receivers Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp each had more than 100 yards receiving. Nacua finished with seven catches for 123 yards and a touchdown, and Kupp made six catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns.
Kyren Williams had 86 yards in 15 carries but didn’t find the end zone.
Maye completed 30 of 40 passes for 282 yards, with two touchdowns. He was sacked three times. Rhamondre Stevenson had 73 yards in 20 carries.
The Rams (5-5) will next take on the Philadelphia Eagles at SoFi Stadium on Nov. 24. The Patriots (3-8) face the Miami Dolphins next.
Check out the game summary from the Rams’ win Sunday.
Patriots cut into Rams’ lead on fourth-quarter field goal
🏈 Rams 28, Patriots 22 — 4:54 left in the fourth quarter
Joey Slye kicked a 42-yard field goal to cut into the Rams’ lead, but the drive ended in frustrating fashion for New England.
On fourth and one from the Rams’ 19, a false-start penalty on wide receiver Ja’Lynn Polk pushed the Patriots back and convinced them to go for a field-goal attempt to make it a one-score game. The penalty halted a 13-play, 66-yard drive that took more than six minutes off the clock.
The Rams went three and out on their previous possession.
Patriots left tackle Vederian Lowe scores on four-yard TD catch
🏈 Rams 28, Patriots 19 — 12:45 left in the fourth quarter
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye found Vederian Lowe — yes, 315-pound left tackle Vederian Lowe — wide open on a four-yard touchdown pass to cap an impressive 10-play, 70-yard drive early in the fourth quarter.
Rams linebacker Michael Hoecht blocked the extra-point attempt to keep it a two-score game.
On first and goal, Maye scrambled for five yards to set up the touchdown. Maye also picked up 16 yards on a scramble earlier in the drive. A 15-yard face mask penalty on Rams linebacker Byron Young aided the Patriots’ march.
Colby Parkinson touchdown catch gives Rams a 28-13 lead
🏈 Rams 28, Patriots 13 — 3:30 left in the third quarter
Tight end Colby Parkinson caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford as the Rams established some breathing room.
Parkinson’s catch in the back corner of the end zone capped a seven-play, 72-yard drive.
Stafford has tossed two touchdown passes to Cooper Kupp and one to Nacua and Parkinson.
Stafford has completed 14 of 20 passes for 262 yards.
Rams limit Patriots to a field goal in the third quarter
🏈 Rams 21, Patriots 13 — 7:02 left in the third quarter
Joey Slye kicked a 25-yard field goal to trim the Rams’ lead to eight points.
Drake Maye led a 13-play drive that consumed more than seven minutes.
The Patriots had a first and goal at the five-yard line, but Maye’s pass fell incomplete and the Rams stopped Rhamondre Stevenson twice to force the field goal.
Matthew Stafford connects with Cooper Kupp on 69-yard TD
🏈 Rams 21, Patriots 10 — 14:10 left in the third quarter
The Rams got a break.
Matthew Stafford connected with Cooper Kupp on a mid-range pass down the middle, and Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones dived attempting to break it up. That allowed Kupp to cruise to a 69-yard touchdown.
Kupp has three catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
Stafford has completed 12 of 17 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns.
Joshua Karty misses field-goal attempt at end of first half
🏈 Rams 14, Patriots 10 — HALFTIME
Joshua Karty’s 26-yard field-goal attempt bounced off the right upright as time expired as the Rams lost an opportunity to extend their lead.
Matthew Stafford has connected with Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp for touchdowns, but the Rams offense has not looked great.
Stafford has completed 11 of 16 passes for 153 yards.
Nacua has six receptions for 117 yards. The second-year pro was assisted off the field after his 12-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. He remained in the game and had receptions of 10 and 17 yards during the Rams’ final possession before Karty missed his kick.
Patriots cut into Rams’ lead late in second quarter
🏈 Rams 14, Patriots 10 — 1:52 left in the second quarter
Joey Slye kicked a 32-yard field goal to cut the Rams’ lead to four points.
The Patriots drove 57 yards in nine plays.
Several penalties against the Rams contributed to the drive.
Drake Maye has completed 14 of 21 passes for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Puka Nacua makes spectacular TD catch to give Rams lead
🏈 Rams 14, Patriots 7 — 5:45 left in second quarter
Matthew Stafford connected with Puka Nacua for a 12-yard touchdown — but Nacua was subsequently attended to by trainers and accompanied to the sideline medical tent. He later left the tent and played on the Rams’ next possession.
The Rams defense set up the touchdown.
Rookie defensive lineman Braden Fiske sacked Drake May and forced a fumble that was recovered by lineman Kobie Turner.
Nacua then made a diving catch in the end zone.
Stafford has completed seven of nine passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
Nacua has four catches for 86 yards.
Matthew Stafford connects with Cooper Kupp for Rams’ first TD
🏈 Rams 7, Patriots 7 — 7:18 left in the second quarter
Matthew Stafford connected with Cooper Kupp for a five-yard touchdown.
It was Stafford’s 367th career touchdown pass, putting him in sole possession of 10th place on the NFL’s career list.
Rookie running back Blake Corum helped set up the touchdown by catching a seven-yard pass and rushing for 21 yards in four carries.
Puka Nacua’s 25-yard reception started the nine-play, 80-yard drive.
Stafford has completed six of eight passes for 96 yards.
