FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Listen to enough Sean McVay press conferences, and you’ll hear him call football some version of “the greatest team sport there is” a handful of times. It is coach speak, of course, but it’s easy to see the point after a game like last week, when the Rams’ struggling pass and run games resembled a chicken and egg conundrum.
But on Sunday, the Rams offense was operating in harmony for two quarters, and despite a fourth-quarter scare, it was enough for a 28-22 win over the New England Patriots.
A run game picking up chunks to the tune of 4.5 yards per carry getting the offense into favorable second and third downs. An offensive line, with rookie Beaux Limmer put back into the starting lineup, keeping quarterback Matthew Stafford upright. Receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua putting all kinds of stress on the defense, creating space for each other and the likes of Colby Parkinson and Tutu Atwell.
Sunday was the first time this season the Rams (5-5) exceeded 400 total yards of offense with 402. That included 107 on the ground, the first time the run game has reached triple-digits in three weeks. Kupp secured 106 yards and two touchdowns, his first multi-score game since Sept. 2022. Nacua added another TD and 123 yards, including a career-high 117 in the first half.
The Rams first two drives felt frustratingly familiar. No third-down conversions, stalling at midfield and no points in the first quarter for the second week in a row and seventh time this season. Big gains by Nacua and Kyren Williams were squandered. Throws by Stafford were either off-target or impacted by the Patriot pass rush.
Meanwhile, New England QB Drake Maye was doing a good job of releasing the ball quickly as the speedy Patriots receivers found space underneath. The Pats (3-8) got out to a 7-0 lead and threatened to do more before defensive tackle Kobie Turner deflected a third-down pass to force a punt.
But that’s when the Rams started to get moving.
It started with a 25-yard chunk play to Nacua. Backup running back Blake Corum came in for four carries and 21 yards. Another completion to Nacua got the Rams to the New England 5, and Stafford, rolling right, found Kupp on a simple out route for the touchdown.
Defensive tackle Braden Fiske flattened Maye on the next drive, forcing a fumble recovered by Turner at the Patriots 12. The next play, Nacua laid out for his first touchdown of the season.
The second-year receiver, who missed five games this season with a knee sprain, stayed down on the field after landing hard on the turf. He was taken into the injury tent and evaluated, but emerged with his helmet on, ready to return, as a concerned Kupp waited for him outside the flap.
But Nacua was back out on the field for the Rams’ next drive, and on the opposite side of the field from Kupp to start the second half when Stafford found the veteran receiver for a 69-yard touchdown. Kupp ran a simple post route while the Patriots sent a blitz out of Cover-0, and all Kupp had to do was break one tackle and jog to the end zone.
The Rams tacked on another score in the third quarter with a 19-yard pass to Parkinson for his first touchdown with the Rams. But the Patriots put together two long drives ending in a touchdown and a field goal to get within six with five minutes to play.
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The offense stalled in the fourth, but the defense made enough plays — a Michael Hoecht PAT block and a Kamren Kinchens interception on the Pats’ final possession — to put it away.