Ted Johnson: Defensive coaching decisions doomed Pats vs. Rams originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams hardly broke a sweat against the New England Patriots defense in Sunday’s Week 11 matchup.
Stafford completed 18 of his 27 passes for 295 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions in L.A.’s 28-22 win. Star wide receivers Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua combined for 13 catches, 229 yards, and three TDs. One of Kupp’s TDs was a 69-yarder against a Cover 0 blitz on second-and-9 to start the second half.
That play-call, along with several others, proved costly in the Patriots’ eighth loss of the season. Former Pats linebacker Ted Johnson identified the defensive play-calling as the top reason for New England’s defeat.
“I just thought the coaching decisions, especially on defense, how the game was called on defense, was ultimately why the Patriots lost this game,” Johnson said on Patriots Postgame Live. “They were gonna live by the blitz and they were gonna die by the blitz, and that was what to me stood out. They were so aggressive in their play-calling against Matthew Stafford. It’s not Caleb Williams back there.”
Johnson believes Patriots defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington and the rest of the coaching staff got carried away after pulling off a successful game plan against Chicago.
“I see a little bit of an arrogance in some of the defensive play-calling,” he added. “Because I think they were so just really pumped up from how they performed last week against a rookie quarterback and the Bears. Exotic fronts, multiple looks, blitzing from the second level.
“They did so many blitzes from the second level. When you do that, you give a quarterback like Matthew Stafford that much time — look at all the blitzing from the second level. On second-and-9 to start the second half? Why are you so aggressive in that situation?
While the defensive miscues were glaring, there were questionable coaching decisions on both sides of the ball. For instance, the Patriots opted to kick a 25-yard field goal down 21-10 in the third quarter rather than go for it from the 2-yard line.
New England (3-8) will look to bounce back next Sunday against the Dolphins (4-6) in Miami. The Patriots lost their first game vs. the Dolphins this season 15-10, and they’ll face a tougher test this time around with Tua Tagovailoa back under center for Miami.
Kickoff for that matchup is set for 1 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium.
Check out our Patriots Postgame Live crew’s full reaction to Sunday’s Pats-Rams matchup below: