As the New England Patriots prepare to welcome the Los Angeles Rams into Gillette Stadium for their Week 13 battle Sunday, here are some pregame story lines:

No More Gronk- The Patriots and Pats Nation got some unfortunate news Friday, when news broke that the team's All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski's back injury is worse than originally thought and will require surgery. That means the top offensive threat will not be an option for the team come Sunday. While the Pats probably don't need him to beat the lowly Rams, Gronkowski's absence is sure to become a problem as the season moves on and the playoffs get underway.

The Start Of A Dynasty- For those who don't remember, the Rams were the team the Patriots knocked off back in Super Bowl XXXVI, to start their impressive 16 year Dynasty. The Rams, who were heavily favored entering that Super Bowl contest, have never truly been the same since the loss, while the Patriots have been one of the league's top team's ever since. On Sunday, the franchise will honor that Super Bowl winning team from 2001 for it's 15th year anniversary.

On The Doorstep Of History- With a win over LA, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will set the league's all-time wins record, including postseason play, with 201 wins. He is currently tied with Peyton Manning at 200 career wins, after last week's 22-17 victory over the Jets.

Rookie QB- This week, the Patriots defense, which has struggled all season long, will go up against the second worst offense, statistically speaking, in the league. At the forefront of that offense will be rookie quarterback Jared Goff, who was selected by the team with the first overall pick in the 2016 draft. After sitting on the bench for 10 weeks, Goff was inserted into the sputtering offensive lineup two weeks ago in Miami. Over those two weeks Goff has looked okay, as he struggled against the Dolphins, who boast the league's ninth best pass defense, and played well against the New Orleans Saints, whose pass defense ranks 27th in the league. Look for the Pats to sell out to stop the LA ground game, which already ranks near the bottom of the league, and force Goff to beat them. Even with the struggles the defense has had this season, you've got to like their odds against a quarterback making his third professional start on a team that is lacking in the big play weapons department.

A Perfect Match Up- This Rams offense might actually be a perfect match up for the under-performing New England defense. While the Pats have given up a lot of yards this season and have struggled to get off the field on third down consistently, they have not given up many points. On the flip side of that, the LA offense enters Sunday's match up with the lowest points per game average of any team in the league at just 15.5. For a Patriots defense that has somehow found a way to given up a third best 17.9 points per game this season, an already inept offense shouldn't be able to do any real damage during the game.

Blount Force Trauma- The Rams defense has been solid against the pass this year, ranking 7th in pass defense and giving up just 227.5 yards on average,  but they have struggled against the run. So far this season, the opponents have averaged 112.3 yards per game on the ground against LA, which puts them at 20th in the league at stopping the run. With a list of banged up receiving options, it would be much of a shock if the Pats put the ball in the hands of power running back LeGarrette Blount and allowed the big back to bowl his way down the field a number of times Sunday. Based on LA's struggles, it might not be a bad time to hit them with a little Blount Force Trauma.

Walking Wounded- New England, once again, enters another game with nine players listed as questionable, including top receiving options Julian Edelman, Martellus Bennett and Chris Hogan. All three have been nursing separate injuries for a while now, but have managed, for the most part, to suit up and at least give it a go from week to week. With Gronk already out and officially on IR after undergoing back surgery, all three will need to be on the field Sunday to help in the passing game and give Tom Brady some options down the field. Bennett, who has been dealing with both ankle and shoulder injuries but has played well this season, will really need to rise up in the absence of Gronkowski. With the All-Pro tight end sidelined for likely the rest of the 2016 campaign, Bennett will become the team's top option at the tight end position. As of now, only Matt Lengel, who has next to no real service time in the league, is the team's second option at the position. Bennett will not only need to fill the void created by the Gronkowski injury in the passing game, but also in the rushing attack as well.

A Bigger Set- With Gronkowski sidelined and Matt Lengel as the team's lone tight end option aside of Martellus Bennett, expect the Patriots to insert backup offensive tackle Cameron Fleming into the game tomorrow as a blocking tight end when they want to run the football. Fleming has served in that capacity for a few seasons now, especially when the team runs out of a heavy set, but without a lot of experience under Lengel's belt it should be expected the Fleming's role might increase down the stretch, starting with Sunday's game.

A Larger Role- Over the past two weeks, rookie wide out Malcolm Mitchell has seen an increase in his opportunities in the passing game. Without Gronk and with a limited Chris Hogan, Mitchell has become one of Tom Brady's top deep threats over the last two weeks, catching nine passes for 140 yards and three scores against the 49ers and Jets. With Gronk sidelined indefinitely now and Hogan still hampered by a nagging back issue, there seems to be no reason for the rookie's role to be scaled back. As a receiver that can go down the field and make plays after the catch, look for Mitchell to have another big day as he links up with Brady on Sunday.

Double Back Sets- In the aftermath of the Gronk injury news, another option the Patriot offense can look at is utilizing the double back set package. Shifty running backs Dion Lewis and James White are both well adept at catching the ball and making big plays out of the backfield, so it wouldn't be a shock to see the Pats employ a two back set regularly, Sunday.

Prediction- The Rams offer little in terms of offensive firepower and defensively they have holes that can be exposed. In fact, their defense just got torched for 49 points by the Saints. Even though New England is dealing with a rash or injuries to some of their key offensive weapons, they have plenty enough options at Brady's disposal to be able to move the ball down the field on LA. As for the lackluster New England defense, they should have little trouble keeping the incredibly weak Rams defense out of the end zone. At the end of the day, there is no chance a rookie quarterback can lead a devoid offense into Gillette and leave with a win.

Patriots 30, Rams 6  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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