After being on such a high after the big win on Sunday, the Patriots crashed back down to earth last night against the Rams, and so did their playoff hopes. Here are the ups and downs from Week 14.
Ups ⬆️
Gunner Olszewski
I can’t believe Gunner has been an up for two weeks straight, and, he’s earned it. His returns last night were one of the few high points of the evening. 5 returns for 47 yards, with one of them being a long of 21 yards, Gunner is beginning to show consistency, which he had been lacking before the team hit the West Coast.
Jake Bailey
Pro Bowl Bailey continues to have a good time in his young NFL career. Last night he averaged 51.7 yards from six punts, his longest, a 71-yard bomb which was just incredible. He seems a fan favorite right now, and can you blame them? He’s been one of the most consistent players on the pitch.
Myles Bryant
Bryant, a fan favorite through-out camp, who managed to stick around on the main roster, made the biggest play of his career last night. He read Goff’s pass to Robert Woods and managed to snag the ball from woods grasp for his first NFL interception.
One for the future here, I have a feeling.
N’Keal Harry
Harry’s had his fair share of criticism of late, but last night I thought he played well. Whilst yes, some of the catches he made were heavily contested, but he did make 3/4 amassing 49 yards in the process. A stretch for an up? Maybe a little, but he did lead the team in receiving yards last night. A better game.
Downs ⬇️
Cam Newton
Welp. Not a fun night for Cam as he pretty much laid his future as a Patriot to rest with another poor performance. Now, his offensive line didn’t give him a lot of support from the get-go as he was under constant duress, but he played pretty awfully.
Let’s talk about the pick-six. Paul Perillo on the Patriots.com post-game show talked about how Brady in previous years would throw those in the ground if the pass wasn’t on, something which he’d get moaned at, but everyone knew it was the right decision, I totally agree.
Instead of doing this, Cam attempted the pass, which Jakobi Meyers had no chance of catching and Kenny Young said thank you, before returning it 75-yards to the house for a touchdown.
Towards the end of the game, Cam looked dejected and was clearly bothered by the constant attack he received at the hands of the Rams defensive rush. In the fourth quarter, he was relieved by Stidham.
Whilst Belichick still remains resolute about him being “our quarterback”, I think his time remaining in New England is just a formality.
John Simon
After being pretty stable for most of this season, John Simon had a stinker of a game last night. Whilst he wasn’t the only one who failed to make an impact on the run barrage by Cam Akers, his performance was noticeable and I couldn’t defer from putting him in the downs this week.
Offensive Line
A pretty horrible night all told for the offensive line. Jeff Howe’s evidence backs up that statement.
One of my keys to winning this game was neutralizing Aaron Donald, which, as you can see above, they weren’t able to do. The run game, which is really the only thing they’re doing well this season, suffered as a result. Now, the amount of running that the Pats have needed to do this year is the fault of no passing production, but the line can’t allow performances like last night to become a regular occurrence. Even when Stidham came in during the fourth quarter, he didn’t stand a chance against the pressure that was being allowed.
