FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Rams' offense came alive in New England. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns and wasn't sacked once while the running backs stayed ahead of the sticks throughout.
Stafford had the third-highest passer rating of his career (142.7), behind an offensive line that returned to prime form with rookie center Beaux Limmer back in the mix. Meanwhile, the defense continued to ramp up the pressure, wreaking havoc and causing turnovers in the backfield.
Here are five interesting stats from the Rams' 28-22 win against the Patriots:
Stafford had a perfect passer rating (158.3) with a clean pocket – he's one of three quarterbacks to achieve that in a game this season, via Next Gen Stats
Stafford was practically perfect from a clean pocket, going 14-for-18 with 267 yards and three touchdowns. Stafford also had a perfect passer rating on play-action passes (6-for-6, 128 yards and two touchdowns) while only being pressured once.
The veteran quarterback has excelled this season whenever he's been gotten into a consistent rhythm without pressure in his face. That's what happened on Sunday, and he put together arguably his best game of the 2024 campaign.
Braden Fiske's strip sack was the third-fastest sack of the entire season (2.3 seconds) and the fastest for a non-blitzer, via Next Gen Stats
A stunt with Fiske and Kobie Turner let the rookie run free up the middle with absurd speed for someone his size, yet Fiske's second-quarter strip sack was impressive on multiple levels. On top of being the fastest sack of the season from a defensive lineman, it was also the ninth-most impactful defensive play of the week, adding 15% to the Rams' win probability, according to nflverse data.
Fiske recorded another sack in the second half, giving him four over his last three games and five overall. He's the first Rams rookie with multiple games of two or more sacks in his first 10 games, and is the first rookie to do so since Micah Parsons in 2021. He also tied Byron Young and Robert Quinn for most sacks by a Ram through their first 10 games.
The Rams' offense didn't have a single negative play against New England
No sacks. No tackles for loss. This was a stellar performance from the offensive line that was rewarded with pristine execution from Stafford and Los Angeles' skill players. The genesis of that success was built on a gutsy decision to put Limmer back in the lineup, replacing highly-paid free agent signing Jonah Jackson.
McVay said that decision was "what we thought was going to be best" for the team, and it certainly seemed that it was on Sunday. Stafford was pressured nine times overall, according to Next Gen Stats, and wasn't sacked for the third time in four weeks – all three games featured Limmer at center.
There have been some “challenging and unique circumstances” surrounding the Rams' offensive line this season, but their Week 11 performance bodes well for the future.
The Rams pressured Drake Maye on 47.8% of his dropbacks, their third-highest rate this season, via Next Gen Stats
The Rams' front is no stranger to generating pressure, but this was an above-average performance, even for them. They turned three of their 22 pressures into sacks, one of which resulted in a turnover, and LA pressured Maye on 10 of their 15 blitzes, tied for the best of the week. The game plan was very clear: Make Maye uncomfortable in the pocket, and although he made some veteran-looking plays to beat the blitz, the Rams got home when it mattered most.
Outside linebacker Jared Verse led the way with five pressures, outside linebacker Michael Hoecht had four and Young got three along with Turner and frequent blitzer Omar Speights. Fiske finished both of his pressures with sacks while safety Quentin Lake registered one on a blitz as well. It was an all-around performance from the young stars up front.
The Rams gained 369 of their 402 yards (91.7%) on plays with pre-snap motion, via Next Gen Stats
The Rams always have a purpose for their motion, and that was evident on Sunday.
Los Angeles' 369 yards on plays utilizing pre-snap motion was the ninth-most for any team this season. They averaged 12.3 yards per pass and 5.4 yards per rush on motion plays, which are both higher averages than they've had in any other game. They averaged 9.2 yards per play with motion compared to three yards per play without it.
There's a clear difference in the efficiency of the Rams' offense when pre-snap motions are fulfilling their desired function, as nearly 92% of the Rams' yardage came on 78% of their plays (40 of 51 plays utilized pre-snap motion).
