The Rams and Patriots aren’t exactly rivals, but they have squared off twice in the Super Bowl with Bill Belichick as the head coach – games New England won both times. The Rams will try get some semblance of revenge on Thursday night when they play the Patriots for the first time since losing to them in Super Bowl LIII, while New England attempts to keep its playoff hopes alive this season.
Belichick and Sean McVay won’t have two weeks to prepare for each other’s team like they did before Super Bowl LIII, with the turnaround being a brief three days. Belichick has undoubtedly begun studying the Rams and so far, he’s seen some similarities, but also some major differences on defense and special teams.
He noted the changes made to the coaching staf, with Brandon Staley replacing Wade Phillips and John Bonamego taking over for John Fassel.
“It’s always a little bit more challenging with a team you don’t know as well,” Belichick said of the short week. “I mean, it’s the same for them, so I don’t think there’s any advantage there. But it’s different than playing a division team that you know better. There is some carryover offensively from the Rams. Defensively, they’ve changed coordinators from Wade to Staley and changed special teams coordinators from Fassel to Bonamego, so I’d say there are some pretty significant changes there in two of the phases.”
One major difference for the Rams this time around is the availability of Cooper Kupp. He missed the Super Bowl with a knee injury suffered earlier in the season, so New England didn’t have to deal with the talented young wideout.
This time around, Belichick has to account for Kupp, who he says “makes a big difference.”
“Offensively, it’s a lot of the core things that we saw a couple of years ago,” he said. “But Sean has broadened the offense. He’s brought in some different things and of course, seeing Kupp in this game, we didn’t see him two years ago. He certainly makes a big difference. So there are some similarities, but there are plenty of differences, as well.”
The Rams come in with an 8-4 record, having just beaten the Cardinals 38-28. The Patriots are an unimpressive 6-6, but they dominated the Chargers at SoFi Stadium on Sunday, 45-0. Belichick is never someone who should be written off, even if he doesn’t have Tom Brady, Dont’a Hightower, Julian Edelman, Rob Gronkowski or Trey Flowers this time around.