Jared Goff pays the price for Rams’ lackluster offense in loss to Patriots
Reporting from FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It was a brief exchange near midfield in Gillette Stadium, after the New England Patriots thoroughly dominated the Rams in a 26-10 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the score would indicate.
“I told him congratulations on the record,” Rams quarterback Jared Goff said of his message to Patriots star Tom Brady, who passed Peyton Manning to become the winningest quarterback in NFL history with victory No. 201 on Sunday. “And he just wished me good luck.”
Goff — who grew up in the Bay Area idolizing Brady and is still searching for his first victory three starts into his NFL career — is going to need it because he doesn’t have the benefits Brady enjoys. For instance, a more effective and consistent offensive line, some more sure-handed receivers and a semblance of a running game.
The Rams (4-8) had none of the above while losing for the seventh time in eight games, and Goff — who completed 14 of 32 passes for 161 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions — paid the price.
The Patriots, disguising their blitzes and mixing up their coverage schemes, sacked Goff four times for a loss of 35 yards and had nine “hits” on the rookie quarterback.
Rams receivers dropped at least four passes, including a short, over-the-middle toss that went through the hands of Lance Kendricks and into the arms of Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler for an interception at the Rams’ 37-yard line to end the first quarter.
Four plays later, Brady threw a back-shoulder pass to Chris Hogan on a fade route for a 14-yard touchdown pass that gave New England a 14-0 lead.
Todd Gurley couldn’t ease any pressure on Goff — the back carried the ball 11 times for 38 yards, the 18th time in 19 games the 2015 NFL offensive rookie of the year has been held under 100 yards. The Rams converted only one of 12 third-down plays into a first down.
“The elephant in the room is the offense,” Coach Jeff Fisher said. “We’re doing everything we can to get better, but when you’re playing someone like Tom [Brady] and you convert one third down offensively and give them so many more opportunities, it’s hard to win games.
“We have to improve in the run game, we have to improve on third down. … Penalties, dropped passes on offense, and our inability to protect the passer contributed to the loss.”
While Brady carved up the Rams with surgeon-like precision, completing 33 of 46 passes for 269 yards and one touchdown, Goff spent much of a 39-degree afternoon scrambling away from pressure and picking himself up off the turf.
Goff completed only four of 11 passes for 27 yards and one interception in the first two quarters for a halftime rating of 7.0. New England had huge first-half advantages in total yards (230-25), first downs (12-1) and time of possession (21 minutes 51 seconds-8:09).
Goff boosted his quarterback rating to double figures (43.9) by the end of the game, thanks to a 17-yard completion to Brian Quick in the third quarter and a 66-yard bomb to Kenny Britt that set up a one-yard touchdown pass to Britt with 1:15 left. Britt also dropped two passes.
“Penalties, dropped balls, we really shot ourselves in the foot, to tell you the truth,” Britt said. “The execution wasn’t there. … We can’t go three and out all these times and put our defense in that position against a high-powered offense like that. You have to stay on the field, keep the defense off and score points.”
Goff’s second interception, in the third quarter, came after Patriots end Jabaal Sheard got a piece of Goff’s arm, and it led to the first of three Stephen Gostkowski field goals.
But Goff was not above reproach. He missed some open receivers and wasn’t able to generate much offense after extending plays with his legs.
“We had a lot of errors across the board offensively, myself, everybody,” Goff said. “Errors are going to happen; you just want to limit them. When one thing happens, you can’t get down about it. You have to move on. Things don’t always go your way, but you can’t let [errors] keep happening.”
Though Goff got beat up and was unable to thrust the Rams back into the game, his teammates still thought the quarterback made strides with his mobility, toughness and leadership.
“You can see him growing on the field, taking charge as a quarterback and leading us,” Britt said. “He’s doing a great job of being vocal in the huddle and keeping us in the game.
“He’s also developing into a quarterback who can take a hit, stay in the pocket and scramble to keep a play alive. When he does that, we can turn a bad play into a good play, and those broken plays are the ones that can win games.”
Twitter: @MikeDiGiovanna
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