Winners and losers from the Patriots’ embarrassing loss to the Rams in Week 14

The New England Patriots weren’t good enough — not in any phase except, perhaps, special teams.

In Week 14, the Los Angeles Rams were more talented and better coached. They looked every bit of a playoff team and maybe even a Super Bowl contender. The Patriots didn’t have that look — not this week. L.A. won, 24-3.

The Patriots have to walk away from this game wondering: now what? Their playoff chances fell from 28% to 6%, per ESPN. It’s a bleak outlook. Quarterback Cam Newton got benched, and Jarrett Stidham didn’t look much better in relief. So that situation looks grim, too.

Again: Now what?

Coach and general manager Bill Belichick is facing an almost impossible road to the playoffs. He’s go so many questions surrounding his team. But there’s time to discuss the future in the coming weeks. First, let’s dive into the winners and losers from this game.

His interception was the brightest spot on Thursday. It made you wonder — even briefly — if the Patriots could get back in this game. (Of course, Newton threw a pick-six a few plays later, and the collapse was on.) But for this play, New England seemed like it could make things competitive.

Bryant, a 2020 undrafted free agent, stole the ball right out of Robert Woods’ hands. It was a strong game from the young defensive back.

Bryant looked like he could join the line of talented undrafted cornerbacks to develop under Bill Belichick. (See: Malcolm Butler, J.C. Jackson.)

The Rams were 2 of 2 on fourth downs, and they drew New England on an encroachment penalty on another fourth down. (So let’s make it 3 of 3, shall we?) That penalty was an absolutely brutal mental error from Patriots defensive tackle Akeem Spence, and Rams receiver Cooper Kupp managed a receiving touchdown on the following play.

Any one of those moments could’ve been a game-changing stop for New England. We’ve seen one this season: remember when Patriots linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley stuffed Cardinals running back Kenyan Drake at the goal line in Week 12? That was huge. That was the kind of play New England needed in this game. Instead, the Rams took control of the game on fourth down.

The Patriots attempted conversions of their own. And they converted none of them. They were 0-3.

The first one was the most important: an option play with Cam Newton and Damien Harris from the 2-yard line. Newton kept the ball and got tackled for a loss. It was the Patriots’ seventh consecutive rushing play. The Rams knew what was coming.

The left tackle blew his blocking assignment on his first snap of the second half. He completely whiffed on Rams defensive end Michael Brockers, who managed a 10-yard sack. Just three plays later, Eluemunor let up a second sack, defensive tackle Aaron Donald toasting the tackle for a 7-yard sack.

When an all-world player like Donald wins, you can excuse the sack — sometimes. But Brockers’ sack was egregious.

Weird, right?

Since Harry has entered the NFL, he was probably been in the “loser” category in this weekly column more than any Patriot. But here he is, a winner. He made a genuinely impressive contested catch in the third quarter on a second-and-20, elevating over a defensive back to track down a poorly thrown ball from Newton.

Harry finished with three catches for 49 yards.

There were so many throws — or non-throws — that were stunningly unimpressive.

First, let’s be fair to Newton. The Rams smelled blood and absolutely whooped on New England’s offensive line more and more as the game went on, with L.A. defensive coordinator Brandon Staley bringing blitzes that befuddled the Patriots. There were more receiver problems, with wideouts failing to separate. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels also called plays on third downs that had too many pass-catchers behind the first-down line.

OK, that’s the context.

But let’s look at his pick-six. It’s one of those throws he simply cannot throw. It belongs in the turf. Newton targeted James White, who was a victim of Donald (legally) grabbing him and disrupting the timing of the play. Newton didn’t expect that, and fired the ball where White should’ve been. The throw was high — and Rams defensive back Kenny Young was the beneficiary of the broken play.

Later in the game on a third-and-4, at a point in the game when the pass-rush was regularly collapsing the pocket, Newton looked rattled. That ruined his anticipation and timing to the point where he was struggling to find his receivers. And he missed an open Jakobi Meyers.

By the fourth quarter, he was struggling to hit his check-downs, whether because a lack of accuracy or because the pressure was too immense for him to get off a throw. That’s why the Patriots benched him.

Yes, it was an MVP night for Bailey. And yes, that was not a good thing for New England. He finished with six punts for a whopping 310 yards. Four punts landed within the 20-yard line.

It was another respectable night, with five returns for 47 yards.

And though we didn’t see Newton’s pregame outfit, we did see Olszewski’s. It was very on brand.