Patriots take lead on Kendrick Bourne touchdown catch
🏈 Patriots 7, Rams 0 — 5:05 left in the first quarter
Drake Maye tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to receiver Kendrick Bourne to give the Patriots the lead.
Maye, the No. 3 pick in the NFL draft, connected with receiver DeMario Douglas on passes of 14 and 28 yards to set up the touchdown.
The Patriots drove 77 yards in seven plays for the touchdown.
The Rams stopped the Patriots on the game’s first possession.
Puka Nacua’s 38-yard gain on the second play of the Rams’ first possession moved the ball to near midfield but the Rams were forced to punt.
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The Rams’ offensive line shuffle will continue on Sunday against the New England Patriots.
With right tackle Rob Havenstein out for a second consecutive game because of an ankle injury and Joe Noteboom doubtful because of an ankle injury, second-year pro Warren McClendon Jr. appears on track to start at right tackle.
Rams have an appreciation for Jimmy Garoppolo, but will Patriots fans return favor?
Rams quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo has played once against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, the place where his NFL career began. Yet, Sunday’s game against the Patriots will mark the 11th-year pro’s true homecoming — even if it will be as a backup.
In 2020, Garoppolo led the San Francisco 49ers to victory over the Patriots. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, however, the stadium was empty.
Another Rams run to playoffs starts with Kyren Williams running on Patriots
First came self-reflection, followed quickly by self-correction.
After he rushed for eight touchdowns in six games, last Monday’s defeat by the Miami Dolphins marked the third consecutive game Rams running back Kyren Williams did not run for a touchdown.
Inactives for Rams vs. Patriots on Sunday
Here are the players who will not be suiting up for the Rams against the Patriots on Sunday:
QB Stetson Bennett, CB Charles Woods, RB Cody Schrader, OL Dylan McMahon, OL Joe Noteboom, OL Rob Havenstein, DL Neville Gallimore.
And here are the Patriots’ inactives:
Matthew Stafford and Sean McVay know pain in New England. Are Rams in line for more?
Matthew Stafford has played in 215 regular-season games and eight playoff games during his 15-plus NFL seasons. But the Rams quarterback has played only once against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
It did not go well.
In 2014, while playing for the Detroit Lions, Stafford completed 19 of 46 passes for 264 yards, with an interception, in a 34-9 defeat. His 39.1 completion percentage remains the lowest in his career.
All his players say it: ‘John Robinson was hands down my all-time favorite head coach’
The high school star from San Diego will never forget the night John Robinson rolled up to recruit him to USC.
A power outage had knocked out all the lights in the neighborhood.
No worries. Robinson provided all the energy anyone would need.
Rams offense needs more from Kyren Williams
The Miami Dolphins defeated the Rams 23-15 on Monday night at SoFi Stadium.
Here is what we learned from a loss that dropped the Rams’ record to 4-5:
The offense could not reach the end zone
The Rams failed to score a touchdown for the first time since last season, when they lost 20-3 at Green Bay.
But that happened with former backup Brett Rypien playing in place of injured Matthew Stafford.
Joshua Karty pleased Rams have confidence in his a kicking
Kicker Joshua Karty is looking forward to Sunday’s game against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, though the Rams aim to lighten his workload.
Last Monday night, in an embarrassing 23-15 defeat by the Miami Dolphins, Karty kicked five field goals and accounted for all of the Rams’ points.
Karty, a sixth-round draft pick from Stanford, made kicks from 34, 55, 53, 22 and 31 yards. He would have been six for six if not for a penalty that nullified a 52-yard field goal in the third quarter.
Karty was forced to move back five yards, giving him a 57-yard attempt.
“As soon as it got pushed back, a little bit of me was, ‘All right, sweet, I can make it from farther,’” he said. “I tried to walk back and get set as quickly as possible to show the sidelines that I wanted to kick it.
“I was really trying to get ready for it so they weren’t calling out the punt team.”
The Dolphins scored a touchdown on the first drive and never lost the lead as the Rams kept making mistakes in key moments, resulting in their 23-15 loss at SoFi Stadium.
Karty hit the ball with enough distance, but the kick missed wide right.
“I’m happy that they put me out there and I want to continue reinforcing them to put me out there for longer attempts,” Karty said. “Unfortunately, that one didn’t go in.”
Karty has made 16 of 19 field-goal attempts, including the game-winner in a Week 3 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. He has made 15 of 17 extra-point attempts.
“I’ve had a lot of learning moments, whether they’re positive or negative ones,” he said. “So, just taking everything and learning from it. I’m just trying to continue to do what I do to give myself the best chances of making every kick.”
Plaschke: Rams are in playoff hunt, but their margin for error is dwindling
Whose house?
Nobody’s home.
The Rams threw a Monday night party that filled SoFi Stadium with celebrities, legends, pop stars ... almost everything you need for a nationally televised Hollywood football bash.
The only thing missing was them.
The stage was set for the Rams to prove their championship legitimacy … yet they didn’t show.
Rams vs. New England Patriots: How to watch, prediction and betting odds
After losing to the Miami Dolphins on Monday night, the Rams welcomed a short turnaround to forget about their ineffective performance on offense and breakdowns at key moments on defense.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford, who has passed for 366 touchdowns in his 15-plus NFL seasons, needs one touchdown pass to take sole possession of 10th place on the career list. Stafford has passed for nine touchdowns with seven interceptions this season.