The Patriots turned the ball over twice in their first three possessions in San Francisco as the 49ers quickly built a 20-point lead on their way to a Week 4 win that dropped New England to 1-3 in 2024. The 49ers ultimately prevailed 30-13, handing the Pats their third-straight loss and leaving them looking for answers on how to re-find the winning edge.
Poor ball security, untimely big plays and injuries were significant factors for New England, as they were unable to take advantage of two early red-zone stops by the defense that kept the Pats within striking distance early into the second quarter.
Special teams held their own, with Joey Slye hitting 63-yard and 54-yard field goals and Bryce Baringer consistently forcing the 49ers to start deep in their own territory, but it was not enough.
New England would make a push early in the third quarter, cutting the lead to 10 points at one point, but otherwise had few answers on offense or defense for a 49ers squad that looked like they came ready to turn their own 1-2 start to the season around and rode a strong start to a victory, despite a sloppy second half.
Here's how it all went down by the bay.
1. Pats D Bends, Doesn't Break... Twice
The Patriots offense received the opening kickoff and had some success on their first possession, converting two first downs, one on a dumpoff pass to Rhamondre Stevenson and another to DeMario Douglas, but the drive stalled at midfield.
After another outstanding punt by Bryce Baringer landed at the San Francisco eight-yard line, the 49ers put together a 15-play, 90-yard drive. Brock Purdy picked up two third-down conversions with his legs after good coverage by the Patriots secondary forced him to hold the ball. Purdy got another conversion hitting George Kittle late in the play for a first down inside the Patriots 10-yard line.
That was when the Patriots defense finally stiffened with Marcus Jones having good coverage on Purdy's third-down pass to the end zone targeting Juaun Jennings. San Fran settled for a field goal and a 3-0 lead to start the game.
The defense was quickly thrust back into the fire after Stevenson fumbled for his fourth-straight game and lost a fumble in a second-straight game. The 49ers took over at the Patriots 30-yard line but were able to pick up just one first down before settling for another field goal. Jabrill Peppers had quick pressure on Purdy that helped blow up San Fran's final third down on the drive.
The defense's strong red zone performance kept the game close in the first quarter.
2. Turnover Problems Get Worse
Just as the defense was keeping the team in the game with red zone stops, Jacoby Brissett picked the wrong time for his first turnover of the season. It came on the first third down of their third possession as Brissett had good time in the pocket but fired a high pass that was picked off by a jumping Fred Warner. Warner recovered and took the ball into the end zone for the game's first touchdown.
The Patriots offense has struggled to move the ball this year but had avoided turnovers in the first two games and that gave them a chance to win both of those games. But against the Jets the giveaways started to rear their ugly head and it didn't take long for them to carry over into this game in San Francisco. Stevenson's fumble and Brissett's pick-six equaled a bumpy start for the Patriots offense that put them into an early hole.
Even a promising 11-play, 45-yard response drive by New England suffered a disappointing end. The 49ers stuffed Stevenson for no gain on a 4th-and-1 at the San Fran 20. Brissett took two sacks on the drive but did make an impressive third-down conversion throw to Hunter Henry and got quality contributions from JaMycal Hasty (nine-yard run) and Kashon Boutte (11-yard reception).
The 49ers carried a 13-0 lead late into the second quarter.
3. 49ers Extend Lead, Slye Hits from 63
After the fourth-down stop the 49ers put together their most relentless drive of the half, overcoming some bad penalty calls on the way to the end zone with a 10-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Twice the 49ers had touchdowns nullified by penalty but the third time was the charm.
The Patriots defense had their moments of good coverage. Purdy often was forced to hold the ball and, unlike last week, the Pats D did a good job keeping him contained in the pocket.
Still, it wasn't enough, as Purdy used all of his weapons with a varied attack, finally finishing off the drive by hitting George Kittle in the corner of the end zone with three different Patriots all around him. It was a great catch by Kittle as the 49ers surged ahead to a 20-0 lead.
The Patriots would find one small bright spot at the end of the first half with Joey Slye hitting a 63-yard field goal to get New England on the board. But it was still 20-3 at the half with San Francisco outgaining the Patriots 207 yard to 76 yards.
Injuries also continued to pile up for New England during the first half, with David Andrews (shoulder), Kyle Dugger (ankle) and Caedan Wallace (ankle) all leaving the game.
4. Second Half Kickoff Spark Quickly Extinguished
The Patriots ended the first half on Slye's field goal high note and carried it over to the start of the second half with Christian Elliss recovering a 49er fumble on the opening kickoff. It was just the break the floundering Pats needed after struggling to get much going through the game's first 29 minutes.
Stevenson ripped off a 13-yard run on the next play and though Hunter Henry was stopped a half-yard short on third down, the Pats went for it on fourth down and hit paydirt with a touchdown to Austin Hooper. It was a quick shift in the game, as New England suddenly put up two scores and got themselves back into the game.
Just like that, San Fran's lead was cut to 20-10.
Undeterred, Brock Purdy hit Deebo Samuel on a 53-yard bomb on the very next offensive play that quickly erased New England's newfound momentum. Three plays later Jordan Mason carried the ball untouched into the end zone to re-establish a 27-10 lead.
5. Patriots are now 1-3
With the injury and mistake-riddled defeat, the Patriots dropped their third game in a row and fell to 1-3 in 2024, somehow with even bigger injury questions than they entered the game with. Even after an extended break, the performance featured too many mistakes that carried over from the loss to the Jets. Turnovers on two of their first three possessions set an early tone and New England was never able to claw their way back into the game even after flashing a little bit of life that bookended halftime.
Things settled down in the second half, with the 49ers getting in on the mistake parade and giving the Patriots some opportunities. Jabrill Peppers' interception in the fourth quarter gave the Pats another chance to cut it to a one-score game, but that drive would fizzle out on fourth down still on New England's side of the 50-yard line.
The 49ers late run of mistakes kept the score relatively close, but after the first touchdown of the third quarter, New England was held out of the end zone.
David Andrews left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return. After the team's struggles at center throughout the summer this will be a major development to watch. The offense line has been hit hard by injuries but Andrews has been one of their few constants. Now that reliability could be up in the air.
Kyle Dugger and Caedan Wallace also left with ankle injuries and did not return. Wallace was already fighting a knee injury this past week. His potential absence would further deplete an already-beleaguered tackle group.
New England will continue to look for answers after back-to-back losses and they need to find some quick before their season spirals away from them. The injuries continue to pile up and will certainly complicate any attempts to reverse the losing trend.
The Patriots will return home for the second game at Gillette Stadium this season to face the Miami Dolphins, who are scheduled to face the Titans on Monday night.
DISCLAIMER: The views and thoughts expressed in this article are those of the writer and don't necessarily reflect those of the organization. Read Full Disclaimer
