By KYLE HIGHTOWER
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Matthew Stafford remembers what didn’t go right during his last visit to New England, in 2014 when he was still with the Detroit Lions.
“We came in with I think the No. 1 or top five rush defense in the league. I’m not sure they ran it once,” Stafford said this week.
Stafford also remembers how former Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s defense pressed Lions receiver and future Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson and put its own future Hall of Fame defensive back, Darrelle Revis, on the Lions’ other top receiver, Golden Tate.
The Patriots won 34-9, holding the Lions without a touchdown.
“It was a tough day. It wasn’t pretty,” Stafford said.
A decade later, Stafford is hoping the Los Angeles Rams team he now leads will fare better against a rebuilding Patriots team that no longer has Belichick.
The Rams (4-5) are looking to get back to .500 after having their three-game win streak snapped Monday night by Miami. It was Los Angeles’ first setback since Stafford’s top receiving duo – Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua – returned from injury in Week 8’s win over Minnesota.
New England (3-7) has a secondary that’s been depleted by injuries, but it boasts a front seven that produced seven of the team’s nine sacks in last week’s win over Chicago. It was the Patriots’ first win that rookie Drake Maye started and finished. New England beat the New York Jets in Week 8, but Maye left that start with a concussion.
First-year coach Jerod Mayo said finding continuity is the next step for Maye and his team.
“We haven’t had a back-to-back win this year. We’ve lost multiple games in a row, so we know that side of it,” Mayo said. “Now we’ve got to figure out how to turn the page after a win and get a victory.”
Running man
One of the things the Patriots liked about Maye when they selected him third overall in the NFL draft was his mobility.
In his five starts, he has a 9.3 yards-per-rush average that leads all quarterbacks.
But after his concussion against Jets in his third start, Maye recognizes the need to be mindful of knowing when to slide and avoiding big hits.
“The one time I slid against the Jets, I got hit in the head,” he said. “So, I think there’s times and places for it. I think I definitely need to do a better job of getting down and taking care of my body, and I know that.”
O-line woes
Injuries on the offensive line are a primary reason Los Angeles hasn’t been able to run the ball well this year, and those problems might not be fixed by the weekend.
Right tackle Rob Havenstein is likely to miss his second straight game with a sprained ankle, and backup Joe Noteboom didn’t look sharp when he returned Monday night from an ankle injury that had sidelined him since Week 1. Left guard Steve Avila and center Jonah Jackson also looked rusty in their returns from long-term injury. New England could be facing third-string right tackle Warren McClendon, Rams coach Sean McVay said.
Battering Rams
The Patriots’ two quarterbacks have been sacked 32 times, fourth-most in the league. Now they’re facing the Rams, who have probably the best young defensive front in the NFL.
Edge rusher Jared Verse is the front-runner for defensive rookie of the year, but he doesn’t even lead Los Angeles with his 4 1/2 sacks. Nose tackle Kobie Turner and bookend edge rusher Byron Young have five apiece. Add in rookie defensive tackle Braden Fiske, who has 4 1/2 sacks and a team-leading 11 tackles for loss, and the Rams present a big problem for New England’s offensive line.
