After Brutal Loss To Los Angeles Rams, It’s Clear How Far New England Patriots Have Fallen

The New England Patriots’ Super Bowl victory two years ago over the Los Angeles Rams was a testament to their excellence. Bill Belichick devised a defensive game plan that stunted the most prolific offense in the NFC, holding the Rams to just three points. Meanwhile, Tom Brady ginned up one more championship-winning drive, completing four straight passes — including a deep toss to Rob Gronkowski — before running back Sony Michel banged in the deciding touchdown.

It represented quite a contrast to the events Thursday at SoFi Stadium, where the Rams trounced the Patriots in every facet of the game. Los Angeles bested New England 24-3, dropping the Patriots to 6-7, and eliminating them from realistic postseason contention. They are 2.5 games behind the final teams in the AFC.

The Rams went into halftime leading 17-3 and never looked back. Once again, the Patriots were incapable of moving the ball through the air. Cam Newton finished with just 119 passing yards, his largest total over the last three weeks.

It looked like the Patriots could potentially ride their 1950s-circa offense to the playoffs after winning three of their previous four games — including a shutout over the Los Angeles Chargers and upset victory over the Baltimore Ravens. But the smoke and mirrors disappeared Thursday night. On a futile goal-line drive in the first half, the Patriots didn’t throw the ball once, instead running four straight times into the teeth of Los Angeles’ defensive line.

It’s apparent Belichick doesn’t trust Newton to throw the ball in critical situations, and why would he? This season, Newton has thrown five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. The Patriots have the 30th-ranked passing offense.

The Rams tormented Newton all night, sacking him four times and causing constant duress in the backfield. Aaron Donald was responsible for 1.5 sacks himself.

Newton is playing like a bargain basement quarterback who didn’t sign with a team until the end of June. After failing to procure an adequate replacement for Brady, the Patriots signed Newton to a one-year deal with $1.05 million base salary.

Through the first month of the season, it looked like the stopgap plan might work. Newton scored four rushing touchdowns during the opening two weeks and threw for 397 yards in a last-second loss to the Seattle Seahawks. Then Newton was diagnosed with COVID-19 in early October. His play suffered for several weeks, with Newton later saying he “felt stagnant” in his thought process.

That may still be the case, but the stagnation in Newton’s arm is just as worrisome. He has no lift on his passes, and struggles to hit open receivers.

Belichick pulled Newton in the fourth quarter, though the all-time great coach insists he’s not starting second-year quarterback Jarrett Stidham. That’s unfortunate. It’s clear the Patriots aren’t going to win with Newton. They should see what they have with Stidham, who’s never received a full week as the starter in practice.

The Patriots selected Stidham in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He’s the only QB they’ve drafted since trading Jimmy Garoppolo in October 2017.

Belichick’s recent misses in the draft have cost the Patriots profoundly, especially on offense. As the Fox Sports crew pointed out, Patriots draftees at receiver have been the least productive in the NFL over the last 10 years. All seven receivers they selected from 2010-16 are out of the league.

During the early portion of the decade, Belichick still hit with some big drafts, bringing Pro Bowlers such as Gronkowski, Devin McCourty and Chandler Jones into the organization, on top of core pieces for their last three Super Bowls.

But that hasn’t been the case recently. The Patriots are short on talent at every spot. The Rams toyed with their defense, at one point executing a 16-play, 88-yard drive that chewed up 13:27 of clock in the third quarter.

The Patriots magic is gone.

Before Super Bowl LIII, Rams head coach Sean McVay showered Belichick with praise, appearing to set up a permanent teacher-student dynamic. But on Thursday, the understudy won out.

As an organization, the Rams are clearly on the upswing. It’s been all downhill for the Patriots since that fateful night in Atlanta, and now they’re hitting bottom.