The Patriots' defense has its hands full with the Rams' offense lined up on the other side, with the likes of quarterback Matthew Stafford, receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua and running back Kyren Williams ready to go.
Through the first quarter, the Patriots were able to keep them in check and not allow their opponents to get anywhere near the end zone. Although that has changed since the start of the second quarter, the Patriots' offense has looked impressive, especially Drake Maye, who has been throwing darts left and right so far.
After moving quickly down the field to end the series with a ten-yard touchdown to Kendrick Bourne, the offense was back out for another drive and looked well on their way to making magic again, only for lineman Vederian Lowe to be penalized for an illegal formation.
The problem with that, though, was that it was very hard to see what exactly he was flagged for upon the replay.
On the illegal formation penalty that negated the 17-yard completion on third down, Vederian Lowe was for sure off the line a bit but it wasn’t crazy. Haven’t seen that called that tightly for a while. pic.twitter.com/AnNzpAgfIl
— Michael Hurley (@michaelFhurley) November 17, 2024
It's nit-picky at best and negated a pretty impressive throw and catch by Maye to Hunter Henry.
It subsequently led to the end of that drive and forced the Patriots off the field. They decided not to kick a 54-yard field goal, and the Rams scored on the following drive.
Hopefully, this won't be how the officials operate throughout the entire game, or it's going to be a long day for the Patriots. So far, the Rams are yet to be flagged, while the Patriots have been hit three times for a loss of 26 yards as they near halftime.