In the National Football League, every game you play gets bigger from week to week, and consistency is a vital aspect. After the Patriots' defense pieced together a dominating performance in a Week 10 win over the Bears in Chicago, the unit could've made a statement against a strong offensive unit in the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
It didn't happen, as Matthew Stafford sliced and diced the Patriots to the tune of 295 yards passing and four touchdowns as the Rams edged the Patriots 28-22. New England's defense did make some plays and came up with a third-down stop late in the fourth quarter to give Drake Maye and the offense a chance to pull out a win, but the Rams marched up and down the field in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Patriots 28-6 over that span.
In a game in which Maye was strong save for a late-game interception on New England's final drive, it's hard to find some villains, but frankly it's easy to see where to start.
The biggest villains of the Patriots Week 11 loss to the LA Rams
1. The entire defense
It's hard to blame the front seven for this one, but the fact that this unit generated zero sacks on Stafford playing against a banged-up L.A. offensive line is an X-factor, especially coming off a game in which the Patriots sacked Caleb Williams nine times. But Stafford is not Williams, and it showed.
The Rams' offense is dangerous when Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua are healthy, and they lit up New England's secondary in combining for 13 catches for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Kupp's 69-yard touchdown on the first drive of the second half proved to be a backbreaker.
2. Special teams
Special teas can often be the difference between winning and losing, and while it wasn't a large one on Sunday, a blocked extra point after Maye's touchdown pass to Vederian Lowe turned out to be crucial.
It forced the Patriots to score twice in the final 10 minutes to win the game, and they had no choice but to settle for a field goal on a fourth-and-short in the fourth quarter.
3. Ja'Lynn Polk
Polk was again the invisible man in the Patriots' offense, not registering a catch, but his false start on fourth and one in the fourth quarter ultimately forced New England to trot out its field goal unit.
While the team needed the points at that juncture, the coaching staff will ultimately point to this blunder in the film room as a costly one. Situational football is a big X-factor in these games, and the Patriots tried to get too cute in that situation.
4. Alex Van Pelt
It's hard to cast a lot of blame on the Patriots' offensive coordinator here, but taking a chip-shot field goal on a fourth-and-short inside the Rams' five in the third quarter is inexcusable. On the drive leading up to Polk's fourth-down false start, Maye was on fire in completing five straight passes on that drive, and Van Pelt ultimately took the ball out of his quarterback's hands.
You have to stick with what is working in that situation.