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The New England Patriots will be on the road for the second straight week when they travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Both teams enter the week with a 1-2 record and a chance to get back to a .500 record. This week's game will be the second time the Patriots have visited Levi's Stadium. In their first meeting on Nov. 2016, the Patriots prevailed with a 30-17 victory.

SERIES HISTORY

The New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers will play for the first time since 2020 when the 49ers beat the Patriots 33-6 at Gillette Stadium on Oct. 25. The Patriots will travel to San Francisco for the first time since the 2016 season when the Patriots prevailed 30-17 in their first and only visit to Levi's Stadium on Nov. 20, 2016.

San Francisco holds a 9-5 lead in the series, including 4-2 in home games. This week's matchup will be a battle between two teams that were labeled as the teams of the past four decades, with the 49ers earning the title from 1981-99 and the Patriots dominating the last two decades (2001-19). The 49ers are third all-time with 122 wins in a decade (1990-99), while New England ranks first, as it had 126 wins from 2000-09 and 141 victories from 2010-19.

SERIES BREAKDOWN

SAN FRANCISCO 9, NEW ENGLAND 5

Home Record: 3-5

• Schaefer/Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium 2-3
• Gillette Stadium 1-2

Away Record: 2-4

• Candlestick/3Com Park 1-3
• Stanford Stadium 0-1
• Levi's Stadium 1-0

Total Points: 49ers 355, Patriots 268

Longest winning streak: 3 games

Longest losing streak: 6 games (11/30/80 – 09/17/95)

SCOUTING THE MATCHUPS

By Paul Perillo

When the Patriots run - Edge: Patriots

On paper the Niners have a solid run defense. San Francisco is allowing just 104 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 10^th in the league. But a closer look at the numbers shows some vulnerability up front as the Niners rank just 22^nd in the league, allowing 4.5 yards per carry. The key for the Patriots will be to avoid falling behind so Alex Van Pelt can continue to run the ball. That wasn't the case in the loss to the Jets when everything went wrong and the Patriots were forced to alter the game plan. That task won't be easy in San Francisco either, but Rhamondre Stevenson and Antonio Gibson will need to shoulder a heavy workload if that is to happen. The Patriots still rank eighth in the league, averaging 144.3 yards per game on the ground even after the subpar outing against the Jets. Both Stevenson (4.3) and Gibson (6.2) average better than 4 yards per carry so it would make sense if Van Pelt wants to continue to feature that tandem on the road. The Patriots catch a break as standout defensive tackle Javon Hargrave is out for the season with a torn triceps, leaving Maliek Collins alone in front of one the best middle linebackers in the league in Fred Warner. That group will be angry after blowing a double-digit lead to the Rams in the fourth quarter, but the Patriots must meet the physical challenge.

When the Patriots pass - Edge: 49ers

Through three games the Patriots passing game has been abysmal, ranking dead last with an average of just 102 yards per game. There has been a myriad of problems that have contributed to that, starting but not limited to the struggles of the offensive line. The receivers haven't been great, and Jacoby Brissett has also missed some throws and been late to see some others. But it starts up front where the patchwork line hasn't been able to provide much protection for Brissett. Until that changes the production doesn't figure to improve much and that won't be easy on the road against a banged up but angry Niners team. Nick Bosa leads a pass rush that has been quiet thus far but has the ability to break out. The Patriots have especially had trouble at left tackle where rookie Caedan Wallace was forced to play out of position last week as Vederian Lowe sat with a knee injury. But it wasn't just Wallace that contributed to the problems as protection issues affected the entire group. Brissett has done a nice job of avoiding some sacks, but he's also been subjected to a lot of heavy hits, and he'll need some help from his line as well as his receivers, who have been largely dormant thus far.

When the Niners run - Edge: Niners

The Patriots run defense has been quite good in the early going, ranking fifth in the league in both yards allowed (83 per game) and yards per rush (3.7). But New England has yet to face a team that wants to run the ball the way the Niners do, even without All-Pro Christian McCaffrey. Jordan Mason, an undrafted free agent in 2022, has taken the lead back role and thrived in Kyle Shanahan's system. Mason leads San Francisco with 324 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns in the early going, averaging 4.8 yards per carry. The Niners want to establish the run in order to set up their big-play passing attack, so Mason should see his share of carries early on. Davon Godchaux has been stout in the middle for the Patriots but with linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (torn pec) out of the picture the overall performance of the run defense dropped off. New York piled up 133 yards on the ground in Week 3, the first game the Patriots played without Bentley. San Francisco will look to exploit that absence, and the Patriots will need to respond. Anfernee Jennings has done a nice job setting the edge but otherwise there have been problems in that department. Raekwon McMillan replaced Bentley inside and also struggled, and Shanahan will no doubt be looking to take advantage.

