The Pats stunned the Bears in Week 10.
Going into Week 11, the New England Patriots are looking to stack back-to-back wins for the first time since 2022!
To do so would mean topping an unpredictable Rams team.
I have highlighted three key factors that may decide whether they will do so.
1. Drake Maye must cut down the turnover worthy plays
Starting a rookie quarterback is a double-edged sword.
The statistics highlight just how impressive – yet volatile – Maye has been.
Maye ranks sixth in the league in big time throw rate, but leads the league in turnover-worthy plays with 12 in six games.
The big plays are impressive, but as he gets more experience under his belt, it is paramount that he cuts down on those negative plays and that the Pats minimise the self-inflicted wounds from that double-edged sword as much as possible.
2. Man up on defense
I wrote in my review of the Week 10 Bears game that New England thrived against the Bears in man coverage. Will they be able to continue that against the Rams?
Despite some impressive names in their wide receiver corp, there has been very little in the way of production this year.
Only two wide receivers having caught touchdowns this season, Demarcus Robinson with five and Cooper Kupp with two.
That highlights a further issue for the Rams, their redzone woes.
The Rams have the 30th ranked redzone offense in terms of touchdown rate at 46.88%.
Considering how the Pats offense has made strides, limiting the Rams to threes and not sevens may be a key to keeping New England in this game.
3. Can the offensive line have back-to-back solid games?
I am becoming mildly concerned that I will be writing about this position group every week, but it is worth talking about this week.
The offensive line had one of its strongest outings of the season last week, and exceeded its season average in pressure rate (37.9%) and rushing success rate (41.9%).
However, the jury is still out on whether Week 10’s increased output was a result of the Patriots’ improvement, or the Bears’ freefall into clearing house.
The Rams are among the league leaders in sim pressures (crowding the line of scrimmage to create the illusion of a blitz without blitzing) and creepers (rushing an off-ball defender, while dropping a defensive lineman into coverage to cover them).
Both are great ways to scheme up pressure without rushing more than four players.
This means that the Patriots need to have some quick game answers to try and reduce the confusion the Rams will cause Maye.
