Phil Perry reacts to the Patriots defense “falling apart” during an 11-minute stretch in the middle of the game where they allowed four touchdowns on five drives in the team’s loss to the Rams.
The New England Patriots defense shut out the Los Angeles Rams in the first and fourth quarters of Sunday's matchup, but a nightmare 11-minute stretch ultimately led to their demise.
L.A. scored 14 points in both the second and third quarters to take down New England, 28-22. The Matthew Stafford-led offense scored TDs on four of their five drives during an 11-minute span filled with questionable defensive coaching decisions.
Our Phil Perry highlighted the Pats' horrific defensive performance in those 11 minutes during Patriots Postgame Live.
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"They fell apart in the middle of the game," Perry said. "They couldn't stop the run, they couldn't stop the pass. This was 11 minutes from hell for the Patriots. They allowed touchdowns on four out of five drives. They allowed 9.9 yards per play in just 11 minutes of time of possession for the Rams, and they allowed an 80 percent success rate, which is absolutely through the roof.
"The Ravens coming into Week 11 led the league in success rate -- offensive success rate -- at just a shade over 50. So the Patriots are allowing 80 percent of the Rams' plays to be successful. They're either staying on track or they're creating explosive plays or they're scoring the football. You can't live that way."
The unit bounced back with a big stop to give the offense a chance to retake the lead with just under three minutes to go. It was too little, too late as rookie quarterback Drake Maye tossed the game-ending interception on a miscommunication with wide receiver DeMario Douglas.
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"I understand they got enough stops at the end of the game to give the offense a chance to win at the end of the game. Good for them on that front. They were eventually able to figure it out, I guess," Perry added.
"But you can't have 11 minutes where you allow basically 10 yards per play, especially with this Patriots offense, the way it's constructed. You just can't survive that."
The most glaring error made by the Patriots' defense came at the start of the third quarter when Cooper Kupp took one 69 yards to the end zone. Stafford took advantage of New England's all-out blitz and found his star wide receiver, who beat cornerback Jonathan Jones for an easy score.
Pats defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington and the rest of the coaching staff have plenty of adjustments to make ahead of next Sunday's showdown with the Miami Dolphins. Unlike the previous meeting between the two teams, when the Dolphins squeaked out a 15-10 win, Miami will have starting QB Tua Tagovailoa back under center. New England's defense can't afford to make the same mistakes against a dynamic offense headlined by star wideouts Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
The Week 12 Patriots-Dolphins matchup is set for 1 p.m. ET next Sunday in Miami.
