FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — It wasn’t pretty, was it?
In fact, the New England Patriots’ 26-10 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday at Gillette Stadium was fairly dull. Get used to it.
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This is the way the Patriots are going to win the rest of the way. Without tight end Rob Gronkowski – placed on injured reserve after undergoing back surgery – the Patriots simply aren’t going to be the dynamic offensive machine they have been.
Gronkowski, certainly the best tight end in the NFL, simply cannot be replaced. Beyond being a great receiver, he’s a punishing blocker. He’s a team leader. He’s entertaining. He provides a certain swagger.
Now the Patriots, at 10-2 in complete control of the AFC East, are going to rely on a lot of different people. They’re going to run the ball more. They’re going to spread the passes out to more people.
They’re going to rely on their defense to throttle opposing teams.
It’s a formula that worked before. That’s how the 2001 team – honored for their Super Bowl championship (over the then-St. Louis Rams) at halftime Sunday – won. That’s how they beat the now-Los Angeles Rams on Sunday.
Granted, the Rams aren’t very good. But this game gave a pretty good indication of how the Patriots will play without Gronk.
The Patriots rushed for 133 yards with LeGarrette Blount gaining 88 and corkscrewing defensive back Maurice Alexander into the ground on his 43-yard touchdown run on New England’s first drive.
Tom Brady, who became the NFL’s all-time winningest quarterback with 201 over his career (including playoffs), passed for 269 yards, completing passes to seven receivers. Julian Edelman and rookie Malcolm Mitchell each caught eight, combining for 183 yards, and Chris Hogan, James White and Dion Lewis each caught four. Hogan had a 14-yard touchdown reception.
And Stephen Gostkowski, who has missed four field goals and three PATs this year, was 4 of 4, with three coming from 45 yards or beyond.
Brady wasn’t entirely thrilled with the results – “There were a lot of plays I thought we left out there,” he said – but knows this offense will adjust.
“He’s a big loss because he’s such an integral factor in what we do, but we’ll keep fighting on,” said Brady of Gronkowski. “I think we’ve still got a lot of other players who can fight as well. We’re going to have to keep doing it; he’s not coming back.”
There are guys like Blount and Edelman to lean on now. And Mitchell seems to be a rising star. In his last three games, Mitchell has caught 17 passes for 222 yards and three touchdowns. With
Danny Amendola suffering an ankle injury while returning a punt in the third quarter, Mitchell may take on an even bigger role in the offense.
“I just try to get better each week,” he said.
The Patriots don’t think they did anything unusual against the Rams.
“I mean, I don’t think we made any big adjustments,” said Hogan. “We went out there like it was, you know, normal.”
It might get tougher the next three weeks. The Patriots will face surging Baltimore next week in a Monday nighter at Gillette.
Entering Sunday’s games, the Ravens had the NFL’s second-ranked overall defense and were ranked first against the rush, sixth against the pass.
The following week the Patriots travel to Denver, where they always struggle. Denver’s defense is ranked fourth overall, first against the pass.
Then they play the New York Jets at home on Christmas Eve. The Jets’ defense is 12th overall, fourth against the run.
So this offense, without its biggest cog, needs to find a way to win. Hogan says that formula is already in place.
“I think we’re just going to be balanced,” he said. “We’re going to run, we’re going to pass, whatever we need to do to get the job done.”
And the defense, which has been maligned much of the year for failing to play up to expectations, needs to play as well as it did against the Rams.
Until giving up a 66-yard completion and touchdown in the final two minutes, it was fantastic.
New England held the Rams to seven first downs, 36 rushing yards and 162 total yards.
Malcolm Butler and Kyle Van Noy each had an interception. Rob Ninkovich, Chris Long, Logan Ryan and Shea McClellin each sacked Rams rookie quarterback Jared Goff.
Los Angeles had only 25 – 25! – yards of offense in the first half. That was the lowest amount the Patriots have ever allowed in a half.
“Yeah it was a complete team win,” said Long, who played for the Rams for his first eight years. “And for the first time all year I feel like we really put it all together (in) all three phases.”
And, said safety Devin McCourty, it came just in time.
“It’s December,” he said. “Time to play our best football.”
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