Coming off their most complete game of the season, the New England Patriots carried plenty of momentum into their Week 14 matchup with the Los Angeles Rams last Thursday night. However, the team came out flat and struggled on both sides of the ball. While the defense eventually settled down a bit, the offense could not stop getting out of its own way en route to a disappointing 24-3 loss.
With all that said, let’s dive into the advanced statistics from the game. Before analyzing the numbers, however, we will have to explain two of the categories you will meet here that go beyond conventional statistics:
- OSR: OSR stands for “Offensive Success Rate” and is based on Bill Connelly’s work at SB Nation. It aims to characterize how successful a play was relative to the down and distance in which it took place. For a play be considered a success it will have to gain at least 50 percent of the necessary yardage on first down (i.e. at least 5 yards on 1st-and-10), 70 percent on second down (i.e. at least 7 yards on 2nd-and-10), and 100 percent on both third and fourth down (i.e. at least 10 yards on 3rd-and-10 and 4th-and-10).
- EPA: EPA stands for “Expected Points Added” and is based on the work done by Ben Baldwin through his website rbsdm.com. EPA aims at measuring the value of individual offensive plays in terms of points by calculating what is expected to happen on an individual play depending on down, distance, field position and game situation and contrasting it with the eventual outcome.
Now that that is out of the way, let’s dig into the stats.
Quarterback
Quarterback statistics
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Drops | Throwaways | Pressure rate | Rating | OSR | EPA/Play |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Drops | Throwaways | Pressure rate | Rating | OSR | EPA/Play |
Cam Newton | 45 | 16 | 9 | 119 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 31.8% | 53.9 | 31.3% | -0.81 |
Jarrett Stidham | 14 | 7 | 5 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55.6% | 77.7 | 28.6% | -0.79 |
Cam Newton had another disappointing day as a passer, even though it needs to be pointed out that he certainly had some good throws as well — including two to former first-round draft pick N’Keal Harry.
On the whole, however, he again failed to lift the offense through his right arm. His success rate of only 31.3 percent and his EPA per play of -0.81 illustrate this, as does his passer rating of just 53.9. Those statistics, however, punish Newton for the pick-six he threw in the second quarter even though head coach Bill Belichick later defended the play on behalf of his quarterback.
As for Jarrett Stidham, who replaced Newton in the early fourth quarter, he looked only marginally better. Getting pressured on five of his nine dropbacks, the second-year man never failed to get into much of a rhythm and also finished with some rather mediocre numbers.
Ball carriers
Ball carrier statistics
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Yards | Yards after Contact | Touchdowns | Fumbles | OSR | EPA/Play |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Attempts | Yards | Yards after Contact | Touchdowns | Fumbles | OSR | EPA/Play |
Cam Newton | 45 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14.3% | -0.94 |
James White | 27 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 33.3% | -0.16 |
Damien Harris | 22 | 11 | 50 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 54.5% | 0.09 |
Sony Michel | 15 | 7 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 14.3% | -0.41 |
Jarrett Stidham | 14 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.0% | 0.58 |
New England’s running game finished with only 107 yards on 29 carries, with Newton’s role again standing out. The dual-threat passer was a non-factor as a ball-carrier while registering only one successful run and finishing with an EPA per play of -0.94 — his unsuccessful fourth down run in the second quarter playing a role in this.
The other backs, meanwhile, were uninspiring as well with the exception of Damien Harris. The second-year runner, who later left the game because of a back injury suffered on a blitz pickup, finished with a success rate of 54.5 percent as well as an EPA of 0.9. He registered 50 yards on 11 carries.
Pass receivers
Pass receiver statistics
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Yards after Catch | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rating | Drops | OSR | EPA/Play |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Yards after Catch | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Rating | Drops | OSR | EPA/Play |
Jakobi Meyers | 59 | 4 | 4 | 47 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 115.6 | 0 | 25.0% | -0.27 |
Damiere Byrd | 52 | 8 | 5 | 48 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 79.2 | 2 | 37.5% | 0.08 |
N'Keal Harry | 36 | 4 | 3 | 49 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 115.6 | 0 | 75.0% | 0.74 |
James White | 27 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 56.3 | 0 | 0.0% | -0.69 |
Devin Asiasi | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 0 | 0.0% | -3.32 |
Damien Harris | 22 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 16.7 | 0 | 0.0% | -5.97 |
Sony Michel | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 0 | 0.0% | -0.73 |
New England’s pass catchers again failed to tip the needle in the team’s favors. While the top-three — Jakobi Meyers, Damiere Byrd and N’Keal Harry — combined to gain 144 yards through the air, the rest of the group added just two yards in the form of a James White screen pass. Needless to say that those production levels are a major reason why the Patriots’ offense as a whole struggled against the Rams and for much of the season.
Not all was bad, though. N’Keal Harry’s performance was a positive, as the former first-rounder used his size well on two long receptions and showed some encouraging development. There is a reason why colleague Keagan Stiefel named him as his Unsung Hero of Week 14.
Pass protection/run blocking
Pass protection/run blocking statistics
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs |
Michael Onwenu | 59 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Joe Thuney | 59 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Shaq Mason | 59 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
David Andrews | 59 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Jermaine Eluemunor | 53 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Damien Harris | 22 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Justin Herron | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Rams field one of the best defensive front sevens in the game, and the Patriots were unable to properly account for them. All in all, New England’s quarterbacks were either sacked, hit or hurried on 12 of their 31 dropbacks for a disruption rate of 38.7 percent. The second half in particular was bad for the unit, as Los Angeles’ pass rushers were able to pin their ears back and register six sacks over a 30-minute span.
It was a disappointing outing across the board, even though Jermaine Eluemunor’s two sacks in the third quarter stand out. With starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn eligible to return from injured reserve this week, New England might decide to make a change at the position again.
Pass rush/run defense
Pass rush/run defense statistics
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Sacks | QB Hits | Hurries | Stuffed runs |
Adrian Phillips | 57 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Ja'Whaun Bentley | 51 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Deatrich Wise Jr. | 41 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Adam Butler | 34 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Byron Cowart | 30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tashawn Bower | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
Josh Uche | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
The Patriots’ front seven failed to stop the run for much of the day, with the Rams finishing with 187 yards and a touchdown on 35 carries — the team’s worst statistical day since the Buffalo Bills registered 190 rushing yards in Week 8. While the pass rush did fare better by notching a disruption rate of 33.3 percent against L.A. quarterback Jarrett Goff, the defense’s inability to stop the run in key situations overshadowed those contributions.
Pass coverage
Pass coverage statistics
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Pass Breakups | Rating | OSR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Snaps | Targets | Completions | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions | Pass Breakups | Rating | OSR |
J.C. Jackson | 63 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 85.4 | 33.3% |
Stephon Gilmore | 59 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70.1 | 0.0% |
Adrian Phillips | 57 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 56.3 | 50.0% |
Ja'Whaun Bentley | 51 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 95.8 | 0.0% |
Kyle Dugger | 46 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 0.0% |
Jonanthan Jones | 22 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 118.8 | 33.3% |
Myles Bryant | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0% |
Josh Uche | 16 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39.6 | 0.0% |
New England was primarily in zone-based coverages against the Rams, with Jared Goff throwing just 15 passes versus clear man-to-man looks. The Patriots actually fared quite well while using them, with just three of Goff’s nine attempts being classified as a success for the offense. However, the former first overall draft pick had more success going against zone: he went 7-of-10 for 92 yards as well as an OSR of 60 percent.
The Patriots’ secondary as a whole did have some moments — Myles Bryant’s interception stands out among them — but Los Angeles was generally efficient when taking to the air.