When the Niners pass - Edge: Niners

Injuries have limited the Niners passing attack as well as McCaffrey is a huge piece of that puzzle for San Francisco. Wideout Deebo Samuel (calf) and tight end George Kittle (hamstring) both missed the loss to the Rams but Kittle could return for the Patriots game. That would be good news for quarterback Brock Purdy, who played well in the Rams loss despite those personnel absences. Jauan Jennings had a terrific game with 175 yards and three touchdowns playing opposite Brandon Aiyuk, who is off to a slow start after his extended holdout. Purdy also has been under some pressure behind the Niners inconsistent offensive line, especially when All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams left the game briefly last week. The Patriots secondary struggled over the last two weeks and ranks 28th in the league, allowing 244.3 yards per game. That's not good news as New England heads out west as the Niners currently boast the second-ranked passing attack in the league, averaging 267.7 yards per game even without all of those pieces. It will be important for defensive coordinator DeMarcus Covington to figure out ways to apply pressure on Purdy because the secondary hasn't been up to the task the last two weeks.

Special Teams - Edge: Patriots

Not much to choose from between these two clubs on special teams but the Patriots specialists are off to a slightly better start in 2024. Bryce Baringer has been outstanding in the early going, averaging 52.3 yards per kick with just one touchback against nine downed inside the 20. The Niners Mitch Wishnowsky doesn't see much action working for such a dynamic offense with only five punts in the three games (Baringer has 16) but averages a healthy 49.4 yards. Both kickers, Joey Slye and the Niners Jake Moody, have just one miss on their resumes through three games but Moody's was a big one. He hooked a 55-yarder wide left late against the Rams, allowing LA the opportunity to drive for the tying touchdown in the waning moments. Marcus Jones remains a dangerous punt returner, averaging almost 10 yards on his five attempts. San Francisco uses Jacob Cowling on punts and Samuel as the kick returner, but thus far neither has generated much production. The Patriots coverage has been solid for the most part, but there have been a couple of lapses on punts. They can't afford any missteps on the road when trying to pull off the upset against the Niners.

TALE OF THE TAPE

CONNECTIONS

FORMER PATRIOTS

• Off. Coord. Mick Lombardi, 2011-12, 2019-21 (Scouting Asst., Asst. QB Coach, WR Coach)
• WR Leonard Hankerson, 2015
• Asst. OL Coach Cameron Clemmons, 2017 (Bill Walsh Minority Fellowship)

FORMER 49ERS

• OL Coach Scott Peters, 2004
• Sr. Off. Asst. Ben McAdoo, 2005
• QB Coach T.C. McCartney, 2015, 2017-18
• TE Coach Bob Bicknell, 2016
• RB Coach Taylor Embree, 2017-19
• WR Kendrick Bourne, 2017-20
• RB JaMycal Hasty, 2020-21
• LB Christian Elliss, 2021
• K Joey Slye, 2021

WHAT TO LOOK FOR...

• A win this week at San Francisco will give the Patriots a .500 record. The last time the Patriots were .500 or better after four games was in 2019 when the Patriots started the year with an 8-0 record.
• This week's game will be the Patriots first visit to the state of California since the 2021 season when the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Chargers, 27-24 (10/31/21). The Patriots own a 22-21-1 record when playing in California.
• If the winning team this week scores at least 30 points, it will mark the fifth-straight time that the winning team has scored at least 30 points in a game between the Patriots and 49ers

BROADCAST INFO

TELEVISION: This week's game will be broadcast by FOX and can be seen locally on WFXT-TV Channel 25. Joe Davis will handle play-by-play duties with Greg Olsen as the color analyst. Pam Oliver will work from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Pete Macheska and directed by Artie Kempner.

NATIONAL RADIO: Thursday's game will be broadcast to a national audience on ESPN Radio. Marc Kestecher will call the game and Kelly Stouffer will be providing analysis. Ian Fitzsimmons will work from the sidelines.

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. A complete listing of the network's 33 stations can be found here. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis. The games are produced by Marc Cappello.

For information on how to stream the game please visit our Ways to Watch guide.