“Everything happened so fast out there,” said linebacker James Laurinaitis. “I think when you combine missed assignments on our side with a Hall of Fame quarterback in Tom Brady, this is what happens.

“We didn’t get off the field on third down, ever, it felt like. We knew we needed to make plays on defense to win this game and nothing went right.”

Belichick predictably downplayed the significance of the offensive approach after the game because, yes, they have the talent to take any approach with their game plans.

“We take a look at who we play each week and what we feel like is the best way to attack that team,” he said. “I don’t think we worry too much about how we played somebody else, didn’t play somebody else. It’s a new team.”

Maybe the Patriots should rein in the variety a little bit. They stripped it down against the Rams and it worked to near perfection.

The Patriots may have a ton of talent at every position — and they didn’t even have tight end Aaron Hernandez.