Tale of the tape: Rams vs. Patriots
Winners of four of their last five games, the New England Patriots are playing well at the right time as they face the Los Angles Rams this Thursday at SoFi Stadium.
It’s the first time these two teams will meet since the Patriots defeated the Rams in the Super Bowl two years ago.
The Patriots hold a 9-5 all-time advantage in the series with the Rams, including postseason. The Rams are 6-9 all-time on Thursday night, and 4-4 at home.
Rams head coach Sean McVay said his coaching staff began preparation for the Patriots the previous week, due the short time frame to get ready for New England. And the next two days will be about recovery and learning the game-plan in the lead-up to Thursday’s game
“A lot of our coaches have done a phenomenal job of getting ahead in terms of just the preparation with regards to reports, breakdowns, things of that nature. … It does enable us to be able to accelerate the preparation that’s absolutely necessary this week,” McVay said.
It should be another perfect night in terms of weather for football, with a few clouds and temperatures in the 50s at SoFi Stadium.
The Rams are 6-point favorites.
Football Zebras has not released the schedule for officials this week, due to the possibility of lineup changes. I’ll update it here when they are released.
2020 RECORD
Rams: 8-4
Patriots: 6-6
Comment: The Patriots are 2-4 on the road this season and the Rams are 4-1 at home.
Points Per Game
Rams: 25.1 (17)
Patriots: 22.8 (23)
Comment: Patriots have been outscored 56-28 in opening quarter this season.
Total offense
Rams: 395.3 yards per game (3)
Patriots: 342.3 yards per game (22)
Comment: L.A.’s 46.7 percent third down conversion rate is No. 6 in the NFL.
Rush offense
Rams: 124.2 yards per game (T8)
Patriots: 150.9 yards per game (3)
Comment: Cam Newton’s 435 rushing yards is No. 3 among quarterbacks in the NFL.
Pass offense
Rams: 271.2 yards per game (6)
Patriots: 191.4 passing yards a game (30)
Comment: Newton has just five touchdowns passes on the year.
Time of possession
Rams: 32:01 (2)
Patriots: 30:29 (T15)
Comment: Rams held the ball for 38:53 in win over Cardinals last week.
Opponents points per game
Rams: 20.3 (5)
Patriots: 21.3 (7)
Comment: Rams gave up a season-high 21 points to Cardinals in second half last week.
Total defense
Rams: 291.3 yards per game (2)
Patriots: 344.6 yards per game (12)
Comment: Patriots giving up 5.71 yards per play, No. 22 in the league.
Rush Defense
Rams: 93.1 yards per game (3)
Patriots: 118.8 yards per game (18)
Comment: Safety Adrian Phillips leads New England in tackles with 84.
Pass Defense
Rams: 198.3 yards per game (1)
Patriots: 225.8 yards per game (T13)
Comment: Patriots have given up 39 passing plays of 20-plus yards, ninth-worst in the NFL.
Sacks
Rams: 36/252 yards (T3)
Patriots: 18/121 yards (T28)
Comment: Chase Vinovich leads the Patriots with 3.5 sacks.
Penalties
Rams: 51/494 yards (2)
Patriots: 45/415 yards (1)
Comment: CB Stephon Gilmore leads the Patriots with six penalties, including four for defensive pass interference.
Interceptions
Rams: 12 (8)
Patriots: 14 (T2)
Comment: Patriots CB J.C. Jackson is No. 2 in the league with seven interceptions.
Turnover differential
Rams: even (T17)
Patriots: plus-1 (T15)
Comment: Patriots have turned it over just twice in the last five games.
