Foxborough, MA – There are two ways to look at the Patriots 28-22 loss to the Rams at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, a competitive game that ultimately ended in defeat.

From a glass-half-full perspective, two games in Patriots history are, comparatively speaking, a source of optimism after another loss. Going back to the 2001 season, the GOAT’s first as a starter, Tom Brady had some close calls like this that served as building blocks for a dynasty. In 2001, Brady fell to these same Rams in a 24-17 loss at the old Foxboro Stadium. Brady’s stat line wasn’t as impressive as Drake Maye’s, but the game was a competitive loss where the Patriots showed they were moving in the right direction.

Earlier that season, Brady’s coming out party was a 29-26 victory over the Chargers. That day, Brady was 33-54 for 364 yards and two touchdowns. On Sunday, Maye split the difference in his best performance yet. Maye threw for a career-high 282 yards and two touchdowns, adding a season-best +0.25 expected points per drop-back in the loss. Maye’s stat line was more on par with the Charger game for Brady, but the result, opponent, and time of year resembled the Rams game in Week 10, 2001.

Nobody is saying that the Patriots are about to rattle off nine straight victories to win the Super Bowl like those Patriots. However, we might look at this game as the moment when we knew they could compete like we did when the Pats suffered a close loss to the greatest show on turf.

On the other hand, we constantly harp on the coaches putting the players in the best positions to succeed. It’s critical for head coach Jerod Mayo’s staff to have good game plans and make the proper in-game coaching decisions, especially in this rebuilding phase. Last week, the coaching staff did that to a tee, but this wasn’t as clean an operation on Sunday.

First, New England opted to put top CB Christian Gonzalez on the boundary rather than having him shadow Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua. In the end, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua combined for 229 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Defensive play-calller DeMarcus Covington also blitzed Rams QB Matthew Stafford, a savvy 16-year vet, 17 times, including on a 69-yard touchdown to Kupp where the Patriots sent the house.

The other angle was a slew of in-game coaching decisions. Coach Mayo elected to punt rather than attempt a 54-yard field goal, kicked a field goal on 4th-and-goal from the LA 2, kicked an extra point down nine points in the fourth quarter, and lined up to go for it on fourth down trailing by nine points with 4:54 left. The extra point decision was interesting because the Pats HC went for two in the same spot in London.

Ultimately, it’s easy to second guess Coach Mayo’s decisions from the press box, stands, or the couch. Still, early returns in the Mayo era are that the Patriots head coach is going by his own system. According to analytics models, Mayo is not following the math, with the Pats ranking 27th in how often they should go for it compared to how often they do.

With the Patriots trying to win on the margins, these are key moments in a game. The math isn’t perfect either, so if you don’t care about what the nerds are telling Coach Mayo to do, that’s fair. But when you lose a one-score game, these coaching decisions will be scrutinized.

Here are eight takeaways as the Patriots drop to 3-8 with a loss to the Rams in Week 11.

1. SERPRO Spotlight: Patriots Offense, QB Drake Maye Show Progress in Loss to the Rams

Look, it’s understandable if you’re growing tired of moral victories. The Patriots offense topping out at 22 points wasn’t enough, and they had the ball with a chance to win but failed to score.

However, by and large, this was the best offensive performance of the season for OC Alex Van Pelt’s group. Van Pelt helped by having a few tricks up his sleeve that we’ll get to, but the most important thing was that rookie QB Drake Maye is showing franchise quarterback potential.

While facing a defense that ranked second in expected points added over the last month, Maye had his best game in a promising rookie season. The third-overall pick set season-highs in passing yards (282), completions (30), EPA per play (+0.27), drop-back success rate (63%), and completion percentage over expectation (+11.2%). Based on my live charting, Maye had nine ‘plus’ plays to four minuses – he was terrific for 58 minutes.