3 Takeaways from Patriots' Week 14 Loss

The New England Patriots experienced one of the most drastic shifts from a win to a loss during the 2020 NFL season on Thursday night. 

Four days after a 45-point win over the Los Angeles Chargers, the Patriots fell flat in their 24-3 defeat at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams. 

Any of the flaws that the Patriots covered up on Sunday were exposed right away by the NFC West leader. 

Cam Newton received no protection all night and his disappointing performance resulted in Jarrett Stidham taking over for a few unsuccessful drives in the fourth quarter. 

When the Patriots did make waves offensively, they had a handful of drives stall out in the red zone and not produce points. 

Although they are not officially eliminated from the AFC postseason yet, Thursday's loss felt like the unofficial end to any postseason hunt. 

New England heads into the weekend 2.5 games back of the Miami Dolphins and Indianapolis Colts, which means plenty of results have to go in their favor just to reach the fringe of the wild-card race.

Offensive Line Had No Answer for Rams Pass Rush

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Los Angeles' defensive line controlled the game. 

The Rams were in the backfield on a constant basis and did not allow Cam Newton to make any impact on the contest. 

Sean McVay's team totaled 10 quarterback hits and four sacks in the 24-3 rout. Michael Brockers, Aaron Donald and Morgan Fox each recorded a pair of quarterback hits. 

Allowing some of the most dominant interior linemen in the NFL that much time in the opposing pocket is a recipe for disaster. 

New England's offensive line play got worse as the game went on, as the drives got shorter and shorter. 

The Patriots had a trio of three-and-outs and were stopped on fourth down once in the second half. Their only respectable drive of the second half stalled out at the Los Angeles 42-yard-line. 

No matter how undermanned the offensive line was, a performance of that caliber is not acceptable in the NFL. 

In addition to padding the stats for Donald and Co., the poor offensive line outing resulted in Newton leaving the game in the fourth quarter and the Patriots mustering three points in a game mattered a ton in the AFC playoff race. 

Red Zone Offense Was Atrocious

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

New England had its chances to make Thursday's game competitive, but it blew a majority of them in the first half. 

The first misstep in the red zone occurred on the pick six earned by the Rams off Newton. That occurred three plays after Myles Bryant intercepted Jared Goff. 

The Patriots appeared to have the perfect response to Kenny Young's touchdown since they drove down to the two-yard-line. 

However, that drive abruptly ended after a poor fourth-down play call in which Newton kept the ball on a designed option and was smothered by the Rams front seven. 

The final foray into the red zone before halftime resulted in a 29-yard field goal out of Nick Folk. At that juncture, you can't blame Bill Belichick for wanting to take some points out of a drive after the previous failures. 

New England made one red-zone trip in the second half, and it ended with a poor play as well. Stidham's fourth-down pass intended for Devin Asiasi was defended well and broken up by Troy Hill.

Had the Patriots converted on one or two of their red-zone chances, they may have challenged the Rams in the second half, but instead the NFC West squad never felt much of a threat. 

Playoff Hopes Are Bleak

Ashley Landis/Associated Press

New England needs a few miracles to happen over the next four weeks to just have a chance at contending for a wild-card position. 

The Patriots sit in 10th place in the AFC at 6-7, and they will remain there after Week 14 since the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders are both at 7-5. 

Belichick and Co. have to root for the Cleveland Browns to beat Baltimore on Monday night and for the Indianapolis Colts to take down Las Vegas on Sunday.

If that occurs, the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds would still be one game ahead of the Patriots with three games to play. 

In that scenario, the Patriots would need one more wild-card contender to drop within their reach. That could be the Miami Dolphins, who they face in Week 15. Miami hosts the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. 

Even if the results align in the Patriots favor ahead of next Sunday, they still have to face the Buffalo Bills in Week 16. 

The Bills defeated the Patriots by three points in Week 8 and look like a far more competent football team at this point of the season. 

If New England fails to beat Buffalo, its last-ditch run at the playoffs will be officially over, but if it can pull off the upset, it may go into Week 17's meeting with the New York Jets still alive.

For any of that to happen, the Patriots must fix the litany of issues that plagued them on Thursday night.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.