Patriots coaching staff gets significant test against Sean McVay’s Rams
The New England Patriots coaching staff took a step forward last Sunday. Now it’s time to prove they can take another.
Jerod Mayo and his assistants let the players down two games ago against the Tennessee Titans. They showed an aggravating level of unpreparedness (defense) while making unnecessary changes (offense) that did a disservice to a roster that has responded well to being called “soft” after getting manhandled by the Jaguars in London.
The Patriots have played hard and competed for a full 60 minutes for three straight weeks, coming away with wins in two of them. But both wins came against head coaches that may very well be out of the job by January.
Sean McVay is not likely to be in that “Black Monday” tier. In fact, he represents arguably the biggest test of the season for Mayo and the Patriots.
MORE: 8 takeaways as Patriots’ young players step up in win over Bears
And that’s not to say that the Rams are playing their best football right now. They were sloppy and disjointed in Monday night’s home loss to the Miami Dolphins. McVay was especially frustrated with his offense, which failed to reach the end zone for just the second time since acquiring quarterback Matthew Stafford in 2021 (credit to Rams Wire for pulling that stat).
And there’s reason for frustration. The Rams did net 327 total yards of offense, but went 0-for-3 in the red zone and 3-for-12 on third downs, and turned the ball over twice. Stafford threw an interception and also fumbled two times, but was fortunate enough not to lose either.
That being said … the NFL is a week-to-week league, and consistency is key to building a winning program. McVay described his offense after the Dolphins loss in one word: “Inconsistent.” Mayo and the Patriots staff, meanwhile, have mixed in enough good weeks with the bad that they’ve graduated from straight-up “bad” to … well, inconsistent.
Which Patriots team is showing up on Sunday? Which Rams team?
The case can be made that the spot became tougher for the Patriots after Monday’s result. McVay declared that the Rams “got to evaluate everything,” an indication that he’s going to do everything in his power to get the most out of his team when they take on the Pats on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. It would’ve been preferable for the Patriots to get Monday night’s version of the Rams, rather than a team that’s now motivated to rebound after a disappointing defeat.
For Mayo, it’s important not to overthink things or get ahead of himself. That seemed to get him and the staff in trouble both in Week 2 against Seattle and Week 9 against Tennessee, when they were riding the high of a win. If there’s any quality that Mayo, who in many ways has gone out of his way to be the anti-Bill Belichick, should carry over from his predecessor, it’s the week-to-week consistency, not getting too high or too low after any given game.
“I say it every single week; we have to continue to improve, and we have to improve fast because these other teams are watching that stuff on film as well,” Mayo said during his Monday video conference. “So, as we continue to go through the self-scout and stuff like that or even watching this tape, there are definitely things that we have to do better.
“We’re at this point in the season, this is who we are. We have to go out there, we have to control the line of scrimmage, we have to be able to run the ball, we have to stay ahead of the sticks, we have to play good defense, we have to get off the field on third down, which we did yesterday by a mix of generating pressure and also coverage, and play good special teams. This is the formula. As I always say, I use this as a microphone not only to give you guys information, but also to talk to the players. So, players, this is how we need to play going forward.”
Saying this is one thing. Going out and doing it is another. No one needs to do their job at a higher level than Mayo this Sunday. Because, other than perhaps Kyle Shanahan, McVay is the toughest coaching matchup to date for him.
McVay’s Rams have also lacked consistency, especially on offense, but that implies they’re capable of moving the ball and scoring a lot of points. They’re just nine days removed from a walk-off touchdown in overtime, and the week before that, they scored 28 points on a Vikings defense that ranks among the best in the league. It’s entirely possible that the Patriots will need to score more than 19 to beat them.
One reason for hope that the Patriots can continue to make life hard for the Rams offense is up front. The Rams offensive line is allowing the third-fastest “time to pressure” (2.53 seconds) in the NFL through 10 weeks, while the Patriots defense is 10th in that same category on the defensive side of the ball. The Pats front-seven is riding high after delivering the fifth-highest pressure rate (43.5%) in the league in Week 10 and sacking Bears quarterback Caleb Williams nine times.
But again, back to the consistency thing. Just because you had a good game last week doesn’t mean you’re going to get the same exact result the following week. But the Patriots’ players have shown consistency in recent weeks. Their coaches have not.
And despite the players’ recent efforts, they’re still going up against a superior Rams roster, especially comparing their offensive weapons. They’re going up against a much more experienced and accomplished quarterback/coach combination.
Good coaching is essential for these Patriots every week, but it may not be more essential than it will be this week. Especially if the best version of the Rams takes the field on Sunday. Even if the Rams continue to play ugly football, the Patriots can’t afford to do the same.
There are plenty of people entering Gillette Stadium this weekend with something to prove. And no one has more to prove than Mayo.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
