Drake Maye had one of his best games as a pro, but there's plenty of second-guessing to do after the Patriots' loss to the Rams, writes Phil Perry.
Yes, the Patriots had just two drives of fewer than seven plays -- they put together four series that lasted 10 plays or more -- and they out-possessed Los Angeles by almost 15 minutes. Additionally, they held the Rams to just 2-for-8 on third down.
Phil Perry reacts to the Patriots defense "falling apart" during an 11-minute stretch in the middle of the game where they allowed four touchdowns on five drives in the team's loss to the Rams. And yet, he handled it with aplomb. He had answers. He knew where to go with the football, and he went there. He navigated the pocket. He changed arm angles. He played beyond his years. Maye completed back-to-back passes under pressure in the first quarter for 46 yards, including converting on a third-and-7 play by finding DeMario Douglas on a shallow cross with a safety blitzer breaking through into the New England backfield.
Though that play was the game-changer, Maye took another sack on the final drive of the game, where it looked like he held onto the football for an extended period of time before getting dropped. He lost seven yards on the play and set up a third-and-13 situation that yielded Maye's sixth interception of the season.
The best decision, looking back at the play, might've just been to try Kendrick Bourne along the right sideline. He was in one-on-one coverage with New England's all-go concept holding the closest safety in the middle of the field. Miss the target, and it likely falls out of bounds. Hit the target, and you have an explosive play in a desperation situation.. The week prior in Tennessee, he committed an ugly false-start penalty.
That fourth-and-1, with the Patriots down 28-19, turned into a fourth-and-5, and Mayo had to settle for a field goal. Polk left the field shaking his head, marching past both receivers coach Tyler Hughes and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt. The Patriots were balanced and averaged 4.2 yards per carry. They improved over their season average, converting on six of 14 third down opportunities. They ran a season-high 76 offensive plays and averaged 5.2 yards per play.
"Defensively they only had eight third downs in the game," Mayo said,"and you just can't win that way."
New England Patriots Phil Perry
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