The story coming out of Thursday Night Football is going to be how dominant the Los Angeles Rams defense is, but the way the game unfolded said more about how bereft of talent the New England Patriots are on offense than anything else. That isn’t a new problem — it was an issue for Tom Brady a season ago and likely a big contributing factor in him taking his talents to Tampa Bay in the offseason.
But it may never have been worse than it is right now.
Cam Newton passed for 119 yards before the team gave Jarrett Stidham a chance late in the game, meaning Newton has now passed for 272 yards combined in the past three weeks. Eighteen quarterbacks threw for more yards in Week 13 alone.
The biggest issue in New England is a lack of weapons at receiver — both wideout and tight end — which leads to virtually no place to go with the football any time Newton has to drop back and pass.
New England’s highest-graded receiver this season is Jakobi Meyers, who at times looks like the only member of the group that can both run routes and separate on a consistent basis. Meyers has a 77.9 overall PFF grade, which is more than 10 grading points higher than their next best receiver.
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